I have an aluminum radiator from a 92 Camaro with plastic tanks on the side. On the passenger side tank, right where the trans line comes in, there is a leak coming from the tank itself, not from the fitting. Is there a way of replacing just the tank?? If so where can I get one? Thanks in advance.

 

No.

welcome to the "crappy thirdgen stock radiator" club.

 

Actually, yes you can. They are just crimped on with a rubber gasket to seal them. The problem is finding a place that has the tanks and seals. Check your local raidiator shops.

 

I doubt if it would be cost effective. Check the prices of new radiators. They are probably cheaper than fixing a used one.

 

Here, this reparation procedure is very common for copper radiators, but all the people says: aluminum + plastic = NO.


Regards,

 

I had a leaking tank replaced on my stock radiator for the tune of $80. It was done here at a local radiator shop.

 

Mine leaked too...in the end I just ordered new replacement from www.radiator.com..$170, 20 minutes to install..done

 

wanna know something funny????

i just went to radiator.com

priced a rad for an 84 camaro, $150
rad for 84 firebird, $139


what in the blue hell is the difference????????????? and yes i used the same engine, and trans combo to determine that price

a 305 automatic......

just for the record i see no difference, since my radiator and fan shroud are from a camaro, and are in my firebird

 

That is bizarre... I assume they're 2 different part #s... I wonder which one actually has more cooling area?

I have heard of people swapping the tanks on a Al & plastic rad; but the opposite tank is just as old and stressed as the one that is already broke, and probably won't make it another 6 months. So then you'll have to buy a new one anyway, plus deal with the aggravation, buying anti-freeze, etc. etc. If you had a brand-new rad and one tank suffered blunt trauma or something, it might make sense; but doing that to an old worn-out one does not.

Just buy the rad and be done with it.

 

My tanks split and were leaking. I had the tanks replaced about 80,000 miles ago and no radiator problems sense. People who say no usually bought a whole new rad., and don't want it to be possible that they wasted dough.

 

Last new radiator I bought for this car was like $115... how much did you spend on having those tanks changed? And how long do you think it will last, compared to a new one, before the core gives out or something else happens?

There's more to "value" than low price. Of course, sometimes the odds work in one's favor; and yours might not have been worn out, but rather got damaged somewhere along the line, and so been worth spending money on; but most of the time, by the time the tanks deteriorate to the point that they are crumbling, the rest of the rad isn't far behind. It's not a good bet at all.

 

RB I like you and value your opinion, but.... I spent $40 and that was 80,000 miles ago. I currently have 155,000 miles on it with no other problems. Thats hard miles, with a few instances of me letting the car get WAY too hot. I hope to *** that the rad itself lasts a lot longer then plastic tanks do. I'm not saying his won't go bad, I'm just sayingf that because the tanks went bad doesn't mean that the rad. is about to spring a leak. By the way, at no point did he say his tanks were crumbling or in any type of terrible state. He said they simply sprung a leak. We have no idea how many miles are on it, or what state its in. If its just the side tank, why replace the whole thing?

 

you can replace the side tanks buts it is almost the price of a new radiator...if you dont need extra cooling go with a stock replacement from advance auto or something...118$ plus lifetime warranty...hell if you dont need more cooling its the way to go.

 

If it's only going to be $30-$40 diffrence, Id also agree....get a new rad!