Radiator - again!

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barker_001
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Radiator - again!

Post by barker_001 »

My radiator has again sprung a leak at one of the bottom corners, with a possible leak on the other corner too... :( It has lasted 5 years since the last recore (a record... :roll: ) and is now with a local radiator repair shop.

When I last installed it, I fitted some foam pads and rubber washers to create anti vibration mounts, in a effort to stop this happening again. Although it has been somewhat successful, the foam has held rainwater against the lower radiator rail, and caused it to start rusting. So it was probably a blessing in disguise that I had to pull the radiator out before it became seriously weakened.

I heard that the very last Excels had rubber mounts for the radiator, although they are not shown in the parts list I have. Does anyone have these, and could share a picture? I'd be interested to try and replicate them.

I did try a Winner radiator back in 2015, but it simply didn't fit! Ended up having my original rad recored instead.

Thanks in advance... :)
Last edited by barker_001 on Wed Mar 10, 2021 20:30, edited 2 times in total.
Bryan

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Lotus-e-Clan
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Re: Radiator - again!

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

I too fabricated rubber mounts for the rad.

I haven't got actual pictures to help you ... but I did save a computer sketch of the mods in OneNote! :D


Image

I also sanded the sides of the cowl to to provide extra space for the the rad to expand sideways unrestricted. Mine originally was a very tight fit with no room for the rad to expand sideways when hot which I think contributed to early failure of the side tank soldered joints. The width of teal-coloured side foam in my sketch was an aspiration ... I only managed to create minimal clearance in the end,

Hope that helps a bit. :)
Peter K

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Re: Radiator - again!

Post by Lotus-e-Clan »

oops. :oops:

Just reread your OP Brian ..sounds like you've already tried my 'enlarged mounting stud holes (for rubber tube insert), suspended on multiple rubber washers ' DIY mod and now you're looking to replicate the official Lotus rubber mounts ! Sorry, getting senile. :oops:

Does your rad have clearance all round within the cowling to allow for side tank/fin expansion?
Peter K

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Re: Radiator - again!

Post by barker_001 »

Hi Peter,

Thanks for your diagram and explanation - the system I came up with was very similar - it just omitted the tubing going through the mounting holes and used rubber washers instead. I also left all the nyloc nuts slightly loose. There is a little bit of clearance either side of the tanks, so the rad has space to expand. I was curious to see what Lotus came up with, given the limited space. If the last cars did have proper anti vibration mounts, the cracking caused by the original rigid mounting must have been a recognised issue even while the cars were quite young.
Bryan

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Re: Radiator - again!

Post by Tanz »

My rad leaked back in 2008 so I got it repaired. it only lasted 6 months before it leaked again. So this time I had it re-cored and asked them to make it a couple of millimetres narrower. It has never leaked since. I think making it narrower is the way to go.
Cheers, Phil
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