Radiator repair

[doraemon98]

Can anyone recommend radiator repair shop in Penang island? My ceffy top plastic part of the radiator got minor crack. Coolant seep thru when hot. It's not very serious at the time being and temporary still drivable after I applied epoxy to covers the cracks. I am looking for radiator repair shop that offers to replace the top part of the radiator rather than the whole thing. Can anyone give recommendations, please?

 

[123]

can buy 1 type of powder inside a toothpaste (can cover small holes), just pour into the radiator

 

[hex999]

I have heard so many bad experienced from other cefiro owners regarding their radiator crack and this cause their whole engine= KO. This really seems like a design flaw and is a common problem, if i were you i would just change the entire radiator to an aluminum one and do not depend on the stock radiator as it may crack anytime and cost you an engine. My previous stock radiator was working fine, but after a real friend of mine who has the same model as i have , and his radiator crack, his whole=KO, thus a full overhaul was required, bill came out to RM5K since he did not want to use a halfcut engine.. I immediately change to an aluminum radiator the next day. A top overhaul cannot be done because the heads warp and skimming is not possible, since our engine is an aluminum not cast iron.

You can read other threads regarding cefiro engine overheated..

 

[sb3]

Top plastic cover rad rm200++. Aluminum radiator rad rm550-00 , very durable unless accident . Now which is more worth it?

 

[ken yeang]

I have heard so many bad experienced from other cefiro owners regarding their radiator crack and this cause their whole engine= KO. This really seems like a design flaw and is a common problem, if i were you i would just change the entire radiator to an aluminum one and do not depend on the stock radiator as it may crack anytime and cost you an engine. My previous stock radiator was working fine, but after a real friend of mine who has the same model as i have , and his radiator crack, his whole=KO, thus a full overhaul was required, bill came out to RM5K since he did not want to use a halfcut engine.. I immediately change to an aluminum radiator the next day. A top overhaul cannot be done because the heads warp and skimming is not possible, since our engine is an aluminum not cast iron.

You can read other threads regarding cefiro engine overheated..

I wouldnt say that the cefiro radiators have design flaws. To be fair, if these cars are running stock and ori rads, the rads themselves are already ageing at least 20 years. Certainly no radiator last forever. I'll be damned if the radiator isn't developing fine cracks. In addition, with Malaysia hot weather all year round, the radiators take more beating.

On the subject of aluminum rads, not all aluminum rads are good. Cap-ayam china-made one has plenty of QC problem, even though the new china-made aluminum rads are attractively priced compared to the OEM ones. The welding quality is questionable, thin aluminum material being used.

I would pay more attention on the cooling fin design, water-passage size, the heat dissipation ability, etc, then later the material of radiators.

if the car is for normal driving, standard replacement is already good enough. of course, aluminum rads has more bling effect that OEM rads can't offer.

 

[vr2turbo]

The problem should be the covers only. If changing the top cover might as well change the bottom one too since already taking it out. Of course if inside is not in good condition like rusty then change the whole radiator....

 

[12savefuel]

If you can get good quality alu, get it. If not OE is fine. There is no design flaw in the OE, all cars need top casing and gasket replaced every few yrs. I'm still using my OE rad, just with top casing changed when signs of leak appear. Must always change coolant every 60,000km. I use toyota coolant for 15yrs and its a 97MY. 300,000km with still OE water pump and rad core. I also use ATf cooler and bypass OE atf cooler so you have less heat load on your radiator.

Everybody must make it a habit to open up bonnet and check every 2 weeks to see if their car is aokay. People who has overheated engine caused by radiator problem just never check regularly under the hood, there will always be signs to show an impending radiator problem.

I had a water hose let go on my vq30 2 times one at high speed, once at normal speed and I was able to save the engine with some common sense. As the temp goes up, it will go into safe mode and dump fuel to cool the engine and you can feel straight away something is wrong and the needle suddenly shoot up. I pulled to the side asap and immediately shut down. Some people just keep on going. You can almost always save an engine from damage if you are aware and shut down asap.

