Xantia 2 1.9TD Radiator leak question

[Deacon]

Hi guys,

Today I noticed that my baby leaks a bit of antifreeze when the car is warmed up and the cooling system builds up pressure. The leak comes from the rear-bottom-right (when standing against the engine) area of the radiator. I still haven't disassembled the engine tray to get a better look. The cooling system tubes are looking fine. I read that there are some bleed screws somewhere down there. Are there any in this area or am I in for a new radiator?

A few days ago I added a bit of new antifreeze since the coolant level was 1 cm below the minimum (actually the car's been loosing a bit of antifreeze somewhere ever since 3 years, doesn't appear to be going in the piston chamber or oil or below the car), and now I'm not sure if the car's been leaking small amounts all along or I messed up the radiator with air pocket, or simply its time has come. It's the original one and now the car is at almost 200 000 km.

I would be really grateful to you guys if you could give me advise what / where I need to check more. And also what parts I need to swap during an average radiator change on the Xantia. For example, mine is 1.9TD Xantia 2 Estate from 1999 with XUD9TE engine and Service Citroen quotes two radiator codes 1331HV and 1301GL. Which one should I use? Also both are NFP so any suggestion on good aftermarket radiator brand with good quality to price ratio would be welcomed!

Thanks a lot in advance

[CitroJim]

Rad is identical to late 1.9TD (with bayonets) and the 2.0TCT Activa... One or the other should be available in the aftermarket...

I can offer no recommendations in that respect.

Note that the early 1.9TD had a different rad in that it used hose stubs rather than bayonets...

One good tip to make the swap a little easier is to remove the rad complete with the bottom hose attached - disconnect it at the water pump end. You can then work on the bottom hose bayonet with lots of space around it; I find it best to remove the bayonets on a duff rad by carefully breaking/splitting the bayonet sockets on the rad and thus saving the hoses... The rad is duff anyway so there's no point in trying to save it - the hoses are far more valuable.

[Deacon]

Thanks a lot for the prompt reply, Jim! So I understand beside changing the radiator (and looking out not to ruin the hoses), the thermostat, water pump (needs to be changed soon anyway) and antifreeze - no additional things need changing (let's hope). I read some people wrote about some O-rings.

[CitroJim]

No worries Deacon, been there a few times with these bloody awful bayonets on the 2.1, the 1.9 and Activa

Thermostat is fun as it's on the back of the block!

The 'stat has an O ring but that's all... One thing to be aware of is the 2.1TD water pump is often supplied without a gasket and those have to be obtained separately...

The hose bayonets can be 'fun' and bloody difficult which is why I recommend destroying the rad to save the hoses... The bayonets have O rings but if you are careful in the recovery of the bayonets they are reusable without any worries at all..

[Deacon]

Understood Jim, thank you again. So the radiator is getting cut then. Saving the hoses is the priority.

[CitroJim]

Understood Jim, thank you again. So the radiator is getting cut then. Saving the hoses is the priority.

Absolutely yes!

Just replied to your PM...

[Deacon]

So 200 Euros later (with labour), Lilou got a new radiator, thermostat and antifreeze.
Parts are: radiator Valeo Classic 231297, thermostat Wahler and forgot the name of the antifreeze, but it was a blue G11, and certainly not the highly corrosive blue Total one. Also forgot - a bunch of new O-rings for top / bottom hoses and the thermostat.

The old radiator went out largely without any troubles, except for the bottom hose. With a hammer and screwdriver hammering on rad's bottom bayo connector, the hose gave way and was saved. Also the old thermostat was for different engine, but at least they got the 83 deg. C part right.

The new radiator speaks Chinese. The external metal machining is a bit raw on top and bottom. The top and bottom edges of the radiator grill aren't protected by any sort of railing like on the OEM, so top and bottom edges are all bent more or less. They packed the rad securely but the way they manufactured it without railing, made it impossible to keep them straight prior to fitting. Some day I will go out to straighten them up.
What matters is that face/back grill side is all straight, which means the rad will do its job, no problem.
The other minus, which I discovered is that the rad doesn't have drainage. Oh, well, I will think over this in 2-3 years time.

However, the biggest plus is that, compared to all other brands like Nissen, NRF, Hella - Valeo's radiator for this engine is 1.85 cm wider, which when you look at it from the entire height of the radiator, makes quite of an additional cooling surface.

If someone is hardcore, they can go and try to get what's left of the OEMs that I just saw (if legit and not random picture): http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Radiator-wate ... SwkShY~7Z7

Anyway, the car now gets to 80 - 83 C and stays there. I am happy with the end result - keep that XUD9 nice and cool.

Here are some horrifying images of the old radiator. The black gold was actually my antifreeze. Have no idea what made it that way. Haven't changed the antifreeze in 6 - 7 years. Gonna keep an eye out now, hopefully won't get the same.

[CitroJim]

Excellent work Deacon