algonquinloon

Hello All,
I discovered last night that all of my coolant had leaked onto the garage floor (2008 TL AT). I pulled off the cowling underneath because I could see no coolant on either side of the radiator on the fins or around the bottom seam all around (looking from the top down). The leak is very fast coming out just under the bottom radiator hose. But I used a mirror to view there and no coolant is on the hose or anywhere on the black plastic bottom. See pic (forgive the pic size/placement.. first time and in a hurry). It seems that the fluid is coming out from the front of the radiator opposite the lower hose. Is there another connection on that side that could have failed? I was hoping not to have to pull the whole radiator out.

Also, the aluminum power steering elbow that screws in just left of the lower hose was totally loose and I have that off. What sort of washer needs to be placed on that? The outer stainless/aluminum washer is fine but the one that goes up against the black plastic looks like it was steel and corroded to powder. That's why the elbow was loose.

Thanks for any thoughts. This is the first failure I've had in nine years!
Todd

algonquinloon

I finally solved this issue by pouring in distilled water and watching it leak out below a few more times. The water was exiting around the female ATF connector inside the radiator bottom. When tightened the ATF elbow washer seals the gap around the female connector hole. I'm starting a new thread on this because the female threads are totally stripped due to the old washer corroding to powder and allowing the elbow to vibrate side-to-side. This is likely to happen for many especially up north here with salted winter roads. I do not see a way to reattach the elbow without buying a new radiator.. so I'm rehearsing expletives repeatedly in my brain.

algonquinloon

I hope one of the Pro's here can help me out of a jam. I discovered today that the female threads inside my radiator bottom are totally stripped and the ATF cooling hose elbow will not tighten. I can hardly believe that this means I need to replace the radiator. Can I use a helicoil to get this in or is there another option I am not thinking of? Thanks for any ideas.

Female connector threads totally stripped


ATF hose elbow

teh CL

iTrader: (1)

Seeing as the rad has to come out to to fix this you might as well take the opportunity to replace it & do a coolant change depending on mileage.

horseshoez

iTrader: (2)

To save a cylinder head I would opt for a helicoil, to save a radiator, no, I wouldn't bother. Said another way, time for a new radiator.

Thinking back, I believe I recently ran across a thread which said Rock Auto has a good price on OEM radiators. You might want to check them out.

thoiboi

rockauto or amazon for a DENSO radiator. It can be had for ~100 bucks. DENSO is the OEM supplier for our car. Don't bother helicoiling that.

thoiboi

I've merged your two threads regarding leaking coolant and helicoiling, they're the same issue and it'll help to have context.

quantum7

Just do the radiator....not a bad job. Denso can be had for a reasonable price and the job is pretty straightforward.

algonquinloon

Thanks all. I ordered the Denso from RockAuto for $113. Should have looked at Amazon. Seems like a lot of RA parts come out of California so I coughed up another $30 for 2-Day FedEx. Cant wait until next Tuesday for it. I found 2 gallons of premixed PENTOFROST by Pentosin blue coolant at local CarQuest. It's gonna have to do cuz nearest dealer is 40 miles away. Will replace thermostat as well.

svtmedic

thoiboi

amazon also sells Honda Type 2 Blue Coolant