What did this? (Radiator!)

[Nick]

Feel free to laugh all you want, but, why does my radiator look this way?

This is out of a 1992 Cressida I bought to tinker with/drive to the store to get groceries & back...it's got 180k on it! I did not pay much. The sturdy but HG prone 7M-GE looks like it still has some life left in it, but this....

[Seanz0rz]

two words: pressure washer

[YotaFun]

Crossion possibly?

[Obi..]

Let me put the two prior posts together and say..

East Coast/Salted roads corrosion and pressure washing to try to clean it all off to end up blowing everything out. ;)

Pull the fenders and look at where they meet the doors and you'll know for sure. This spot on the Cressidas and Corollas are notorious for trapping debris and rusting out.


Better yet, lets see the whole car?

[CJM]

Yea pressure washer of some kind.

[slosurfer]

Previous owner probably hit a ghost while doing about eleventy. Lucky there's not more damage. :laugh:

[corax]

NY is notorious for using mass amounts of salt or . . . is it sodium chloride? . . .either way, most likely just a byproduct of winter road crap they pt on the roads - just to be safe, doo a google search and check the system for "cooling system electrolysis"

[kregg]

Previous owner probably hit a ghost while doing about eleventy. Lucky there's not more damage. :laugh:


Hahahaha....

[oly884]

Corrosion from battery acid, salt, etc + pressure washer.

[4x4mike]

Radiator beatles. Pretty hard to get rid of.

[CJM]

Radiator beatles. Pretty hard to get rid of.


lol..

[Nick]

So we have ghosts, beetles, crazy people with pressure-washers, calcium chloride, and battery acid!

I wasn't aware that radiators could rust out... but I can definitely see how a power washer would blow those fins out, given the condition of the thing and everything it was exposed to.

I'm about 60 miles from where American Rock salt has their mine. Therefore the city orders HUGE amounts of it and throws it everywhere. I had very little rust on my 4Runner prior to moving to upstate NY. After a year and a half here, just one winter...whole different story! The Cressida, however, has lived here all of it's life. Owning cars up here (Buffalo/Rochester/Syracuse) is a disaster compared to NYC/coastal New England.

Thanks everyone! I will post some photos of my clunker in off-topic shortly!

[CJM]

It would be a VERY good idea to clean the frame of your truck well and spray rust converting spray on it and then a stain or flat black.

[Nick]

You bet I'm on it! I have some Rust Bullet/3M Rubberized Undercoat sitting and ready before this winter really hits! The thing is, the truck already has a hearty helping of rubberized undercoat, so, it's really more of a touch-up job then anything for this year.

[Obi..]

Radiator beatles. Pretty hard to get rid of.


So that's why you need to be sure to change your muffler bearings! I completely forgot that they wear out and they're what makes the specific noise the beetles hate. :D



It would be a VERY good idea to clean the frame of your truck well and spray rust converting spray on it and then a stain or flat black.


You meant satin, not stain, right? Also, a good waxoil will help seal it off.

[Seanz0rz]

i think he meant satan

[CJM]

^ Dont forget to change the blinker fluid and the sphincter valve.

Of course satin, but hey satan works better imho.

Ya thats right spray on the satan!!

[kregg]

Be sure you leave a coat hanger in the back seat in case you lock your keys in your car! Always be prepared!

[Obi..]

i think he meant satan


You guys got it all wrong...sheesh, it's..
"don't say ten say eleven!"
http://members.cox.net/espressopundit/SpinalTap_Edith_503.jpg

[BruceTS]

looks like an animal pissed on it.....causing it to corrode. I've seen similar damage to home AC units that are mounted at ground level in yards...