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Ratel10mm Profile
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Date Registered: 01-2019
TOTAL POSTS: 8
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Can radiator leaks be repaired?


Our T31's radiator is leaking, it looks to be along the join between the core & the plastic top.
Has anyone had success in repairing these, or is it definitely a new radiator required?
If the latter, does anyone have recommended sources please?

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Name: Matt
Loc: Gold Coast
X-Trail: 2009/10 T31, petrol, CVT box
1/Jan/2019, 9:37 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
Bertoknee Profile
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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posticon Re:


..just as I start to get some confidence in my T31 S2 ...the 2010/80,000km radiator has developed the same leak along the top crimp between plastic bit and matrix proper. Just researching this 'recrimping' process now .. sounds easy enough but anyone actually done it and proven the reliability afterwards? ... is there a large rectangular O ring in there? ..or some sort of sealant?

edit: ...well whaddya know ... they're actually designed to be disassembled & repaired... and sure enough there are a couple of large rectangular sealing rings in there.. weird.

pic straight from the workshop manual...
Image

part no. of the seals is 21414-0P000 .. Amayama has them at US$14 from Japan ... thats a relief. Gonna see if a good re-crimp sorts it out first. Nissan, of course have a super special fancy crimping tool ... I'll be using plumbers pliers!

..the coolant is red hot right now .... so..looks like tomorrow is 'rad out n see if I can fix it' day...



Last edited by Bertoknee, 26/Jan/2019, 5:45 pm


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Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
26/Jan/2019, 4:17 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
Bertoknee Profile
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


..well .. its several hours later..the coolant has cooled enough..and I had the time...so..I figured I would get to it and give it a go today...
..first thing ..drain the fluid ... dead easy .. a vertical philips head plastic bolt type thing, with an O ring on it on underside of rad.... unscrew it completely and coolant drains vertically down the way without too much meandering over the crossmember.... good design. I dont have the undertray fitted presently..so perhaps that would need to be removed first...
Image

while its draining .. remove the usual intake trunking..and snip all the cable ties that hold the harness to the fan frame. The cable ties are integral with their mounts, but after snipping they can be tidied up and reused for normal zip ties so thats cool. Unplug the 2 fans. The harness goes right across from right to left and is fixed both sides.. ..so all you can do is reposition it lower down .. . so its out the way of the fan assy..
Image

..its pretty tight to get the fan assy out of there ..but do-able with a good jiggle. It just sits in 2 slots at the bottom with a couple of self tappers holding it to the rad at the top...
Image

...the area of leak can be clearly seen on the rad now...
Image

..remove the top & bottom hoses, they had nice lockable spring clamps on mine... and the overflow pipe... then undo and remove a couple of 10mm hex head bolts..1 on left, 1 on right ...and rad is ready to lift out. It sits in a pair of rubber mounts on the bottom like most rads these days. Just tilt the top towards the engine .. and lift out. The L shaped brackets that hold the top will come out with it.. to get to this stage with the rad out of the car takes 30mins max... I like that.
Image

..so then I started crimping with my plumbers pliers ...tbh, its difficult to get much movement on the crimps themselves ..even with a white knuckle grip! ..but I maybe managed to crimp them down a little bit. I started around the area of the leak ...
Image

..and thats when I saw the real reason for the leak... a 10" crack on the plastic tank ..just above the inside corner on the front face so impossible to see when rad fitted .. its just about visible in these pics .... gutted!! emoticon
Image
Image

so ..what do I do?! I may be going away in a few days and the missus will want the car. So ..i dried off the crack as best I could..degreased it and used a hot air gun to dry it again. I had no choice this evening but to try and effect a temporary repair until I figure out a proper fix or buy a US$350 rad! .. honestly its bordering on criminal that they can charge that price for this. Anyway, all I had to hand was superglue or 2 part epoxy. I went with the superglue to start with .. & try to bond the 2 sides of the crack. ..pic shows a bead of superglue along the crack..worked in with a needle... :/
Image

I may run a bead of epoxy over the top to provide some support. Or I may try to find something more suitable .. a high temp. plastic epoxy perhaps ..if I can find something locally. Im 99% certain the superglue wont seal it .. but it might just stem the flow enough for the car to he used gently while Im away. I dont know how common this tank cracking issue is ..not looked yet ... perhaps successive heat cycles weakened it. I suppose I should be grateful it happened while I am still home... and not in the middle of nowhere with the missus driving..

