will new radiator solve leak?

[EliteConcept]

my 92 has a radiator leak from where the plastic tanks are connected to the core of the radiator. when i start it up on cold mornings to let it warm up, the seals leak.
once the engine warms up its ok
i know some say to replace it with a all metal radiator but
i found a radiator that is only a few months old for the right price, but it has plastic tanks on the side, so its a stock replacement, it only had been used for like 3 months.
will this radiator leak when its cold also? Or do they only leak once they get old?

thanks
ryan

 

[dogfriend]

The radiators with the plastic tanks have a rubber seal (sort of like a big o-ring) where the tank(s) attach to the metal core. The tanks are pushed on to compress the seal, then a retainer is pushed in to hold the tank onto the core.

I think what happens when the tank starts to leak like you are describing is that the rubber seal has taken a "set" ; it has been permanently deformed so that it is flattened and is not as compressed as it is supposed to be. The reason it leaks when cold is because when the seal is cold there is a gap because of the permanent set. Once the coolent has warmed up, this also warms the seal, and it expands and closes up the gap.

Theoretically, you could replace the seal with a new one, but you need to find a radiator shop which knows how to do this and has the proper equipment to reassemble it. It may be just as cheap (or cheaper) to get another radiator.

The new (slightly used) radiator shouldn't leak when cold, but since it has the same design with the plastic tank and rubber seal, it may eventually fail in the same way.

 

[EliteConcept]

i just need it to work for about a year and a half or so
so it should work then

 

[Blaine122300]

Oh yeah, a year and a half would be no problem. You should be good to go with your new/used radiator.

Andy