Bill Ball

Curtis:

Hmmm.... I have one of those.

tresamore

Paid $50 to have my XK8 rad done. Its been a month now w/ no problems.

T_MaX

Having two or three of them would be better! That way you can get the PSI better distributed over the length of the tanks.

Give Snap-on or Cornwell (corn-hole) a call and see if they have a cheap tool to do the crimps.

Better yet! Try this link! All rad main

Crimp tools

goliver

Everytime i've ever used barsleaks or alumiseal the water pump seal was soon to go out. Like in a month or two. This only on domestic vehicles. Wouldn't want to chance it on the 928.

Regards,

Bill Ball

You'd think with all the Bars Leak horror stories, they'd be off the market. I see notes that most car manufacturers use Bars Leak in their new cars. Weird.

goliver

That is weird. Why do they put it in new cars?

SharkSkin

It's good for new cars... where they expect you to buy a new one in a couple years... and it's good for old cars, that aren't worth the cost of a fresh radiator. But a car you want to keep until they bury you in it... no way!

goliver

Are new cars built so crappy that they would leak without the stuff? Is it just cheap insurance for the manufacturers so as not to have to do warranty work for drools/leaks?

heinrich

We need more info on the new 928 cores, RC51!!

dr bob

I've used Bars Leak successfully. Read the directions where it says to run the car to full temp, drive it until the seal is complete, then drain the coolant (and the unused Bar's Leak...) from the system, refill with the correct amount of new water and coolant. If you do as most do and leave this stuff in there permanently, it will find more "leaks" to seal as it temperature cycles. Usually the lower tubes of the radiator get plugged up after a while.

Every once in a while it really does pay to do it the way the manufacturer suggests.

alex70

OK-

About a year ago I bought the end tanks and seals from 928 intl, and found a shop to install. This was with new fastners/crimping rail for lack of better terminology. I will see if I can find the vendor info.

It seems the way to go is to have new fastners and not risk a weakened/compromised fastner but that's just my opinion. IIRC, the labor was around $150 or $200 to install both end tanks, use new fastners, and pressure test. To date - no leaks.

FlyingDog

I've used Bars Leak successfully in a couple cars to cure heater core leaks.

Bill51sdr

Why go to the trouble of using that stuff when you know a cracked radiator tank is a terminal problem, that will only get worse? I'd rather just drain the coolant once and fix it right the first time, at least for this particular problem.

Ispeed

I have been driving my '87 with the new core and end tanks, and it runs a little cooler than before ( and now in 80-95 degree weather).

The new core has 4 smaller coolant passages where there was only 1 in the original radiator. This allows more surface area for heat transfer and will make it stronger and less prone to cracking from stress and vibration. It is 2" thick also, old was 1 3/4". The old oil cooler was used in the new end tank. The original top and bottom of the radiator that have the tabs for the fan shroud were used on the new one and the fan shroud fit like normal.
It also has a copper crimping frame that should hold up better.

The place is "A and I Radiator" in Attleboro MA. (508) 695-6057, ask for Bill.
Nice guy and knows his stuff. After talking to him, I felt good about having him build me a new radiator with a better core. Plus, now I have learned some stuff about 928 radiators.

So far so good.

Bill Ball

New fasteners and crimping rail? That can be replaced? I guess I don't understand the contruction of the radiator. The shop is telling me if the tabs break, the radiator is toast. Maybe I misunderstood.