Right now I'm glad we still have our old Gen1 Rav ....its bulletproof. Me & the X-Trail arent the best of mates right now...

edit: 3 hrs later and I just found this stuff that I can hold of quite easily .. Scotch-Weld 1099 ... gotta be worth a go .. US$15 a tube ... specs say good up to 110°C ... hope so...gonna order a tube.
Image

further edit: and just to add another possibilty ... the plastic tank top is available seperately .. Amayama have it listed at a reasonable US$38 ... so add a new large sealing ring and for just over 50 bucks US ..it is POSSIBLE i could fix it with new parts. That would all depend on how well I can uncrimp & then recrimp ... at home, using screwdrivers & pliers! The uncrimping in particular looks like it will be a swine .... what a pain..



Last edited by Bertoknee, 27/Jan/2019, 6:24 am


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Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
26/Jan/2019, 10:26 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
Bertoknee Profile
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


well... I thought I would just see how the superglue fared on its own ... and it wont surprise you to know that it did nothing... still leaked badly.. so today I figured I would get the rad out again and have a better look. I managed to uncrimp the upper tank and seperate it from the core. Just needed a steady hand and the right sized flat screwdriver .. working slowly around the circumference. The special Nissan pliers would certainly have done it neater ... but .. i used what I had available. At this point I have nothing to lose .. the rad is leaking badly so the car is off the road. Worst case, I have to buy another complete rad from Amayama but that will take 7/10 days minimum to get here. I will try the local Nissan satellite dealer tomorrow, but I doubt there will even be one in Phils...nevermind can they get it.... or the money they might ask. Like I said..nothing to lose ...
Image

I lifted each 'crimp' and seperated the tank from the core ....
Image

Unfortunately .. a closer look at the upper tank..revealed a huge split down half the front face .... pretty peeved right now.
 :/
Image

I dont even thing its worth attempting to glue that. The crack does fit back together nicely.. but as you see.... that is a heck of a weak point...even if I could find a suitable high temp.waterproof epoxy! Not sure now whether to buy the upper tank and a new seal for 50 bucks and recrimp the rad...or bite the bullet and get a new rad. Normally I would have a go with some steel epoxy or similar... from the inside .. but Im not sure the crimps will handle another crimp, uncrimp, crimp process. If I buy a new upper tank...I only have to crimp them back down one time. hmm... what a nightmare.

Oh and someone offered me good money for our Rav4 this afternoon..and I had to decline while the X Trail is in this state.. need to stay mobile.


Last edited by Bertoknee, 27/Jan/2019, 7:01 pm


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Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
27/Jan/2019, 6:57 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
Bertoknee Profile
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


.. so .. just back from the tiny Nissan dealers here .. pretty helpful guys and a good link to the Nissan parts catalogue and ordering process. However, the plastic upper tank is simply 'not available' in PH...but weirdly the rectangular seal is. A full rad is available, but with a US$530 price ..and a 2 week delivery time ..from just south of Manila!? .. seriously, you could walk it here in 2 weeks..heck.

All that means I've had to rethink my plans a little. So, I've just ordered an upper tank and seal from Amayama. Even that is not as straightforward as normal .. as those parts need 'approval' before I can order proper & pay .
so Im waiting for that. IF the order is approved .. that will be $68 US.

Additionally..I'm contemplating ordering a full complete rad from the UAE branch of Amayama at $350 .. crazily, its twice the price..like $700, direct from Japan! To complicate matters further, there are customs implications for goods over about US$200 .. like, a more intense screening process with import taxes & other 'surcharges'.

what a pain this has become ... emoticon

Last edited by Bertoknee, 28/Jan/2019, 1:45 pm


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Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
28/Jan/2019, 1:03 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
TopGun65 Profile
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Date Registered: 07-2015
TOTAL POSTS: 208
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Re: Can radiator leaks be repaired?


Hi Graeme.
 I feel your pain. I've had a few parts die on my Xtrail as well, the most expensive being the intank fuel pump. I had a plastic top tank crack severely on my other cars radiator and was not repairable. I bought a complete radiator on ebay locally and its still going strong. The T31 radiators are a pretty good price there in comparison to your other quotes. Thats always another option. Hope you manage to recrimp it. It always seems to be the top tank that cracks due to the hot coolant coming out of the engine.

