[DML] Re: Radiator Leaks - but only sometimes?!

["Dave Swingle" <swingle_dmc@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Not unusual. The side tanks are plastic and the radiator itself is 
brass. This is very typical on most cars made now, although aluminum 
has replaced brass in common use. 

There is a flexible seal where the tanks are crimped on. As the 
radiator heats and cools the seal can sometimes leak since the plastic 
and brass expand differently and the seal is getting pretty old. 
Ultimately you'll need a new radiator but this can go on for a long 
time. 

When the car is cool there is no pressure in the system, so it tends 
not to leak. When hot there is pressure, but the heat helps the side 
tank seal work. As it heats up or cools off, you get times of high 
pressure and low temperature and it leaks. This is more common in cold 
weather too. 

All replacement radiators available now have tanks brazed on to the 
radiator part. 

Dave S


--- In dmcnews@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "daviddelorean" <daviddelorean@...> 
wrote:
>
> For the past year I've had a leak in my radiator. I've determined the 
> radiator is leaking where the side tanks are connected to the 
radiator.
> 
> Here's what's strange. I only leaks sometimes and at different 
leakage 
> amounts.  Sometimes it doesn't leak at all, most times it is just a 
> slight drip, and very rarely (and what happened today after a 5 mile 
> quick trip) the floor of my garage looks like niagra falls dumped on 
it.
> 
> Can anyone explain this?
>



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