Ugh, radiator has a leak!

alrock · Jul 20, 2013

Well, my 18 month old, 30,000 mile dealer installed radiator has sprung a leak. Got a pinhole leak on the back side, near the top. Checking to see if this is covered under the parts warranty but at least the OEM price seems more reasonable than before at a touch more than $300.

Right now it's not too bad - takes about 7 days of driving to reduce the reservoir from "Full Cold" to about 1" remaining.

I bought a new daily driver so I wouldn't have to deal with these things. :banghead::wf:

All good, still love my truck

Dennis · Jul 21, 2013

Alex..the leak amount is immaterial to the lack of vapor pressure your coolant system needs to maintain in order to prevent low boiling points...Also as the system cools the uptake from the reservoir will also be less as it needs system vacuum to suck it back as it cools....But This is not to worry you, only to inform you of the possible issues with a coolant system leak..

Are you still under warranty?..if not, consider the Silla like a few of us resorted to, for your next radiator.

alrock · Jul 22, 2013

May be going the Silla route. Found it for $130 on eBay with free shipping. Best deal on OEM was about $120 more and with this OEM part having such a short shelf life I'm not inclined to go OEM right now.

Not likely to fix it for a few weeks so anyone have opinions on any of the various "stop leak" products? I used it on an older car a long time ago and it was effective, but I'm not sure if they are harmful for modern engines, water pumps, etc.

Gunner_45 · Jul 22, 2013

I feel ya'lls pain.

Just had mine replaced a few weeks ago....with OEM.

Only bright spot on that deal was, the dealer did the job without my OK...thinking I was still under warranty so I did not have to pay.

However, they dug up enough other crap needing to be done that it was probably a wash in the end.

Are the OEM's really that crappy?

Also, what is the deal on the Silla product?

A cost or qualtiy thing?

alrock · Jul 22, 2013

My OEM replacement was that crappy. That doesn't mean anything for any other OEM radiator, but I don't feel like doing down that same road again. The Silla choice would be financial - and OEM history. At almost half the lowest price vs. OEM it looks to be a good deal.

Sethmark · Jul 22, 2013

Don't do stop leak. It is a remarkably bad idea for a fairly expensive vehicle. In essence you fill your radiator full of crap that the plug the holes. The problem is it plugs the passages as well. It is extremely difficult to get it out of the motor without flushing multiple times. You wish you hadn't.

Dennis · Jul 22, 2013

Sethmark said:
Don't do stop leak. It is a remarkably bad idea for a fairly expensive vehicle. In essence you fill your radiator full of crap that the plug the holes. The problem is it plugs the passages as well. It is extremely difficult to get it out of the motor without flushing multiple times. You wish you hadn't.

Ditto on Seth!!!

Absolutely DO NOT use any form of Stop Leak, unless you like replacing your engine.

Dennis · Jul 22, 2013

Gunner_45 said:
Also, what is the deal on the Silla product?

A cost or qualtiy thing?

The deal is, they are Made in China, but they are better made IMO than the OE versions...I don't get it it either, but mine as I mentioned in the thread a while back on this topic, was a perfect fit and works to remove engine heat just as good if not better than the OE radiator...

So even if they go bad in a few years, you are money ahead vs the Delco brand OE.

alrock · Aug 8, 2013

Probably going the Silla route but I'm waiting for my mechanic to close on his house here in Phoenix and move to town. Hurry up!

Don't know if the leak has increased but the smell has, probably just from the residual coolant on the fins. Have done a few 7-10 mile drives with no measurable loss. Not going to drive it further than that for now.

Reloader · Aug 11, 2013

Will be on the way on the 19th Alex, after we close on the house here. I did replace mine a couple weeks ago with the GM one. It was exactly the same one as the oe right down to the cast numbers in the plastic tanks. Cost me $309 at my dealer and they still keep them in stock. Also replaced t-stat for $38 and lower hose with new oe one that I have been carrying as a spare in the recovery boxes. topped it off with a new oe radiator cap and genuine GM Dexcool. I flushed and cleaned the ac condensor that still had mud in it from The Cliffs in ILL a couple years ago before installing the new radiator. Yea I over do things but thats the way I like it. Truck should be good to go in that Phoenix heat that I'm looking forward to. The whole job took me about 2 hrs but mines an Alpha. Yours will be easier with the sliding fan shroud. Don't forget to order that foam strip that seals top of radiator to core support. It helps cushion the radiator also. Gm part number is 15806298 and cost me like $16. My new radiator didnt come with one and I believe yours was missing. If you want to do a t-stat change please pop for an oe one as we have experienced pr0blems with after market ones on these motors.

alrock · Aug 11, 2013

Cool. Jerry S. just had his radiator go (and his is a bit worse) so we might just end up doing both in his garage on the 24th, plus his steering rack. We found an all aluminum one on eBay for $140 shipped http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fits-Hummer...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec96c0cde&vxp=mtr

I did send a message to the seller and clarified that it is indeed an aluminum tank and not a plastic tank.

I'll get that foam strip on order. I doubt I'll mess with the t-stat right now. It did already get replaced a while back.

