Radiator on p38 diesel

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danrange4

New Member
Posts
58
Hi, my p38 radiator was replaced 2 years ago. I got one of those ones of ebay for £150, the plastic ones.

However its cracked at the top, little skint at the moment, anyone think i could do a fix on it just for the time being? If so whats best to use?

Anyone know of a good supplier for these rads?

Many Thanks
 
The VERY LAST thing I'd do is "Fix up" a cracked rad .. (Even if it wasn't on a P38) which it is!!!!

DO NOT even consider it!!!... With the P38's history of over heating your just INVITING a HUGE PROBLEM TO HAPPEN.....

Park her up & save yer pennies until you can afford a replacement ... Honest it just aint worth the risk!!!!
 
Datatek said:
Question is, why did it split? Too much pressure is usually a sign of something amiss like head gasket or cracked head.
Click to expand...
Mine split along the top when the water pump failed. Following a bit of research around the web at the time, I found a lot of stuff from Oz reporting this as a common occurance without any other fault. They put it down to heat and pressure making the plastic brittle along the seam, and recommend replacing the radiator every 90-100k.

I got the best price for a replacement from Island4x4, they were way cheaper than anyone local, even including delivery.
 
Its not overheating and all been fine , just noticed the water coming out then seen the split. I just put it down to a cheap rad that it only lasted 2 years? Surely the hoses would of gone first though if there was too much pressure?
 
danrange4 said:
Its not overheating and all been fine , just noticed the water coming out then seen the split. I just put it down to a cheap rad that it only lasted 2 years? Surely the hoses would of gone first though if there was too much pressure?
Click to expand...


You could very well be right (just the heat & pressure split the seam) but it aint worth a "Temp" repair..... just get a replacement & BEFORE you fit it give the waterways in the engine a right good flush. it'll have bin running fer 2 years & the GUNK that will have built up will be enormous...

There was a post on here a few months back where a member had changed his rad (like for Like) & he weighed em (both empty) the old one weighed 5Kgs heavier than the new one.... in other words he had 5 Kgs of Gunk in the rad..... so what must the waterways look like!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
 
Island 4x4 were brilliant with my replacement rad.

Go direct to their web site. It's normally cheaper than their bay listings;)
 
the hooded claw said:
You could very well be right (just the heat & pressure split the seam) but it aint worth a "Temp" repair..... just get a replacement & BEFORE you fit it give the waterways in the engine a right good flush. it'll have bin running fer 2 years & the GUNK that will have built up will be enormous...

There was a post on here a few months back where a member had changed his rad (like for Like) & he weighed em (both empty) the old one weighed 5Kgs heavier than the new one.... in other words he had 5 Kgs of Gunk in the rad..... so what must the waterways look like!!!:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:
Click to expand...


To do a temp repair is near on impossible on a pressurised system. Good pressure in a system means the boiling point of the coolant is increased.= cool runnings. The slightest leak will reduce the pressure and thus decrease the boiling point. If you did a temp repair you'll notice how quickly your 'engine' warms up from cold and how the needle stays at 1/2 o clock. You'll then notice its constantly raining as you wipe the spray from the windscreen!

Speaking from experience...park up and fix first. I agree with Rayc, Island 4x4 are best for a new Rad.
 
Hi there,

I had similar problems, there was a crack on the plastic top. Since the original and aftermarked radiators all had similar plastic tops/bottoms. And the guy at the local radiator repair shop told that the plastic is some kind of composite which cannot really be repaired. And he told also that when enduring some 0-100C temp variations for few years with all the vibrations, it's not too uncommon that they get broken. Mine had 10years of usage, so no wonder it got broken during the front-end dismantle..

Anyway - I decided to take the radiator to a custom shop, and they replaced the plastic parts with strong aluminium (airplane quality). The guy at the shop builds intercoolers and radiators for the racing cars, so the quality of his work was excellent. He said that the plastic top had up to 10% of 'sideflow' (not sure what's the correct term in here, but the hot water passed straght to the cool side)..

Here's some pics:


Top & bottom removed:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAN_8/H7HkHzQD9NE/s400/Radiator 001.jpg

Crack and poor design:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAOAE/BRh7qIZA37U/s400/Radiator 005.jpg

New full aluminium radiator:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAOAc/ONWth3aQmW4/s400/Radiator 012.jpg


The best part is that the cost was about the same as the aftermarked radiator would have costed in here..

If you decice to take this approach, one tip.. check the bleeding screw location before removing the original radiator. Mine is bigger that the original but on the same location, and it's a bit too close to the frame.

-tommy
 
TommiL said:
Hi there,

I had similar problems, there was a crack on the plastic top. Since the original and aftermarked radiators all had similar plastic tops/bottoms. And the guy at the local radiator repair shop told that the plastic is some kind of composite which cannot really be repaired. And he told also that when enduring some 0-100C temp variations for few years with all the vibrations, it's not too uncommon that they get broken. Mine had 10years of usage, so no wonder it got broken during the front-end dismantle..

Anyway - I decided to take the radiator to a custom shop, and they replaced the plastic parts with strong aluminium (airplane quality). The guy at the shop builds intercoolers and radiators for the racing cars, so the quality of his work was excellent. He said that the plastic top had up to 10% of 'sideflow' (not sure what's the correct term in here, but the hot water passed straght to the cool side)..

Here's some pics:


Top & bottom removed:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAN_8/H7HkHzQD9NE/s400/Radiator 001.jpg

Crack and poor design:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAOAE/BRh7qIZA37U/s400/Radiator 005.jpg

New full aluminium radiator:
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/_...AAAAAAAAOAc/ONWth3aQmW4/s400/Radiator 012.jpg


The best part is that the cost was about the same as the aftermarked radiator would have costed in here..

If you decice to take this approach, one tip.. check the bleeding screw location before removing the original radiator. Mine is bigger that the original but on the same location, and it's a bit too close to the frame.

-tommy
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum, thanks for the input nice to get some good info from a newbie instead of supplying it...!
 
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