Hi,
I'm the first to admit I'm no expert here, so I'll try and give as much background as possible to my problem.
I have a '97 Polo 1.9 Diesel with around 75,000 miles on it, which I acquired around a year ago.
Recently, during a short journey, the coolant warning lamp came on, and when I had a look, the reservoir was completely empty. I drove 1,200 miles over Christmas with no problems, and checked all the fluid levels before making this trip, so the problem has developed quite recently.
I found evidence of a coolant leak on the underside of the car, but couldn't see where it was coming from as the radiator is housed within some mounting. (Unfortunately, the bowl I placed under the leak to assess the level escaping had been nicked when I returned from work the next day.)
Hoping it would just be a hose needing replacing or reconnecting, I took it to a garage, who kept it for a day, before I had to call to see if they'd looked at it, to be told that the leak was coming from the radiator, and that it was totally shot and needed replacing, quoting me a figure well in excess of £200.
I declined, and have since been given a quote of £150 all-in for the job, but I don't even really know if it IS strictly necessary. Unfortunately, all my mechanically-minded friends live down South, so I'm somewhat at the mercy of the garages. I can't see the extent of the damage to the radiator myself, and am reluctant to start dismantling the thing in case I do it some permanent damage.
Does anybody know if there are genuine reasons why a radiator in this model of car cannot be repaired, or if using Radweld or a similar product is really a very bad idea.
I don't really need the car for any major journeys at the moment, so I'll keep monitoring the situation, but I'm aware that I should probably get it sorted sooner rather than later.
Thanks for your help,
Ed
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Radiator might need replacing. Impossible to say without looking at it.
Don't use Radweld.
Call a radiator specialist and ask for your radiator to be 'recored'. If they do the whole job (remove rad, recore, refit and fill with antifreeze) then I reckon £100-£150 is about right.
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as aprilia says dont use radweld get your water system pressure tested to see if it is the radiator and let the tester change the radiator for you if it is that.A new radiator for this car is approx £82.00 and if suitable for a recore i would expect to pay £40/50.Bear in mind the longer you leave it and if you need to top it up unless you use antifreeze in the mix you run the risk of the bloc freezing and the alloy components in the water ways being allowed to corrode.
All in i think £150 is a reasonable figure and i would get it done soonest if it was mine.
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If, as your name suggests, you are Glasgow based, then if your work / travel involves going anywhere near Bellshill, there is a radiator speciailist there who I would recommend.
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My 2000 Passat TDI radiator started leaking just before Christmas. I've had the car from new and its done 80,000 odd miles.
I'm lucky enough that I was able to change it myself (quite a big job on a Passat), but I paid £35 for a pressure test beforehand, (as the leak was very small and I did not know where it was). The cost of the parts (genuine) was approx. £120.00 (radiator, new hose clip and G12 antifreeze) so I would say you're not being overcharged. I was just relieved that it was the radiator and not the head gasket! I used genuine parts as the local radiator specialist did not have the right one in stock. I have since found a garage that would have only charged £8 for the pressure test, but as they say, "you live and learn"!
Although my car is 3 years YOUNGER than yours (with a similar milage), my radiator was completely shot. It had fialed where the aluminium core reacts with the steel ferrule that connects the core to the plastic end pieces (at least on my Passat it had). I attribulte this entirely to road salt which had destroyed the galvanising on the steel part and let nature take its course, helped on by the part being hot most of the time!
I do alot of long journeys and I could not risk a repair.
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Thanks for your replies, everyone.
Bellshill's a bit out of my way, but I'm gonna take it to a radiator guy on the north-side this afternoon for a pressure test. £35 sounds quite steep so I'll certainly ask before he goes ahead and does anything.
What is it about Radweld that makes it such a no-no?
As far as your point about road salt goes, that seems to make sense as I covered a lot of motorway miles over the Christmas period in some quite bad weather, so I guess the problem has accelerated over the last couple of weeks.
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The breakdown of the galvanising and subsequent attack of the aluminium radiator core (due to electrolyitic action) will have been happening steadily over the five and a half years I've had the car. All the damage was at the bottom of the radiator where most of the debris (general road grime, etc.) seems to get stuck.
As for the pressure test being steep, yes it was compared to the one offered by the radiator specialist, but it was basically an hours labour at the local garage that does my MOT's (and if you have a small fault on the MOT they let you fix it yourself without charging for a re-test). My VW dealer wanted £46 to do it (half-hours labour) and if it took longer (in thier words a very small leak may take upto an hour to find) it would have been £92.
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Here is a link to radiator repair specialist in Glasgow; meybe too late as you seem to have found one!
tinyurl.com/b4fz3
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"My VW dealer wanted £46 to do it (half-hours labour) and if it took longer (in thier words a very small leak may take upto an hour to find) it would have been £92."
Good God, that's incredible. Who were they getting to do the job, a lawyer?
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any decent independant garage or radiator specialist would check this for nothing i would have thought? if they were getting the job or is it just me being soft?
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any decent independant garage or radiator specialist would check this for nothing i would have thought? if they were getting the job or is it just me being soft?
No mate you're right, I would expect it for free, or nearly free.
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"Good God, that's incredible. Who were they getting to do the job, a lawyer?"
Like I said, you live and learn! The VW labour charges are £78/hour plus VAT! The really griping bit is that some of the "engineers", (okay - motor mechanics) that work in these places are really ham-fisted, but what can you expect when they are paid a pittance compared to what the garage charges. I suppose its to pay for all the overheads of the fancy showrooms!
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Thanks for your replies, everyone. What is it about Radweld that makes it such a no-no?
Radweld is perfectly OK to use on minor leaks.
I have used it for 18000 miles on my K series.
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think of it as a blood stopper a cork etc it might stop the flow but it doesnt heal the wound
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Try GSF or EuroCarParts for a new one.
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DD likes it!
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=11946&...e
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DD likes it!
Yep, I've previously used it with no adverse affects whatsoever.
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>>think of it as a blood stopper a cork etc it might stop the flow but it doesnt heal the wound
Yes,it makes matters worse,additives should not be used in cooling system apart from specified anti freeze!
--
Steve
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Bungs up narrow coolant passages too - don't use in Honda engines. Its a coagulant and tends to stick and harden on water pump shaft, leading to premature fail of seal. Horrible stuff, causes more trouble than it fixes.
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Wow, cheers for all the info, everyone!
Well I took it to a "radiator specialist" yesterday, who did a pressure test on it (for nothing) and concluded that the leak isn't too bad.
Because the radiator is built into the front of the car, it's impossible to say if it needs replacing without taking the front bumper and grille off etc...
I'll see how much water it requires over the course of the next few days and take it back to him if it's taking a lot. He quoted me £120 all in for a replacement rad - around half the price I was quoted at the first place.
No "naming and shaming" according to the rules, but the garage that I first took it to has certainly lost my business for good.
I might just get it done to be on the safe side as £120 seems very reasonable.
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Both Serck and Halfords(Serck agent) do exchange rads;the one supplied for my Fiesta appeared to be a brand-new rad and for a fraction of the price of a new rad.
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Best to get it done ASAP, leaks don't get better, it could let go in a big way and wreck the engine. This will cost a lot more than the £120 you have to spend anyway.
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