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Cleaning out radiator - by 'rodding' - Printable Version

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Cleaning out radiator - by 'rodding' - MLB - 06-29-2016

Hi

Im troubleshooting my coolant expansion/overflow leaking troubles. car is cross country at Steinels, SE of Cleveland, where it overheated on return trip from Porsche Parade in Vermont.

Just had thermostat replaced with new OEM, which the shop drilled (four 3/16" holes)

Still some hard to explain overflow of expansion tank, leaves me wondering about condition of radiator.

Whan i bought the car Jan 2013, my mechanic went thru 6 bottles of flush to get it clean to his satusfaction.

Could i be having problems with expansion tank overflow when hot engine is shut off, because of restricted flow?

The shop described "rodding" the passages to clean it, then resealing ends. Is this a good fix, or just buy a new (hard to find) rad?

Thanks

Michael

Cleaning out radiator - by 'rodding' - MCL968 - 06-29-2016

I never found rodding to be a great idea for aluminum radiators, the material is too fragile. In the old days of copper cores, they could take more stress without fracturing.

 

The good news is the radiators are not that hard to find, just make sure you get the block off cover that feeds the turbo on the 951, because that's probably the radiator you will end up buying since it's almost the exact same unit as the 968. It's all covered in a different thread in here.

 

But, before I did that, I would have the coolant sniffed for hydrocarbon residue, which would indicate a head gasket leak. If that checks out, I would then look at the fans and the fan switches. Save the radiator for last once all the diagnoses point in that direction. 


Cleaning out radiator - by 'rodding' - MLB - 06-29-2016

Both fans work as expected, with lo temp fan switch

Just replaced HG last winter, RS Barn shaved and refreshed head, but still could br a leak i guess. Car now running stage 3 SC.

Cleaning out radiator - by 'rodding' - az968 - 06-29-2016

I had my radiator cleaned maybe 7 years ago at a local radiator specialist as the car was overheating, pretty badly actually. They didn't rod it because it is aluminum but they did chemically soak it and boil it out, not sure what they used. Haven't had a problem since. $100.  But I now use Porsche "red" coolant. While I had the radiator out I did some cleaning of the a/c radiator as well. Cleaned the fan motors internally, don't remember what I did exactly for that, think just took the housing off and got all the dust, grime out and contacts cleaned.