GM Radiators!?

[sk8rdi16]

So my 'burb is at the dealers right now. Before I am persecuted...here is the story.
Bought the Suburban in Sept. last year, the gentleman took it mostly to the dealer for repairs. He had a radiator put in during July of '03. It was leaking in March '04. Had it replaced under the 12 months/12,000 miles warranty. Now it is leaking again! Luckily it has only been 10,000 miles!
So I ask, Has anyone see this? The radiator looked brand new!
There was coolant sitting on the back side (engine side) in the 'fins' of the radiator. It did start smoking after getting up to temp.

[HowieE]

Unless you saw the box that the radiator came in I would assume they used a reconditioned one. A repainted Radiator looks just like a new one.

The other thing you may want to check is your radiator cap and make sure it is releasing at 15 lbs.

In general there should be no reason for a radiator go fail in that time period.

[sk8rdi16]

I had thought about the cap. I had a Nissan that would overheat replacing the cap fixed it.
Is the correct part number
10409635

Thanks!

[jspringator]

sk8rdi, is that 306,000 on the original engine? If so, what is your secret?

[sk8rdi16]

I only wish!! I bought the truck lest Sept it had 305k on it. The guy said he blew out the oil lines(cooling?) going down the interstate. Said he hit something in the road. Before he knew it the engine had zero oil and he fried the engine!! I think this was at about 150k to 200k or so. I have he dealer reciept for the brand new GMGoodwrench crate engine. He did not have it installed at the dealer, and the installer did not put the mileage.
Hopefully it will surpase the 400k mark!

I have the veggie oil conversion on it, so we will see how it goes.

[More Power]

Electrolysis and PH are something to consider when someone runs into frequent rad problems.

MP

[Barry Nave]

How can this be checked?
Iv'e done PH testing on pool's as well as other testing that has to be done on pool's

[sk8rdi16]

Got the radiator replaced. That was Feb. Now Aug. and the radiator has the same problem!! It is again at the dealer. I am gonna have them test for electrolysis and pH this time.
This is getting ridiculous!

[NH2112]

Testing for electrolysis is easy, just set your meter to mV, hook 1 lead to B+ and stick the other in the coolant. Any reading means there's electrolysis, Hyster used to tell us to drain and flush if the reading was 150mV or higher. As far as pH goes, you can test it with coolant test strips and drain/flush when the strip says to, but I'd get one of those inline coolant conditioners and use it.

[JohnC]

Originally posted by NH2112:
...hook 1 lead to B+ and stick the other in the coolant. Any reading means there's electrolysis,...Did you mean "B-"? Seems to me that the process you describe would read battery voltage or close to it.

[More Power]

Yes, I think you're supposed to measure voltage between the coolant and ground. Engine sensors are a common source for electrolysis, as are missing/damaged engine/frame/cab grounds.

It's been several years now, but I once heard from a 6.2L owner who was installing his third aluminum front cover on the engine due to aluminum corrosion where the coolant passes through the cover. It would eat away the aluminum till it began leaking. In troubleshooting, we went through the PH & electrolysis ideas, but I never did hear back from him to learn what was causing the problem.

Jim

[sk8rdi16]

November... Radiator is leaking AGAIN! I have a suspicion it is electrolysis even though the last dealer that replaced the radiator said there was nothing abnormal about it. I am going to do some testing myself once I get a new radiator put in this weekend.
So B- and positive lead in the coolant?

I am getting SES codes that have been referenced to bad grounds elsewhere on the board. I will check all the grounds and maybe add more.

Come to think of it, whenever it gets cold down here in South, MS I get the worst static shocks everytime I get out of the 'burb. Could this be a consequence of bad grounds?

Thanks for all the tips!

[twaddle]

Check the ground cables and connections especially at both sides of the engine and at the batteries.
The neg side of the batteries are connected through the engine (Which I don't like to see as it can lead to problems like yours or much worse).

Try linking a HD battery cable from one neg battery connector to the other battery neg contact, just lay it along side the positive cable.
Also check and increase the neg cables to the rhs and lhs inner fenders.
Are both the batteries in good condition?
If one battery is down compared to the other this sort of trouble can occur.
If testing the batteries they need to be disconnected one at a time then tested.

Where on the radiator are the leaks appearing, is it at the same area all the time?
Are the rubber mounts at the top and bottom mounts ok. If these are split or perished the radiator will rub on the metal brackets.


Regards and good luck.

Jim Twaddle
Biggar, Scotland.

[markrinker]

You mentioned that the engine was replaced, but not at the dealer.

Possibly the installer cut some corners and eliminated proper grounding straps.

Personally, I'd start by grounding the radiator directly to my frame AND battery. I think your problem would be corrected.

[schamp]

Two things. One, the side caps, the side where the thermostat opens is ususally the one that goes out. I have been told it a thermal thing. Cold then really hot when thermostat opens. Two, ground the radiator. I don't care what anyone says ground it. I was told by the head guy at Griffin Radiator (specialty radiator shop) that the lack of grounding was the cause of more than half of radiator failures. Lets just face it. These things use lots of electricity. Not like 30 years ago where you might have 20 wires. Now more like 200. Ground straps are cheap. My .02