So, I've got the radiator out of my bro in law's 80 and was thinking about fixing the leaking O rings just to see if it can be done. Incredibly, the radiator appears to be in fine shape after 288,000 miles. The rear face (engine side) of the fins have nary a dent, and the front face is also perfect because the A/C condensor protects it and gets all the gravel dents.
Looking in the filler, there appear to be very little in the way of deposits. So, the only problem with it is the O rings. These are rubber seals that run the entire width of the radiator to seal the upper plastic tank to the core, and the same setup on the lower plastic tank. They began weeping when he arrived here in town. Quite badly, too - went from simply wetting that foam strip to actually dripping, then a half quart loss per day in a period of less than a week.
I checked with Cdan and the O rings are $40 apiece, and then there's the issue of properly bending the little fingers back down to hold tension on the O ring upon reassembly.
So, has anyone here ever had their OEM Toyota radiator rodded out? If this was done, they must have been able to replace the O rings and deal with the fingers to reassemble, so I'm curious about the costs and success, etc.
I'm in the Cruiser Assistance Club (blatant plug for the group of guys all over the US/Canada that are willing to go get you and help you if you break down in their area) and was planning to keep this around as a spare if I can spend a reasonable amount, then get it pressure tested for $10 to verify my work. I'll toss it up on the shelf with the other stuff.
Thanks!
DougM
Looking in the filler, there appear to be very little in the way of deposits. So, the only problem with it is the O rings. These are rubber seals that run the entire width of the radiator to seal the upper plastic tank to the core, and the same setup on the lower plastic tank. They began weeping when he arrived here in town. Quite badly, too - went from simply wetting that foam strip to actually dripping, then a half quart loss per day in a period of less than a week.
I checked with Cdan and the O rings are $40 apiece, and then there's the issue of properly bending the little fingers back down to hold tension on the O ring upon reassembly.
So, has anyone here ever had their OEM Toyota radiator rodded out? If this was done, they must have been able to replace the O rings and deal with the fingers to reassemble, so I'm curious about the costs and success, etc.
I'm in the Cruiser Assistance Club (blatant plug for the group of guys all over the US/Canada that are willing to go get you and help you if you break down in their area) and was planning to keep this around as a spare if I can spend a reasonable amount, then get it pressure tested for $10 to verify my work. I'll toss it up on the shelf with the other stuff.
Thanks!
DougM