 

[ken yeang]

yalor, some ppl just dont seem to be knowing what is going on in the engine bay.....until smoke comes out, and later fire.

I suppose that the drivers dont care or simply dont know the were warning lights at their dashboard/meter cluster to warn them.

 

[vr2turbo]

yalor, some ppl just dont seem to be knowing what is going on in the engine bay.....until smoke comes out, and later fire.

I suppose that the drivers dont care or simply dont know the were warning lights at their dashboard/meter cluster to warn them.

Many I know (sorry ladies) office colleagues, they know to pump petrol and send car to change oil at mechanic only. Will call you when car cannot start...hahahaha

 

[ken yeang]

Last time, i saw an estima driven on the road by a lady in Puchong. Her rear tyre was punctured and she was running a flat tyre. I flashed my headlamp to her, sounded my car horn, over-tooked her car and gestured towards her rear punctured tyre...........

Guess what??

She saw me, and she still kept on driving. I guess she might have thought I wanted to woo her, due to her "beauty" and her expensive car she was driving.

Damn perasan lady, and damn insensitive driving even on flat tyre. Her butt must be super thick of flab until takde rasa about the instability of a car on flat tyre.

Haih....what can I say?

 

[sb3]

I've changed my top radiator cover almost every 2 years ( usually cracked top) until I've replaced the whole radiator with a aluminum rad. I am not sure whether it's cap ayam or cap itik but all I know is it's been 5 years already it is still gives sufficient cooling to my V6 engine. Yes, I check my engine compartment every two weeks for fluids and lubricants leakage and other engine defects. So far , I don't need to top up coolant in the aluminum radiator . I only flush the coolant on a yearly basis. And there is no cracks on the top , bottom covers or the fins. By the way my aluminum rad has triple core fins.. So far , so good!

Knock on the wood!

 

[12savefuel]

I've changed my top radiator cover almost every 2 years ( usually cracked top) until I've replaced the whole radiator with a aluminum rad. I am not sure whether it's cap ayam or cap itik but all I know is it's been 5 years already it is still gives sufficient cooling to my V6 engine. Yes, I check my engine compartment every two weeks for fluids and lubricants leakage and other engine defects. So far , I don't need to top up coolant in the aluminum radiator . I only flush the coolant on a yearly basis. And there is no cracks on the top , bottom covers or the fins. By the way my aluminum rad has triple core fins.. So far , so good!

Wah triple core how much and where did you get it from?

 

[vr2turbo]

Last time, i saw an estima driven on the road by a lady in Puchong. Her rear tyre was punctured and she was running a flat tyre. I flashed my headlamp to her, sounded my car horn, over-tooked her car and gestured towards her rear punctured tyre...........

Guess what??

She saw me, and she still kept on driving. I guess she might have thought I wanted to woo her, due to her "beauty" and her expensive car she was driving.

Damn perasan lady, and damn insensitive driving even on flat tyre. Her butt must be super thick of flab until takde rasa about the instability of a car on flat tyre.

Haih....what can I say?

Maybe read too many stories on hijack, robbery and so on.....

---------- Post added at 08:06 AM ---------- 6 hour anti-bump limit - Previous post was at 08:06 AM ----------

I've changed my top radiator cover almost every 2 years ( usually cracked top) until I've replaced the whole radiator with a aluminum rad. I am not sure whether it's cap ayam or cap itik but all I know is it's been 5 years already it is still gives sufficient cooling to my V6 engine. Yes, I check my engine compartment every two weeks for fluids and lubricants leakage and other engine defects. So far , I don't need to top up coolant in the aluminum radiator . I only flush the coolant on a yearly basis. And there is no cracks on the top , bottom covers or the fins. By the way my aluminum rad has triple core fins.. So far , so good!

Knock on the wood!

Every two years that is very fast....

 

[sb3]

Yeah aluminum rad is suppose to withstand the high boost ( equals high heat) turbo engines. I guess it's peanuts to cool our VQ engines, hehehe..