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While replacing my coolant housing for the 2nd time on this vehicle, I took a good look at the radiator. Appears to be made of the same type of plastic as the thermostat housing that disintegrates (noticed it turns brown as it ages). With 130k miles on the clock, and having spent its entire life in a hot climate, maybe time to change as preventative maintenance? I can see tiny stress cracks forming around the reinforcing ribs. Or should I leave it until it actually does start to leak? All other parts of the cooling system have been replaced (hoses, tank, water pump, and tstat housing).
Whether you have some "inconvenience feelings" about radiator behavior and its surrounding parts,
I can recommend you use this PROPOXY20 item which I usually use to prevent from leaks around mine radiator:
I think it's all a matter of what you are doing with the car and how reliable you want it to be. If it is only driven 3,000 miles a year to local car shows, then maybe you can chase cracks when they show up. If you are going to use it for longer trips in remote places, or commuting, then you might think about replacing the radiator. The issue with patching the tanks is the cracks happen because the material work hardens and becomes brittle after numerous heat cycles. It's also surprising how much else is happening to the radiator that you can't see until you remove it, like corrosion of the aluminum core and such, usually toward the bottom of the core where it gets exposed to the most road spray.
Those lines you see may be cracks, or they may just be mold release marks that you are seeing now that it's discolored with age. I've found that when tanks split, they'll do it straight down all of those ribs, because the plastic is smooth inside the tank. It really depends on your budget at this point. I would search and see what mileage people are getting out of these radiators. I only got about 100,000 miles and 10 years out of my 2004 GTO before the inlet tank split, but I have 13 years and 177,000 miles on my Jeep Liberty CRD and it's still going strong. Same regular cooling maintenance on both machines. Replacement radiators are under $350 from SNG Barratt right now. If people are getting longer mileage out of the radiators, then you can wait a bit if you'd like. If you already have everything apart, and the budget allows, you can replace it now, and not have to worry about your cooling system for the next 100,000 miles or so, besides changing the coolant.
mhamilton; My 04 XJR has 100kmi and spent the last few years in AZ and TX (hot, hot, hot). This past spring I had to remove the upper radiator (return) hose shown in your photo in order to get to another hose for replacement. The 'plastic' inlet color had changed to a chalky brown and a small piece broke off. I grabbed the inlet with my fingers and easily twisted off a much larger chunk. If you're planning on keeping the car I suggest replacing the radiator.
Look through the forum for other's experiences in radiator replacement. There is an AC condenser line that wraps around the outlet side of the radiator that can be problematic.
Thanks for the replies--just to note, my radiator is not presently leaking, I just noticed those hairline cracks. So I'm not trying to patch the current part. It is interesting that the plastic radiator tanks on my 2008 Chevrolet have not discolored at all with age. That Chevy has the same mileage and has lived a much harder life (short trips and commuting) and the plastic that GM used is still fine.
Primarily I do use the car for long trips, so I'll probably go ahead and replace this one before it fails. The XJR link was very helpful, thank you!
This one says it has a plastic tank, but it doesn't appear to be so. It is in the economy section, (cheapest parts) & aluminum radiators do always seem to cost more
radiator end of life