Last edited by TopGun65, 28/Jan/2019, 4:39 pm


---
Eric
X-4282 (c)
Glen Alpine, Sydney
2010 T31 Cvt STL
28/Jan/2019, 4:35 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


Eric ... thanks for the comments ..actually i did a bit more searching online and eventually clicked on a full rad on ebay.au
It was a reasonable AUS$171 ... plus a rather UNREASONABLE AUS$140 for tracked Aus Post shipping to me. So a total of AUS$311 / US$224 ... still FAR cheaper than anything I can get hold of here ... and (I hope!) ..far quicker too. The ebay.au place was 'qualitycarpartscomau' ... they have a bucketload of decent feedback ..so I'm hoping it can perhaps be on the way today..or tomorrow latest.

I'm a little concerned about the shipping process ... as you know those rads are a large, thin, lightweight flat panel .... which makes them VERY prone to getting 'bent' or worse during shipping. Additionally with the plastic inlet/ outlet & filler neck protruding significantly on one side ... it doesnt make for a strong, sturdy assy at all.

But .. at least there is a way ahead and the cogs are now turning. Fingers crossed.


Last edited by Bertoknee, 28/Jan/2019, 5:13 pm


---
Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
28/Jan/2019, 5:09 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
Bertoknee Profile
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


well..i returned yesterday from working away for a month or so ..and while I was away all the new parts arrived. New pattern part rad from Aus ebay ..looks good & seemed to have survived the journey ok ....
Image

In addition I ordered a new top tank and seal from Amayama along with a new genuine rad cap ... figured the original cap might have been sticking and caused the tank to split ..for the cost of a new cap it's a no brainer to replace it.
Image

Anyway..this afternoon I set about fitting the new tank to the core ...cleaned up the mating surface ...dropped in the new seal and tank and started to crimp it down tight with my plumbers pliers. Took about 40mins ..bit fiddly but easily do-able.
Image

After that..a quick flush ..then refitted to the car..hoses n bits reconnected and refilled system with tap water for now ..I wasn't too optimistic about the 'fix' ..even with genuine parts!

But ...would you believe it! ..so far..it is sealed tight. Fast idle for 10mins...then took the car for a lil 10min drive...coolant was at operating temp..fans on and off a few times..and not a drip! ..im amazed!! I have a couple of longer 1.5hr drives to do on Friday ..if it survives that..I shall drain the tap water..and refill with proper coolant ... fingers crossed. emoticon

Time will tell if its a permanent fix .... it should be, given I used genuine parts... but the crimping process is obviously a bit of a gamble. In addition & being realistic, anyone in the West who had access to a good choice of pattern part rads at reasonable cost .would never spend the time doing what I did. The genuine parts to repair the rad were half the cost of a new pattern part rad! ... I only went for both options to be sure of a fix. And it seems I may have a new rad sitting around going spare now ....

Last edited by Bertoknee, 13/Mar/2019, 10:21 pm


---
Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
13/Mar/2019, 9:12 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
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Date Registered: 09-2018
Location: Philippines
TOTAL POSTS: 86
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Re:


quick update ...the repaired rad has been totally fine ...not a drip after a couple of 1.5hr drives. So..last night I drained the tap water and filled up with some decent Prestone coolant.

Still chuffed..and amazed that I managed to repair a modern plastic tank'd radiator. Certainly if you have a decent dealer local to you ...who can get hold of the parts... it is perfectly possible to repair these rads.

Hopefully, that is the end of the tale...

---
Graeme, Cagayan Valley, PH
T31 Series 2 2011 2.5 CVT 4WD
X-5534
17/Mar/2019, 11:38 am Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 
TopGun65 Profile
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Date Registered: 07-2015
TOTAL POSTS: 208
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Re: Can radiator leaks be repaired?


Well done Graeme. Now you've proven it's doable and at that price, I might grab a seal and top tank and keep them on the shelf for when my turn comes around. emoticon

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Eric
X-4282 (c)
Glen Alpine, Sydney
2010 T31 Cvt STL
17/Mar/2019, 12:05 pm Link to this post Send Email PM   Send Private Message Blog
 


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