VS radiator leak (pics) and temp gauge question

[Cormac]

Hello forums...

I'm about to take my VS in to get a radiator leak fixed. It is a 1996 V6 with about 230,000k's. I don't know a great deal about cars so if anyone can offer advice on this it would be muchly appreciated.

The leak is just underneath that big fat hose that connects the radiator to the engine. It is a tiny crack, and doesn't really seem to leak unless the coolant gets hot (when this happens you can see and hear it squeezing through the crack).

Has anyone encountered this leak before? How much does it cost to get fixed? Can they patch up or fix the plastic bit without replacing the entire radiator? What's the cheapest way of getting this fixed properly, and who should I take it to? (I'm not really interested in dumping stop leak in it).

Second question:
When I got this car I found that it always seemed to run fairly cold (almost always below 1/4 of the temperature gauge. It spent most of its time near the 'C', especially on the freeway).

So, to all VS owners here... where does your temperature gauge sit and how many k's do you get out of a tank? Does it sound like I need a new thermostat if the temperature spends most if its time below 1/4??

Third question:
What's the correct way to put coolant into a VS Commodore? Right now I am filling up the radiator while the car is idling, and then filling up the overflow tank after I have replace the radiator cap. Is this correct? I've had to top it up a few times since I got this leak and I am worried it will get air bubbles if I'm doing it wrong.

[CHANDLC]

you could get a plastic welder to weld the crack up ( look in the phone book). My car use to sit about the same temp on the high way but now that the engine is dieing it sits on half or more (mostly about 3/4) put new thermo stat in (82deg) made stuff all differnce but am putting in new water pump in on wensday so hopefully that will make a differnce. as for filling up the radiator the way your doing it is fine unless you drain all of the coolant if you do that then you will have to bleed it by unscerwing the scerw that is on top of your thermo stat. hope this helps.

[Harvs82]

Hello forums...

I'm about to take my VS in to get a radiator leak fixed. It is a 1996 V6 with about 230,000k's. I don't know a great deal about cars so if anyone can offer advice on this it would be muchly appreciated.

The leak is just underneath that big fat hose that connects the radiator to the engine. It is a tiny crack, and doesn't really seem to leak unless the coolant gets hot (when this happens you can see and hear it squeezing through the crack).

Has anyone encountered this leak before? How much does it cost to get fixed? Can they patch up or fix the plastic bit without replacing the entire radiator? What's the cheapest way of getting this fixed properly, and who should I take it to? (I'm not really interested in dumping stop leak in it).

Second question:
When I got this car I found that it always seemed to run fairly cold (almost always below 1/4 of the temperature gauge. It spent most of its time near the 'C', especially on the freeway).

So, to all VS owners here... where does your temperature gauge sit and how many k's do you get out of a tank? Does it sound like I need a new thermostat if the temperature spends most if its time below 1/4??

Third question:
What's the correct way to put coolant into a VS Commodore? Right now I am filling up the radiator while the car is idling, and then filling up the overflow tank after I have replace the radiator cap. Is this correct? I've had to top it up a few times since I got this leak and I am worried it will get air bubbles if I'm doing it wrong.

Sounds like your thermostat could be stuck open, if its sitting below 1/4 most of the time. Mine usually sits on 1/4 or just above, which I consider normal. What is the heater performance like? Does the gauge sit even lower if you have the interior fan on a high speed, and the heater fully on? Do you seem to get poor fuel economy? Say 300km to a full tank?

With your radiator, I would just be replacing the whole thing, especially since the car has done 230,000km, the radiator is most likely original. What will eventually happen is that where that top radiator hose is connected, the plastic part will snap off the radiator tank itself, and then its all over. This happened to a mate of mine recently, his VS had about 240,000km on it. Apparently it is a very common problem, especially as the radiator ages. You will get far better performance with a new radiator, as nothing will be blocked up with rust etc. A new one isn't terribly expensive either, I think it cost my mate about $300 or so, and that was for the install, supply, and a complete coolant flush.