06 H3 · Aug 11, 2013

You and Jeri are moving to Arizona?!?

Reloader · Aug 11, 2013

06 H3 said:
You and Jeri are moving to Arizona?!?

Yes we are. Jeri has been there for over a month now. She lives next door to Alex in a rental condo for now. We are buying a house in the west valley in Glendale. Jeri took a sales position with her company in the Phoenix area. I dont know what Ill be doing. Maybe stay home and raise the 5 littleuns.
Will only be 7 hr from Moab now. Easily do 3 or 4 day weekends there. Plus all the places in Az also.

Reloader · Aug 11, 2013

alrock said:
Cool. Jerry S. just had his radiator go (and his is a bit worse) so we might just end up doing both in his garage on the 24th, plus his steering rack. We found an all aluminum one on eBay for $140 shipped http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fits-Hummer...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2ec96c0cde&vxp=mtr

I did send a message to the seller and clarified that it is indeed an aluminum tank and not a plastic tank.

I'll get that foam strip on order. I doubt I'll mess with the t-stat right now. It did already get replaced a while back.

I looked at the listing. Picture shows it plastic tanks with an all aluminum core. That price is way to cheap for an all aluminum rad assembly but you never know. To bad those adds for the silicone rad hoses are for an H2. I would pop for silicone hoses in a heartbeat and the blue would match my truck.

Is Jerrys rack bad or just the inner tie rods? As you know I can change those pretty quick. Recently got some experience in that. We may have to go out on a trail though.

alrock · Aug 11, 2013

Well, we'll see what radiator we get. I actually gave Jerry the wrong link so that's not the radiator we ordered - trying to cancel now.:emb:

I don't know exactly how the rack is bad, but when my inner tie rod joint wore out, it was both the rack and the tie rods that needed to be replaced. I tried just doing the inner tie rods but it was nothing more than a stop-gap measure.

06 H3 · Aug 12, 2013

Reloader said:
Yes we are. Jeri has been there for over a month now. She lives next door to Alex in a rental condo for now. We are buying a house in the west valley in Glendale. Jeri took a sales position with her company in the Phoenix area. I dont know what Ill be doing. Maybe stay home and raise the 5 littleuns.
Will only be 7 hr from Moab now. Easily do 3 or 4 day weekends there. Plus all the places in Az also.

very cool, were going to have to do some more AZ/CA trips. This time I will make sure to make them...

alrock · Aug 15, 2013

Reloader, I just looked up that foam seal. For some reason it is only spec'd on the Alpha and not the I5. Probably fits either way, consider it's the same radiator, same mounting, same frame, right?

Reloader · Aug 16, 2013

I've seen the piece of foam on H3s that came through my shop with 5 cyl engines. With only that single upper grommet mount that gets looseness in it , the foam strip really helps to cushion the upper rad tank. The only difference I can see at all in the radiator system between V8 and I5 is the rad shroud assembly and hoses. Same radiator fits both.

alrock · Aug 16, 2013

I'm having it put in tomorrow. The Raudi is throwing out a code every now and then so I really want to have a working vehicle in case that needs to go in the shop.

Mr_Rich · Aug 16, 2013

I took a closer look at the trouble spot and used a short piece of edge guard on the metal edge of the radiator support. That was a design flaw that the factory should've done something about.

05Mudiak · Dec 7, 2013

well Ours Started Leaking OnFriday Going To Pull It Out Tomorrow And See If A Loyal So Can Repair It, But The Price For The Sillia OnesIt Might Just Worth It To Get One Of Those Instead. Any Updates On This Issue, Parts Ect?

Bigunit · Dec 7, 2013

Did the '09 & '10 H3/H3T alphas come from the factory with a foam strip pad between the top of the radiator and the engine compartment to keep the radiator from wearing at the top seam caused by engine vibration/movement of the radiator? Can others take a look at their rigs and confirm? Thanks.

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05Mudiak · Dec 7, 2013

Bigunit said:
Did the '09 & '10 H3/H3T alphas come from the factory with a foam strip pad between the top of the radiator and the engine compartment to keep the radiator from wearing at the top seam caused by engine vibration/movement of the radiator? Can others take a look at their rigs and confirm? Thanks.

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Fyi our 08 has it.

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Zach · Dec 7, 2013

Bigunit said:
Did the '09 & '10 H3/H3T alphas come from the factory with a foam strip pad between the top of the radiator and the engine compartment to keep the radiator from wearing at the top seam caused by engine vibration/movement of the radiator? Can others take a look at their rigs and confirm? Thanks.

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Luis, Portager just had his radiator go. 09 Alpha with 55k. And dumped in his trans taking it out too I don't think that strip really does much to help. I would recommend what others are talking about doing and bypassing the cooler in the radiator and going with external. Where I worked before, I saw this happen more than I can count on my fingers. Once the coolant goes into the trans, it is toast.

Medic_Morgan · Dec 7, 2013

Just had mine replaced under warranty at Tustin. Gonna be adding that bypass to keep me from going though the same thing as Portager. Any suggestions on good coolers Zach?

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