HPE heater radiator

[spud]

Hi all,

Are they available new anywhere? Anyone had a recore done? If so where and how much? Mine is leaking... Not badly, but it's only a matter of time and as I have the entire interior out of the car at the moment I thought I'd fix it whilst the access is perfect.

Thanks guys,
Andrew.

[MattNoVAT]

They cannot recored because the ends are plastic.  There is a rubber seal sandwiched and crimped down upon forming the seal.  The normal problem is that the seals fail and then leak into the footwells.

You just have to find one that is not blocked and has good seals.  Eventually we are all going to have issues...

Or maybe look at having one custom made.  I know some folk just blank off the feed/return pipes.

[spud]

They cannot recored because the ends are plastic.  There is a rubber seal sandwiched and crimped down upon forming the seal.  The normal problem is that the seals fail and then leak into the footwells.

Aah, right. Understood. That's exactly what's happened to mine...

I know some folk just blank off the feed/return pipes.

In this  climate...? 

Right, I'm on the lookout for a good s/h one then...

Ta for the info Matt.

Andrew.

[spud]

They cannot recored because the ends are plastic.  There is a rubber seal sandwiched and crimped down upon forming the seal.  The normal problem is that the seals fail and then leak into the footwells.

So... I've been thinking about this. Plastic and rubber... how hard can it be to fix that...? So I've had a go. Nothing to lose. Upon close inspection the radiator is intact, no cracks, so it definitely is the rubber seal that has failed. I dismantled it- a simple job of bending back the tabs that hold the end pieces on to the body and then lifting them off. This revealed a very perished rubber seal. Junk that, clean up the aperture, blow it all through with an airline, poke it with some wire to clear any stubborn bits of rust/crap etc., thoroughly dry it out and then it's ready. A thin bead of polyeurethane sealant/adhesive ('tigerseal' or similar), not too much because you don't want to block it internally, push the end pieces back on, bend the tabs back over and then apply a little more sealer around the outside edge for good measure. Job done! Is it watertight...? Don't know yet but I'd be very surprised if it isn't. I'll let you all know when I've refilled the system and ran it up to temperature.

Andrew.

[MattNoVAT]

If this can hold more than 13 flb of pressure its a great fix.

Can you get it pressure tested before you embark on refitting?

I'm assuming that you have done this to both ends?

[betaveloce]

in case your solution doesn't work, I just happened to see this brand new heater radiator for sale on e-bay (in Italy):

http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/RADIATORE-RISCALDATORE-82333212-LANCIA-BETA-COUPE-HP-EXECUTIVE-/280794921945?pt=Ricambi_automobili&hash=item4160ae7bd9

[spud]

If this can hold more than 13 flb of pressure its a great fix.

Can you get it pressure tested before you embark on refitting?

I'm assuming that you have done this to both ends?

Hi Matt,
Yes, I have sealed both ends. However, it hasn't worked out the way I hoped. I'm pretty certain the sealant would have worked but upon filling the rad with water it began to seep from the metal- where the main body of the cooling rails are joined to the metal end plates. I still can't see any cracks or splits but there's obviously at least one... so it's back to the drawing board...
I'm not keen on the idea of fitting a s/h one, they're all old enough to be close to problems now. I'm scouring the net for a close match from another car. I've got a few very close matches up to now- I'll post here when I've physically tried one that will do the job.

in case your solution doesn't work, I just happened to saw this brand new heater radiator for sale on e-bay (in Italy):

http://www.benl.ebay.be/itm/RADIATORE-RISCALDATORE-82333212-LANCIA-BETA-COUPE-HP-EXECUTIVE-/280794921945?pt=Ricambi_automobili&hash=item4160ae7bd9

Thanks for that. I often browse ebay Italy too but I hadn't come across this. All I'll say is in the picture it certainly doesn't look new... rusty and bent fins here and there. Poor storage? Perhaps, but the postage costs make it difficult for returns to foreign countries if I wasn't happy with it. I'll give it a miss. Well spotted though!

Andrew.

[MattNoVAT]

Over the years I have learnt the hard way about being careful with NOS (New Old Stock), things that are probably 20+ years old that have any form of seal inside I pass on now, because even though the exterior looks great you cannot be 100% certain of the seal integrity.

The rad in question has probably suffered a few dinks during storage as it is very easy to damage the cooling fins, and a small amount of surface rust..... well, it is a Fiat/Lancia part so thats to be expected. I think eBay Italy is trying to solve Italy's chronic debt crisis single handedly!!

It's a shame about your fix, but certainly worth investigating further. 

I'm in the garage this weekend (more packing) if you get really stuck I can pull out my spare heater rad and pressure test it.  I pump mine up with a Sykes Pickavant tester to 17 foot Lbs. This ensures that the seals in the rad are strong and the expansion tank cap will correctly vent first at 13 flbs before the seals in the heater rad blow and fill your car with very hot coolant.   

[WestonE]

Andrew

There are of course lots of Rad Weld type products that might very well fix your leak and still give you a good heater assuming you cannot epoxy glue repair the area concerned.

Cheers

Eric

[Ryan]

I was just down this road last winter.  I tried the same fix on the seals as you did.  It held coolant great, til I started the car.  Then I was swimming in a sea of green again.

Found a used one right here on this forum.  Now all is well.