Radiator rotting away. (1 Viewer)

[JerseyCruiser]

I bought my 1993 Land Cruiser in 2006 with a radiator core that was disintegrating above the bottom tank. The radiator was aftermarket so I replaced it with a TRAD three row copper core from Cruiser Dan when my head gasket went a year later. About four years ago the radiator started leaking while driving and the reservoir would go low every four months. I replace my coolant every 2 years with Prestone 50/50 when I pulled this radiator out it to was rotted and shows signs of electrolysis, are the TRAD’s known for rotting away or could I have a ground issue since I got the truck with rotted aftermarket radiator but I have no idea how well they kept up with maintenance. I’m going to check if I have current in the coolant when I put it back together. I’m putting Koyorad 1918A back in I can’t see paying for OEM if it’s gonna rot out in 10 years.

 

[Kernal]

How did you mix your coolant (50:50 ?distilled water and anti-freeze) or did you buy it premixed? Use tap water or??

What is the junk stuck in the bottom of the radiator, grass, leaves ??

Do you live/drive near the ocean, on the beach?

Did the damaged fins just fall apart on their own, no direct physical impact??

If grass/leaves etc get stuck in the radiator fins it will keep that area moist,
then add a little road or ocean air salt and you get corrosion.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

How did you mix your coolant (50:50 ?distilled water and anti-freeze) or did you buy it premixed? Use tap water or??

What is the junk stuck in the bottom of the radiator, grass, leaves ??

Do you live/drive near the ocean, on the beach?

Did the damaged fins just fall apart on their own, no direct physical impact??

If grass/leaves etc get stuck in the radiator fins it will keep that area moist,
then add a little road or ocean air salt and you get corrosion.

I use Prestone’s 50:50 premix. I drain the radiator and block and flush it with two cycles of tap water, so any tap water left in the system would be a minimal amount left in the heater cores. I don’t live or drive near the ocean, the debris on the bottom is some leaves and dust that stuck to some oily film on the fins. The fins that disintegrated fell part without any physical damage.

 

[robnicko]

Flush out the entire system as best you can & use the LLC from Toyota. Its worth the extra $
Original radiator in mine lasted from 1995-2014 when it started leaking at the bottom tank seam however the insides were extremely clean and has always had the red LLC in it
nothing wrong with Koyorad radiators by the way
The electrolosis inside the radiator is a worry though. Do you have a dual Batt setup by any chance & if so does the 2nd battery have an earth strap to the engine as well as frame?

 

[JerseyCruiser]

Flush out the entire system as best you can & use the LLC from Toyota. Its worth the extra $
Original radiator in mine lasted from 1995-2014 when it started leaking at the bottom tank seam however the insides were extremely clean and has always had the red LLC in it
nothing wrong with Koyorad radiators by the way
The electrolosis inside the radiator is a worry though. Do you have a dual Batt setup by any chance & if so does the 2nd battery have an earth strap to the engine as well as frame?

I do not have a dual battery installed, just the stock battery, and alternator.

 

[landtank]

The copper rads don’t like what we put on the roads in the winter. Go aluminum. Seen a few like yours, one of mine was missing about 20% of the cooling fins.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

I forgot to mention that three years ago the alternator was replaced due to an intermittent red light on the volt meter. The alternator was replaced when it started over charging, could this have been the reason for the electrolysis or does it take years to happen?

 

[robnicko]

I forgot to mention that three years ago the alternator was replaced due to an intermittent red light on the volt meter. The alternator was replaced when it started over charging, could this have been the reason for the electrolysis or does it take years to happen?

An overcharging alternator in conjunction with a possible poor earth can cause it to happen quicker as voltage is present in the coolant given its conductive and running through different metals being aluminium, iron & steel pipes. This results in ionic transfer which then causes electrolosys
Have a look inside the pipe where the top radiator hose connects for any evidence
hopefully its only in the radiator
Years ago I had a Rotary engine that suffered from it in the rotor housing water jackets and ended up leaking right where the coolant seal was and ended up leaking coolant into the combustion chamber.

Check all of your earth's & test the coolant with a multimeter (below is cut n paste from the net)

1 Connect one lead of the meter to the negative post on the battery.
2 When the engine is cold, remove the radiator cap
3 Insert the other lead into the coolant in the radiator. Do not touch the metal parts of the radiator. Turn the ignition switch to the on position.
4 Wait a few minutes for the reading to stabilize. A reading on the meter in an excess of .3 volts indicates that there is stray current.
5 To check for sources, turn the ignition switch on and then turn various electrical devices on and off. When the meter’s reading jumps and remains in excess of .3 volts, you found the bad ground device.

 

[JerseyCruiser]

This is the inside of the top coolant output. Is the corrosion normal for an aluminium pipe?

 

[BILT4ME]

Draining the coolant and flushing with tap water, then filling with 50/50.

Just so you know, after draining all your tap water out, there's still about 5 quarts of tap water in there that mixed with your coolant.

I recently did the same except I used distilled water to flush. I then mixed outside Toyota red coolant 50/50 with distilled water.

When I finished, I did a coolant density test and it came up WAY short (as in, I shouldn't expose it to anything lower than 20°F) I need to add about 1 gallon of straight coolant to get my mix fixed. I have to drain some, then add and retest.

 

[gummycarbs]

Distilled water is cheap. I do two fill/drain cycles with distilled after flushing with tap water, and we don't even have hard water around here.

 

[toxatyt]

If a small radiator leak is detected, sealant is considered the best and most convenient means of eliminating it. It is especially effective for repairing plastic components of the unit if they are cracked. With metals, this tool works worse, but its technical capabilities are enough to eliminate small cracks when the radiator leaks. Its composition includes metal shavings, which strengthens the cured layer of the material. It is necessary to work with this sealant quickly, because it sets in a few minutes. Full hardening occurs within a few hours. It is necessary to study the manufacturer's recommendations, because some sealants cure completely within a day.