A few weeks before the CHCH quake I had a low speed collision in my 96 Camry. Unfortunately I hit a 4WD with a solid bar at the back sporting a tow ball, which pushed the bumper impact beam in just far enough to give the a/c radiator a gentle kiss. The a/c still works.I have not yet checked the sight glass to see if the refrigerant level is down, but I can see that the bottom bracket for the a/c radiator is stuffed so possibly there is a leak somewhere. I have only just this weekend managed to get the bonnet open to see what the damage is. Maybe as a result of the accident, maybe just old age (340,000kms) the engine radiator has now developed a slow leak. Questions: (1) I have heard that radiator stop-leak formulas tend to causeblockages in the radiator water ways. True or false! Is there a reliable product I could use that would do the job, without causing a blockage! (2) Regarding the a/c radiator/condensor, is it worth attempting to source a second-hand item, or am I wasting my time, considering I must pay someoneto discharge and re-charge the refrigerant! If I have to replace the engine radiator, I am not too worried, there are relatively cheap brand-new ones here on TM, but the a/c is a bit more complex as it seems I can't do it myself. The a/c has always worked sweet as and i would like to keep it working if I can, even though it's really an old car now.
jjc09,
Apr 25, 11:47am
For the coolent rad i would say chemweld
ralphdog1,
Apr 25, 12:01pm
Is the AC still working!
bluecambridge,
Apr 25, 7:36pm
Thanks, jjc09, I will try chemweld. ralphdog1, yes, the aircon is still functioning, halfway up the core I can see where the intrusion beam has just lightly crushed a section of cooling fins. I am more worried about the bottom corner where it looks as if the mount is stuffed I can see the plastic is cracked
intrade,
Apr 25, 7:48pm
if the radiator is leaking you replace it you dont add some crap to it i told this my client. he still poured some crap in the radiator and told me it worked . and a few weeks ago the mazda capella was in my shop for a radiator replacment as it cracked the plasric tank propperly now. He was lucky not to have blowen his headgasket also or craked the head on top.He drove about 2 month and what ever crap you add it blocks all the cooling system . chemiweld needs clear water and thermostat out and its used on crap cars to seal craked heads for a while only.
intrade,
Apr 25, 7:53pm
ac dont waste your time with AC if it stoped working then its money down the drain to try and fix it. My old carina had a bend in the ac radiator i pushed it back a bit so it would not rub up against the coolant radiator and it still worked after.servicing a aircon costs loads of money and once there is a big hole moisture will enter the system and thats the end of it or huge bills to extract and purge moisture.
bluecambridge,
Apr 26, 2:20am
thanks intrade your thoughts on sealant additives like chemiweld are close to my own I will replace the radiator. I can see there is a gentle bend in the a/c radiator caused by the collision, perhaps it has pushed against the engine radiator and caused the leak. When I have the engine radiator out I'll see if I can gently push the a/c radiator out straight again, but I agree that since the a/c is still working no need to spend money on it, the only thing I can see that's actually broken is a crack in the plastic mount on the bottom corner. So: replace the engine radiator but leave the a/c alone for now.
johnf_456,
Apr 26, 7:50am
Do you have a picture op!
bluecambridge,
Apr 26, 8:54am
johnf - would you like to see a picture of the cracked bracket! I can't really show you the leak, not sure exactly where it's coming from.
jasongroves,
Apr 26, 8:59am
Try Silverdale Radiators on TM for well priced, good quality radiators;)
silverdale radiator is who i usually buy from direct of there website however.
jasongroves,
Apr 26, 9:12am
And yes, there are additives that will work, but you are right in the fact that they can or will block up other areas of the cooling system. If I was to recommend one it would be Seal-wel, available from Repco. Or just get a 2nd hand one, get it cleaned and rodded by a specialist and fit it yourself.
jasongroves,
Apr 26, 9:15am
I would just replace it with the spare you have. The Radweld would have already caused a fair bit of blockage so you might want to get the system cleaned out properly.
bluecambridge,
Dec 14, 12:08pm
thanks jasongroves and intrade, silverdale is one of the auctions I had on my watchlist, but will check out their website also. I thought their TM auction prices quite reasonable. The trouble with modern cars is the plastic top & bottom tanks they don't last indefinitely, in the old days (my first car was a Morris Minor) the entire radiator was steel and would last almost forever as long as you kept rust inhibitor in the system. Does silverdale supply a/c radiators also!
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