For over 3 decades Radtec Cooling have been offering a test and repair service for all aluminium radiators.

Over this period of time, we began noticing that customers who required this service due to issues related to their radiators always seemed to report very similar symptoms such as "pin hole" type leaks, usually but not exclusively found in the corners of the radiators. It also became more apparent that certain types of vehicles, such as classic cars and/or kit cars, vehicles that are mainly used in the warmer summer months and then are tucked up for the winter seemed to have suffer from these issues.

On further investigations, there also seemed to have been a common theme in reports/feedback and the suspect we believe was then identified. The suspect in question being Red/Orange/Pink coolant! Our investigations included, where possible, cutting up radiators that were no longer viable or fit for purpose to see what exactly was or had been going on inside the radiator whilst it had been in use on the vehicle. 

What we found on radiators that had been fitted to vehicles that were being stored for prolonged periods of time was that whilst in storage I.E. Classic and Kit cars, the suspect coolant had begun to congeal and crystalize inside of the radiator, specifically around where the tubes are braised into the header plate, over a period of time this congealing and crystallization then seems to begin corroding away at the braising and in turn creating little pin holes in the tube/header plate of the radiator. We believe that if caught/noticed early enough and the system can be thoroughly flushed/cleaned out, then a successful radiator repair may be possible but unfortunately, this cannot be guaranteed as once the area that requires repair is resealed, the pressure may find the next weak spot and so forth, if the corrosion has already taken its toll on the header plate. 

 This is why, where possible, in these specific types of vehicles, we highly recommend using a good quality glycol based coolant, blue in colour, along with de-ionised water as this vary rarely seems to create the issues of corrosion within the radiator. There are many good manufacturers available on the market and as a business we do not have any affiliations with any specific brands/manufacturers.

Example of Radtec Cooling findings of crystallization/congealment: 2020

Disclaimer:

These observations and recommendations are ONLY experience based and there have been no scientific investigations funded or undertaken by Radtec Cooling Ltd or any of its associates. The issues described above do not affect cars that are used on a daily basis where the mixture is continually moved around the system. Please rest assured that all of our products will still receive the same standard warranty conditions where applicable (Our warranty policy does not cover any sort of track/off-road/motorsport events).