Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld?

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Mon 24 May 2010 17:19
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - clewsy01

Hi, I have got as some on here know at 51 reg 1.6 Zafira. For the past week I have had little drops of water from the radiator on the bottom right driverside (offside) from the radiator. Today it has now come out in a larger quanity.

Anyway, I have put in some Radweld and it seems to have cured it, however my qustion is, should I now leave it or get a new radiator? The new radiator is £43, obviously I would fit myself, but just wondering on the thoughts of radweld. I have notice though that since putting the radweld in I have done about 25 miles today and tye car is getting to operating temperature quicker, dont know if it is just me and its down to the hot weather but that what it seems.

Gonna make my mind up tonight, but would like some assistance and opinions to what you think would be best.

michael

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Mon 24 May 2010 19:14
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - Peter.N.

Radweld sometimes works but it also tends to clog up small waterways i.e the heater matrix, I would be inclined to give it a good flush out and fit a new radiator.

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Mon 24 May 2010 21:39
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - Collos25

Radweld is only a temporary fix.

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Mon 24 May 2010 21:43
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - clewsy01

Radweld is only a temporary fix.

Yes, thats what I was worried about. I think its a case of damned if i do damned if i dont. I dont really fancy it going again on a long journey, and as I do about 13,000 miles a year, not a lot compared to some, I think i will get i fixed, Thanks for the replies

michael

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Tue 3 Aug 2010 09:07
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - clewsy01
Hi, all thought I would give a finish to this,

Did the work myself, got the radiator from a local Newcastle firm and wokrs a treat, No too difficult to do, did not need to take of the front bumper as the Haynes manual suggests, but if your very careful with the AC radiator its not too much bother. Radiator ended up being £44.66 Inc VAT, so not bad and saved a bit of a labour charge,

Took about 2 hrs 20 mins to do from start to finish,

Cheers for pervious replies.
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Wed 4 Aug 2010 05:45
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - 1litregolfeater

Good you got it sorted, cheap too.

Apparently the worse thing about these gunks you stuff in is, the damage they can do to the water pump, by denying it lubrication.

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Wed 4 Aug 2010 11:40
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - Dynamic Dave

Apparently the worse thing about these gunks you stuff in is, the damage they can do to the water pump, by denying it lubrication.

Don't ya just love these old wives tales. If Radweld damaged waterpumps or clogged up water galleries in the block or heater matrix then Holts wouldn't still be in business.

I've previously used Radweld on a couple of Vauxhall cars I've owned.

Mk1 Astra to cure a leak in the radiator. 3 yrs later and still on the same waterpump, no leaks.

Mk3 Cavalier to cure a leaking core plug. Likewise 3 yrs later, no probs with the waterpump or any leaks.

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Wed 4 Aug 2010 11:59
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - pmh3

I think that your best strategy would have been to buy a new radiator and keep it in the boot. That would have ensured that the Radweld repair would last forever and have saved you the labour time.

:)

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Wed 4 Aug 2010 20:49
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - galileo

I would recommend caution using proprietary sealants in anything with marginal cooling (eg Rover K engine).

When we used a sealer as a temporary fix in a V8 Rover SD1 fully instrumented to test air sensing fan drives, cylinder head temperatures went up 10 degrees C.

So OK till a proper repair but will stress the cooling system, take it easy in warm weather.

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Thu 5 Aug 2010 09:28
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - Singlish

A well respected Vauxhall Dealer,I know, often used 'Stopleak' a Vauxhall product as an alternative to a new radiator, for small leaks and so I concluded these products cant be that bad!

Andrew

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Wed 11 Aug 2010 00:37
Vauxhall Zafira 2001 - New Radiator or Radweld? - 1litregolfeater

Well, I had a minor leak from the bottom of the radiator on a Ford Probe 2.5 about 6 or 7 years ago. I just put the radweld in and it stopped the leak, and the car has required no further attention to this day, so it does work.

However, if you've ever looked at the deposits in water passages in an engine where such a product has been used, you'll think about it very carefully. I don't think I'd chance it again, better fix it properly with a new £100 radiator than chance a new engine a year later.

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