[sdjl]

I opened the bonnet today to check the oil and other fluids and noticed this.

Have traced the lovely smattering of white fluid down to a tiny hole just to the right of the large pipe on the radiator.
A bit of araldite and some plastic should sort it out for the time being as it's nothing major.

Just in case though, anyone replaced the radiator on their STI? I would imagine it's a standard radiator, but just in case it's not, does anyone have a part number?

David

 

[Scc28]

looks like a stoock rad to me! same as the xt

 

[fildigger]

Exactly the same happened to my STi last year, luckily i was only a few hundred yards from home so limped home.

Genuine Rad' is the way to go for (apparent) longevity!

 

[don1952]

Just in case though, anyone replaced the radiator on their STI? I would imagine it's a standard radiator, but just in case it's not, does anyone have a part number?

David

45111SA081 or 45111SA141

 

[The Rookie]

Common failure point/mode on all Foresters.....

 

[fpan]

At what mileage did it happen?
So that the rest can keep an eye on ours.

 

[Scc28]

thats what killed my hg's dont leave it too long!

 

[Bod]

When my radiator went I got my replacement from Advanced Radiators:

Advanced Radiators: Buy Car Radiators & Car Heaters Online Today!

Advanced Radiators: Pricing for: SU340 SUBARU FORESTER

Cost me around £90 including next day delivery

 

[Pindie]

If you are going to bodge it as a temporary fix to keep you rolling don't rely on stuff stuck on the outside. Get some Bars stop leak in there. Subaru call it "cooling system conditioner" but it is Bars stop leak. It's even in the same container!

This is a short term thing though as she is going to blow!

 

[fpan]

I wouldn't continue using the car. As others have said the system is pressurised so it may well blow and even if it doesn't and you have nothing to monitor coolant temperatures it is not worth the risk.

 

[sdjl]

Thanks Don!

At what mileage did it happen?
So that the rest can keep an eye on ours.

This was a little over 60k miles. I haven't used the car for 5 weeks, so I wonder if that has anything to do with it as well.

If you are going to bodge it as a temporary fix to keep you rolling don't rely on stuff stuck on the outside. Get some Bars stop leak in there. Subaru call it "cooling system conditioner" but it is Bars stop leak. It's even in the same container!

This is a short term thing though as she is going to blow!

I'm not sure how well that will work being that it's right at the top on the plastic.
This is definitely a temporary fix. I shan't be using it for a couple more weeks so I'll look at a permanent fix before Christmas.

I think I managed to catch this at the right time. The day before I was under the hood and nothing had happened. It must just be luck that I opened the bonnet the following day and spotted it!

David

 

[sdjl]

I finally got round to calling up a localish subaru dealer. They're asking for £361.38 for the radiator plus VAT! Apparently it needs to come from Japan... Not quite sure about that one.

 

[fpan]

Make sure you get the radiator for a facelift which has the cap on the left hand side that the pre-facelift one doesn't.
It makes bleeding a lot easier.
It seems it is the same part number as the XT one.
Import from US may be cheaper even after adding postage (assuming 200 USD or so) and tax?
e.g. http://www.partswebsite.com/subaruonlineparts/oemparts/45111SA141.html

 

[sdjl]

Ah ok. So I guess the only difference is the cap then?
Looks like importing one myself might be more cost effective than going via a Subaru dealership.

 

[TMX]

Could always consider one of these - gets rid of the plastic for good
Lifetime warranty too

Mishimoto Performance Aluminium Radiator for Subaru Forester XT Turbo 2004-2008, by Mishimoto - Free Shipping in UK

 

[fpan]

Could always consider one of these - gets rid of the plastic for good
Lifetime warranty too

Mishimoto Performance Aluminium Radiator for Subaru Forester XT Turbo 2004-2008, by Mishimoto - Free Shipping in UK

I tried one of these as a preventative measure when I had my timing belt changed but it had a tiny leak in one of the welds (apparently the guy that sells them had never seen this issue before).

It was also too close to the engine (~ 5mm clearance) and didn't feel comfortable with that so I removed it and put back the OEM one. If the OEM one is good for ~60k miles or so, stick another one on IMHO.

 

[sdjl]

I'm inclined to stay with OEM, even if it means importing one myself.
The fix I've done works perfectly well at the moment, but I'd like to have peace of mind further down the line.

fivos, do you have any pictures of the top of your radiator? I'd like to make sure a facelift version has the same pipe connections as mine before making a commitment to purchasing one!

David

 

[fpan]

David, the cap can be seen here, it's a pre-facelift FSTi with a facelift rad

 

[dirteemac]

Why would anybody put another OEM rad in there when the same thing is undoubtedly gong to happen again?

 

[fpan]

Why would anybody put another OEM rad in there when the same thing is undoubtedly gong to happen again?

For the reasons mentioned above, I didn't trust the new aftermarket Mishimoto one, and if the weep was in any other location other than the top I wouldn't be able to spot it.
In fact it was weeping from the weld around the radiator's neck, very very tiny but enough to put me off the product.

If the OEM one is good for 8+ years/60-90k miles then why not?

Aftermarket products are not necessarily better in terms of quality than OEM ones.

Unless you live in a very hot country or have tuned the car to a very high degree the OEM one is adequate in terms of cooling properties.