Got to work today, and when walking by the front of the car I smelled coolant. Opened the hood and saw coolant residue on the front of the motor, and tried to figure out the source. I started the car back up, had someone give it a few revs, and pulled on hoses to no avail. I have no idea where the coolant leak is coming from, but since its all along the top and bottom of the radiator, I'm assuming there is a leak somewhere. Its not the coolant overflow nor is it the bleeder screw behind the engine. These were the first 2 things I checked. I believe that the top plastic tank on the rad has given up, but would like some other people to confirm this, or give me suggestions as to what could actually be leaking. I put gloves on and tugged on the upper hose to see if it was leaking but got nothing. Also, not pictured, but where the aluminum core of the radiator is crimped over the edge of the upper plastic, there was coolant all along that 'chamber.'

If the radiator is in fact leaking, should I buy an OEM style rad (cheaper, 1 row, plastic end tanks) or drop some more money on a nicer all aluminum one (more expensive, 2 row, not sure if it will mount up or if fans will mount directly to it). Any suggestions as to where the leak could be, and for future rads is greatly appreciated. Thanks.


***********************Passenger side fender, removed coolant res to get a better angle. Note coolant running down the side and puddled below upper neck***********************




***********************Removed the grille, looking towards passenger side. Opposite side of rad as the upper neck. Liquid running all the way down the side of the rad, obvious moisture***********************




***********************From the grille looking down to passenger side of splash shield. Liquid drops are coolant. Look behind AC condenser on lower rad support, puddle of coolant***********************




***********************Bottom driver side, more coolant puddled but a lot less. note moisture on bottom corner of rad***********************




***********************Obvious puddling of coolant on splash shield under upper neck area***********************

 

Could it perhaps be the radiator cap? I had the car idling for a good 10 minutes and saw no visible leaks from anywhere, but maybe when driving and the engine is under load the cap is leaking...? Shot in the dark here.

Also, would a 350z radiator fit in our cars? I don't see why they would be different.

EDIT : Nvm, filler neck for 350 is on the driver side of the rad instead of passenger side like on our cars.

 

Yeah I was going to say inspect the cap or just replace it if you have 100k on it and see if that fixes the problem. The gasket and spring both degrade with age and when it sprays out a little bit under pressure it's hard to tell exactly where it came from.

Wash it down good and let it dry overnight, start and let it get up to temp with the top support removed so you can look around with a flashlight to see where it's coming from, with as much coolant as it's leaking you shouldn't have a problem finding the leak.

As for radiator upgrade, I'm a huge supporter of maßsive radiators, it's not technically required unless it's a track car or FI but you can never have too much radiator and I always upgrade capacity when one ***** the bed.

 

So a new radiator cap did not fix the problem. Now to spend $60 ish on an OEM style radiator or $160 on an all aluminum one... Unless anyone else has other suggestions as to what the problem could be?

 

I'd definitely get it hot and find out where it's leaking out, that was a lot of coolant in the picture and you'll be able to see the leak.

 

That's the thing, I drove the car around, obvious signs of leaking, parked it and let it idle for at least 10 minutes and didn't see a drop. Has me bamboozled.

 

Same kind of thing happened to me with my sequoia radiator. It wouldn't leak unless you were driving it. Maybe it would have if I revved it to operating RPM while parked...? But just being hot and under pressure didn't get it to leak. I never did figure out exactly where it was leaking but it was clear it was the rad in my case. I did a cheap 1-800 radiator piece as they're local to me and I think the one I got was all metal, no plastic. no experience with the G radiator though.

 

I had the girlfriend rev it to 3-4k and saw 0 leaks. Put gloves on pulled on various hoses and put pressure on parts of the rad to see if I could cause a leak, but to no avail. I'm going to run it by O'Reilly's and have them pressure test it.

 

I'd just drive it and watch the temp, there's a REALLY good chance it was just a worn cap that finally popped for a few seconds. I've personally never seen a radiator that developed a leak momentarily and then mysteriously stopped leaking the next day.

 

Rented a pressure tester from O'Reilly's and found the culprit. Weird thing is that it didn't start spraying until I got ~15 psi. Before I took this picture it was pissing coolant, had to remove the grille to see the hole and by that time the upper tank had drained enough to just bubble out. New radiator is getting ordered.

 

Well at least the problem is found.

 

I just saw this thread for the first time and I'm surprised it took 8 posts for someone to mention pressure testing the system. I'd bet a lot it's the radiator especially since your car has high mileage. More than likely one of the plastic end caps has developed a small crack which is almost impossible to see. Get a Mishimoto or similar replacement and never worry about your radiator again.

 

^^I had typed that last night and forgot to post it lol. Glad you found the leak, they can be maddening.

 

Yup, that's exactly what I did. Even tho I could've bought 3 OEM style rads for the cost of 1 aluminum one, you can't put a price on piece of mind. Radiator should be here mid next week .

 

There's really only 2 things that can ruin this motor, low oil and overheating, so everything you can do to increase the oil and coolant volume is worth the cost for the extra layer of safety.