Steam from radiator.

[Nuvo]

Pulled out the old girl from the garage yesterday to give her a brief warm up on the drive.

When I switched off I noticed a thin cloud of steam coming out of the join between the top header and the core along with a tiny weep of coolant.

This is an OEM Behr radiator which I replaced a good few years back. I'm wondering if this leak could be caused by the expansion tank cap failing to release pressure in the system.
Is there any way to test the cap?

Is it possible that a radiator specialist could reseal the header/core joint? Or could be a DIY job?

Thanks for any tips.

[Tractor Dave]

Plastic or metal?
Metal can be braised.
Plastic You could try plastic padding leak fix epoxy but not sure how heat resistant it is.

[Nuvo]

Annoyingly this has plastic headers which complicates things. I'll look into the suitabilty of epoxy you mention.

[Tractor Dave]

I've used it for various fixes over the years. Good stuff
Make sure you get it really clean and rough the surface up to aid grip.

[newsh]

You could try crimping the aluminium tabs that hold the header

[mac2226]

Maybe it’s time for a new radiator. For sake of few hundred pounds I wouldn’t risk a leak as these engines are not cheap to buy any more. Either way hope you get it fixed

[Rikki Kitto]

My Behre one only lasted a few years, I went with an all ally one from Vidar Skothiem

[Nuvo]

Thanks for the replies and sound advice chaps.

I had a closer look at it today with the top shroud cover off. The leak is from the front left corner on the top header.

On initial inspection I noticed that the crimp gap is wider near this corner so thought it may have deformed, but this is same on the other corners too.

I think what I'll do is try to tighten up then crimp first and test by just letting the engine reach temperature and shut it off. If that fails I'll try some epoxy and test in the same way.

This'll serve as temporary stop gap just let me warm the car up every once in a while. I don't want to run the risk of driving it anywhere.

I'll need to get a custom replacement rad built as I really don't won't to revist the same problem some time in the future.

Cheers,
Rob.