Hi All - my car has been pretty good to me lately, so no reason to post.

I searched but didn't see any threads specifically about this so please point me to any that exist.

I had my car in for an unrelated minor issue and the shop recommended replacing the coolant hoses. This seemed like reasonable advice for a 9 year old, 126K miles car. So after doing so, they pressure checked the system and found a very small leak at the seam between the plastic tank and aluminum core of the radiator.

I suspect this leak has been present more or less since I owned the car at 58k miles and loses coolant very slowly (top off every 6 months after the light comes on, more or less). However I understand the physics of the pressure of the cooling system and why it is important that even minor leaks are eliminated.

Long story short, the radiator + labor they quoted at around $1000. There seem to be aftermarket radiators available much cheaper.

Does anyone have experience with radiator replacement using an aftermarket unit? Any brands/recommendations for such a unit? I imagine this could also be a DIY or general shop type repair (as opposed to needing a jag specialist).

Thanks for any advice and the good advice people share here all the time.

 

I have heard some very good things about Bars Leaks and it's an American

product.!

Have a look at what Google says about it.

Do you mean the leak is the plastic housing at the bottom of the rad?

 

So, you have a leak at the seam between the radiator and the overflow tank? The overflow tank is quite common to develop leaks, much more so than the radiator. Unless they pulled the tank and saw a crack in the radiator, I'd suspect the overflow is your issue.... those can be had for about $140 shipped from coventry west and swapped in 30-45 minute no problem....
If it is your radiator, I suspect labor isnt ridiculous for that job, probably takes longer to flush the system than the actual install....the radiator can be had for 500 from coventry west

 

Only a temporary solution at best but if your going to do this save yourself heaps and just throw in 2 egg whites and follow with black pepper.

I'm not joking

I drove about 1000km with his (all the way through the Simpson Desert and on to Alice Springs here in the OZ outback)

Cheers
34by151

 

Thanks for the replies everyone. My overflow tank was already replaced so that is not at issue.
Not sure of the exact position of the leak, I will ask them to show me when I go pick up the car. My car was in a minor front end collision before I owned it per carfax, so maybe that is contributing in some way to an otherwise uncommon problem area.

Googling around it looks like Behr makes the Jaguar radiators and their OEM replacement is available here for $279. I think this is what I will try, when I'm ready to get this sorted out.

 

There are various sealers available for very small leaks, but I only view them as a temporary fix. Jaguar recommended Barrs Leaks for the old XK engine at every change of coolant,

 

Personally, I wouldn't go near Barrs...it has a purpose and in its field it is definitely a leader, but it's just not a permanent solution....The egg and pepper solution mentioned honestly does work...it's incredible....but only temporary.

As for the radiator, the pic looks proper for fitting placement. I remember seeing somewhere that Behr quality had taken a downturn in recent years though...
That said, I think I'd be willing to take a crack at it for that kind of price

 

I've used just the pepper in a w/c motorcycle and it stopped a small radiator leak for over 3000km on trip from California back to Calgary a number of years ago. The guy I was riding with told me about it when the leak developed, his Dad used this trick during WW2 in North Africa. I used a small packet from a Denny's.

Stu