Looks like I have a small pinhole leak somewhere. I've never seen any drips or floor stains, and the car runs perfectly cool, but my expansion tank eventually ends up empty.

I guess I don't know if it's the radiator or not (yet), but just in case... has anyone bought from radiators.com or radiatorbarn.com? Pretty cheap prices.

The FSM says to remove the bumper assembly. Can anyone that's replaced theirs tell me if that's really necessary?

Since I'm not yet sure of the source, I'm considering dumping some sealant in there, like Bar's Leaks, although I'm generally against that stuff. Any success or horror stories?

 

I got a new radiator last month from RadiatorBarn.com...$110.02...free shipping...no sales tax. The brand was CSF made in Singapore. Took a few days longer to get than what the web site said was normal but No problem. Cheapest locally was $130 +tax.
My problem was the water pump had a leak and I didnt know it. Car overheated and made a nice 16" long hairlined crack on top of the radiator (original radidator). Water pump was $19.95 ,GMB brand from Kragen Auto Parts. This will be the 3rd one, original lasted 70k, second one lasted 57k and was also a GMB. Bring a printout from any web site and they will match that price...saved me $25 from their retail counter price. I think Rockauto.com even had it a few dollars cheaper.
My Maxima is an 86se, (128K miles) FSM didnt say to remove the bumper. Is your car a 2nd gen 85-88?
All I did was loosen the radiator fan assembly, making enough room to lift the radiator out after removing all the mounting hardwares. I also removed the bottom radiator hose with the metal pipe assembly before the radiator would lift out. Save all hardware as you will need to reuse them. Took a few hours working real slow.
Now the water pump replacement is another story. It went bad probably because I didnt do the upkeep on the cooling system. It was rusty.
You could have your cooling system checked out by doing a pressure test for leaks, it could be leaking from anywhere.
Hope this helps, Good Luck

AL

 

Thanks for the reply. Yes, I have an '87 SE.

I just had the waterpump and timing belt swapped out yesterday, and as we were working on it we noticed the expansion tank was pretty much empty. I had topped it off not long ago.

You're right -- could be coming from anywhere, but I have not noticed any drips on the ground at all. Radiator is original (I can't remember... the car has been in the family since new, and I've had it since '93). No overheating at all.

I'll give it a few days and see what I find. Maybe a half bottle of Bar's Leaks.

Thanks for the info.

 

I have replaced the radiator in my 87SE and I did not take the bumper off. Just take the fans off of it then disconnect all the hoses and wires going to it and it will fall out.

You may want to check your radiator cap, if it is not compleately sealing your coolant could be steaming off once it gets hot.

 

I uncovered a slow leak at the bottom of my radiator on my '87 Maxima and used JB WELD to patch it up. Just sanded off the paint to bare metal, applied JB WELD and wala! As for the removal of the radiator. Drain coolant from radiator. Unplug all wires connected to fan and sensor, disconnect 2 coolant hose on top of radiator, disconnect bottom passenger hose on radiator, disconnect 2 hoses from transmission (mine was an automatic), undo 2 bottom nuts and 2 top bolts on the radiator and the lift the entire assembly with fan from above.

Hope this helps.

 

well I wouldn't necessarily condemn the most expensive part of your cooling system. have you checked your radiator and heater hoses? heater core? weep hole on the water pump? around the gaskets? if you have a pinhole leak in a gasket somewhere and it just seeps down onto the engine, it can burn away before it hits the ground. there are ways of finding the leak like UV leak detection kits and pressure testers that might be worth renting from an auto parts store before you blow money on a new radiator....

sorry, just my thoughts.

Dan

 

No worries -- those are all reasonable thoughts. As I noted, I don't know exactly yet where the missing coolant is going. If it was hitting the engine, I should smell it.

I'll give it a few days and keep an eye on it. $100 and some time isn't bad, though, if it does turn out to be the radiator. I'm pretty pleased that it's so far lasted 17 years. Still on the original AC charge, too. All in all, this thing has been bulletproof.

 

yeah these cars are awesome. just change the oil every 3,000 miles and the timing belt every 60,000 miles and it should run indefinitely.