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Aluminum Radiator

Yahoo Message Number: 76675
Our 05 Inspire is having preventative maintenance @ Colton Truck in So Cal. The radiator is seeping; not leaking. We would like to defer this expensive repair. Has anyone who has experienced radiator failure have words of wisdom to offer? Can this be safely deferred til a leak developes? Is there a sealant for the aluminum to stop the leak? Help - Please

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #1 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76679
Never fun to hear of a potentialy big bill coming. I have not been thru this on a aluminum radiator. But, I would want this not to be a 'side of the road' repair. Colton Truck has a good reputation, I would trust the input they give you on this. If they look it over and say OK to keep on going cautiously, then go for it until you are ready. If they advise not to - I would listen to them.
Best of luck,

Smitty 04 Allure 31017
04 Allure Sold to a nice new owner! Now enjoying a 07 Magna Rembrandt 45' ISX600 #6775
"We're ONDROAD for THEJRNY!" (Toad and Coach license plates, say Hi if you see us!)

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #2 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76680
You can save thousands of dollars by having it done now, before you contaminate your transmission, $$$$$$$$ and compromise the engine coolant system with transmission fluid $$$$$. How does $5000 sound versus $8700.00 TWI 2004 intrigue 11731

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #3 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76691
Probably not a great idea for this application (?) but years ago I put Bars Leak in one of my auto radiators that had a running leak and it stopped the leak for thre years until I gave the car to a family member.

Larry,03 Allure 30856

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #4 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76692
Pam,

I've been through this and I think my radiator had been leaking for quite some time before it started to drip profusely. At 18K miles, I never could figure out where that antifreeze smell was coming from. We finally left a 4 foot puddle in some Texas rest stop in the middle of nowhere. It was then it became obvious something needed to be done. And yes I found the leak. Chalk it up to ignorance I guess. Fortunately we had distilled water and were able to replenished the coolant. By removing the expansion tank's cap we reduced the coolant system pressure which greatly reduced the leak's flow. It allowed us to continue. Luckily we had no BIG climbs and our coolant temperature stayed around 205F (below boiling). We made it into Mesa, AZ in early November, parked the damn thing and did the repair in the spring. None of it was pleasant.
As for band aids, there aren't any. That to include adding a stop leak agent. If you run with a coolant leak you run with a risk factor. No one on earth can predict for sure what's ahead. Your greatest exposure is being faced with a sudden increase in loss of coolant. It's a reasonable possibility. Remember that Murphy was a genius. That means you'll come coasting to the side of the road somewhere in a bad place which is a potential safety hazard. In our case, the leak wasn't catastrophic but that was just dumb luck as was discovering it. Our reason for stopping was to do a routine driver change. I always do a walk around look about during stops to include looking under the bus. Obviously, I saw the leak and dealt with it. Had this gone unnoticed (and it could have) the situation could have been much worse. That being an over heat condition and/or no safe place to pull the rig over and off the highway. It's your call whether you want to run under these conditions. If you do, you'll need to watch your coolant temperature like a hawk and do routine stops to check the coolant level. Make sure you have 5-8 gallons of steam distilled water for emergency. After you loosen the radiator cap, make sure your driving doesn't take you up steep grades where coolant temperature might exceed 212F. Pouring in distilled water will mess up your antifreeze ratio so that will need to be restored to proper balance when the radiator work is done. Not a big deal. In short, it's a lot of iffy conditions and a seat of the pants trip at best with some serious implications. Like I said, it's your call.
Transmission fluid and coolant come in thermal contact through the oil cooler which is located in one of the radiator's tanks. On our bus it's the front tank. It is very very unlikely you'll have any issues with the oil cooler so I wouldn't worry about contaminating your transmission fluid. At all costs, avoid over heating!!! I feel your pain and wish all of us didn't have to live in fear of failures every time we hit the road in our bus. Not to mention, we've already paid for new parts once. I've said this before and I'll say it again..... CC really needs to do a lot better. Good luck.

PS: I hope I got your name correct.

At 04:07 PM 1/6/2012, you wrote:

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #5 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76693
Think about this, I never had a leak with my cooling system that you could see. All I had was cross contamination between the coolant of the engine and the coolant of the transmission, in this case Synthetic Transmission oil. It wasn't till I got an over heating warning by the transmission that I new there was an issue. It started out after the warning That I was 3 quarts low on Transmission fluid and it didn't look Cherry red anymore. The story goes on from there, so thank your lucky stars you have a visible leak to see. And not just a perplexing warning light or readout.
TWI 2004 Intrigue 11731

Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #6 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76701
Pam.....I concur with Smitty! The guys at Colton know what they're doing........If they say it needs to be done now......I strongly suggest that you listen to them! Good Luck to you!

Scott Jones, 2004 Allure # 32094


From: GSmith77_7 To: Country-Coach-Owners@yahoogroups.com Sent: Friday, January 6, 2012 9:36 PM Subject: [Country-Coach-Owners] Re: Aluminum Radiator

Never fun to hear of a potentialy big bill coming. I have not been thru this on a aluminum radiator. But, I would want this not to be a 'side of the road' repair. Colton Truck has a good reputation, I would trust the input they give you on this. If they look it over and say OK to keep on going cautiously, then go for it until you are ready. If they advise not to - I would listen to them.
Best of luck,

Smitty 04 Allure 31017

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Re: Aluminum Radiator

Reply #7 –
Yahoo Message Number: 76707
In high school I worked for a Napa store delivering parts. On a delivery the truck blew a head gasket. One of the deliveries was to a gas station and it was "Alumuaseal". I put a can in the radiator. I finished out that day and in the two years I worked there, they never did anything to repair that head gasket or radiator on that truck.

But having said that, if it was mine, I would get it fixed.

Mark Surber

07 Intrigue 530 45'
C13 Cat Allison
06 Rubicon LJ