With your coolant, seems to be fine the way you are doing it, but make sure you don't mix brands of coolant, keep it all the same. It's meant to be a 50/50 mix of concentrate and water, so those premixed bottles are not a good idea. I recommend using the genuine Holden coolant, I have always used it, and have never had to replace anything in my coolant system yet, and my car is 12 years old now.

If you have any more questions, just ask, thats what we are here for!

[kopper69]

I had a crack in the same place a little while ago I think. Got the radiator replaced as it wasnt all that expensive. You can pick up a new one off ebay for $155 including postage:

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Brand-New-V6-...QQcmdZViewItem

As for servicing cooling system, this is the excellent how-to ChRiDDa made up:

How To Flush A V6 Cooling System

Covers everything you need to know, does a complete job, so you shouldnt have to worry about it after that. If you get a new radiator, you wont need to flush it or anything, so half the job is already done.

I have done a little page up on fuel usage here:

The ultimate VR/VS fuel usage research page

Every week I work out how many kms I get to a tank, and a few other people have noted down their figures for their cars, for you to compare.

As for where you temp normally sits, well do the service as listed above and see if that changes anything.

[hako]

That radiator on Ebay is for a series 1 VS but I am sure there are others - the series 2 has screw fittings for the transmission cooler. VN to VS1 are clamp types. Its not uncommon for people (like my son) to buy the wrong one.

[Cormac]

I haven't used the heater much so I can't really say if it lowers the temperature. I have noticed however that using the air con doesn't seem to raise the temperature much if at all... I don't use it much, it's not very cold anyway (seperate issue entirely).

The information in that thread about flushing the cooling system is excellent. I think I'll just get the whole thing done by a mechanic though, if it costs around $300 for a new radiator and flush. I know some basic stuff about cars but don't really feel like replacing my own radiator right now, though with nearly 240,000k's on the clock I do want to learn enough about it to stay on top of things.

As for gas mileage its usually around the 400-420k's per tank. After reading that thread it looks like it could be a bit higher which is always welcome. I'll have a look through the thread and I guess I'll look into this once I get my leak sorted out.

I might go for the option of a new radiator and flush plus a new thermostat (I agree that it could be stuck open). $300 isn't too much to pay and if it still has the original radiator it sounds worthwhile (I can't really tell if its been replaced... this car has no log books or anything like that).

Coolant... right now I am just topping it up with water. Not good, but I'll get new coolant when the radiator is replaced. I don't know what's in it now so if I am to add coolant and don't want to mix, I'll have to drain the stuff that's already in there won't I? **** that, it's just going to leak out anyway.

Thanks for the replies, I'll let you guys know how much I end up paying.

[hako]

$300 is cheap insurance - a cooked motor costs thousands plus you have no car for weeks. And the "How To's" section sure is great once you get to play round yourself.

[kopper69]

That radiator on Ebay is for a series 1 VS but I am sure there are others - the series 2 has screw fittings for the transmission cooler. VN to VS1 are clamp types. Its not uncommon for people (like my son) to buy the wrong one.

Thanks hako, you would never know reading the description they have on ebay. Just so I know, VN->VS series 1 is same, VS series 2 is where they changed??

[hako]

Thats right - and the series 2 VS only fits that model. The difference is the threaded trans oil cooler fittings on the series 2 VS to overcome them popping off when the trans oil boiled. Type VS series 2 radiator into the search engine on Ebay. One of my sons bought a aluminium radiator for a Falcon EB ($120 delivered) from Ebay and it came with a set of interchangeable connectors for the trans fittings - it took push on or threaded ...and different thread sizes as well. It ended up fitting OK but was not really what you would call "designed for this car only". Maybe some of the Ebay ones come like that, but others carry adverts for series 2 VS fitment only. But they are so damn cheap you wouldn't hesitate if you car was running hot.