Boys and Girls,

I recently replaced the original(?) radiator in my '02 V6. It was leaking at the seam between the aluminum core and one of the plastic end tanks. So far, the replacement is working just fine, so no concerns there. However, I'm wondering if the original can be repaired to keep as a spare. The aluminum core has multiple tabs crimped around a flange on the end tank, with either a gasket or sealer in between. Can this gasket/sealer be replaced successfully? Or is that idea a fool's errand?

 

I had to do a similar job on my 2002 V6 a few years back. I'll be honest, for the amount of work and hassle involved in messing with the radiator, compared to the relatively modest cost of a new rad, I personally wouldn't bother.

 

I noticed that the failure seemed to be at the lower right side and just discarded the faulty radiator.

Never found anybody to repair the core.

 

Yes I have and in my opinion it's just a losing battle?

As you know the end plastic tanks are crimped on to the core and there is a O-ring for a seal. You can take that all apart and clean the O-ring and then "try" to re-crimp the metal tabs back onto the plastic end tanks. This is NOT as simple as it seems! I think the problem is when these are assembled they must have a fixture on a press where the entire process is done in one operation and so it's more or less equally crimped all the way around.

I was never able to keep it all from leaking? I am sure that it was caused by my inability to provide a good crimp force all the way around the end tank. It's just time for a replacement radiator.
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