[attachment=0:xxpdc465] ia0 IMG_0530.JPG ia0 [/attachment:xxpdc465]I replaced the (leaking OE) radiator on 5 May 2013 with a coolparts U.K. Unit.
Today , 4 years and ( only) 6586 miles later on this years first outing the temperature gauge maxed out.
Longish story short the " new radiator " had blown out some sort of stopper or bung at the top near side of the radiator.
The Toyota Long Life coolant managed just 4 years before being sprayed along a section of dual carriageway.
I am with Swift Rescue, who were pretty much as their name.
They carried out a lay by repair using a section of my 2's heater bleed hose and two cable ties and refilled with water. Pete, the Swift man then followed me home, after two water stops in as many miles I got home with a system now full of water.
So far I have hosed the frunk and the near side of the car to remove the red coolant and put her back in the garage.

I now need to decide what to replace, bung/ stopper or complete rad. and decide on refilling with Longlife, after draining all the water, or change to a water based antifreeze that will likely be easier but will need doing annually or however long " standard "stuff lasts for.

Perhaps a message for others,the coolparts replacement has seemed to be a popular replacement on here but after my experience I suggest check this part sooner rather than later.

I have a relative who does a lot of business with coolparts. I'll see if they can do anything to prevent it.

To be honest,the bungs/stoppers  have been the weakness of this was from the get go. hence we advise to use new thicker o-rings for the offside bleed valve and use the valve from your Toyota rad.

Any details would be appreciated

The problem area is what looks like a plastic hose bib. To the best of my recollection this was blanked off ( internally) .
The offside bleed valve OE Toyota IIRC with new O ring is fine.
I will have a good look and decide whether to repair or replace the rad and report back.

My thinking is hoses!! - If the Rad is blown then coolant drops from under!!

Hoses were my first thought but inspection found them intact.
The ( small diameter) hose bib located at top of rad must have been redundant for the 2 and blocked off during manufacture. It certainly unblocked, and the tubing and cable ties got me home.

I have emailed Kevin Heaney at coolparts uk inviting his comments so that I can pass them on to fellow members who have a similar product.

Have any others experienced this problem?
Many of us have fitted the same rad.
I put one on the turbo car maybe 2 years ago.
Perhaps you are better off using cheaper coolant and changing the rad every couple of years.
Theyre only 30 odd quid cant even brim the tank for that.

False economy within 2 changes. Might as well get a Toyota one.

I don't think it can be marked as a common problem just yet  s:) s:)  Only one person has had an issue

Mine came with a rubber cover and matching jubilee clip for that unused outlet.
Not sure if coolparts but was cheap ebay one.

Quote from: "shnazzle"False economy within 2 changes. Might as well get a Toyota one.

+1

Not sure of the brand of mine, I want to say Denso. It was about £80 from EuroCarParts. Nearly 4 years and 30K+ miles on with no issues.   s:D s:D  

There is the saying buy cheap, buy twice. Justsayin'  s;-) ;-) s;-)

Quote from: "StuC"

Quote from: "shnazzle"False economy within 2 changes. Might as well get a Toyota one.

+1

Not sure of the brand of mine, I want to say Denso. It was about £80 from EuroCarParts. Nearly 4 years and 30K+ miles on with no issues.   s:D s:D  

There is the saying buy cheap, buy twice. Justsayin'  s;-) ;-) s;-)

I think its a good part.
Have done way more miles than Tony and not had a problem.

I was otherwise engaged today so have only measured the hose bib bought a length of hose and two clips, found a suitable bung, actually a bleed screw from the old rad ( I seldom throw things away).
It all went on ok, will not test until tomorrow.
Meanwhile, after having emailed coolparts I got a very prompt reply from Kevin Heaney.
He explained that mine was the first negative report and offered to repair the rad if the fault was as I described.
As this would have meant sending and receiving etc, etc, not to mention the cost of that to someone or other I thanked him but said I would effect my own repair.
He has replied again and asked if I would check with other forum members if they have had a similar problem.
Tomorrow I will give the car a " test" and report back to coolparts and ROC.
I really do not recall any external blanking on the hose bib but it was 4 years ago !

Today I " tested" my repair with water only as the coolant. It held up fine.
Do I now drain out "all" of the water and refill with Mr T' s LongLife coolant?
(In June 2012 a coolant change at Mr T' s cost £94.99, on 5 May 2013 ( the car being unused since October 1,  I replaced the leaking rad and topped up with Mr T' s brew at £9.40 a litre.
For just over £100 I have 10years of worry free cooling. But then the rad blows out and so that was only 4 years and not many miles)
My 2 is 15years young this June, it's done 60k or so.Some parts  age as much by years and miles, tyres we consider but not much mention of coolant hose and they are also made of rubber with boiling hot water on the inside.
My realist thoughts are that I could well loose the next lot of Mr T' brew at a cost of around £60 for 2x 5L and 1 x 1L through a
15 year old hose.
The system is also currently full of water that I must drain out " completely"
Instead I have bought  a 5L and a 2L Red Long Life antifreeze by Autochem from a local car parts wholesaler at a total cost of £17.21.
I am now in process of flushing out the residue of the MrT coolant and will then drain out most of the water and add a 50% / 5.2 L dose of the new stuff and still have some to spill on the drive and keep for " topping up"
I am hoping that is around £40 saved. Over next winter maybe I' ll think about changing all the hoses and my " cheap" rad  and I have £40 in the kitty to help fund that ( or something else.)

Our driveway is not steep but was sufficient to make the rear end expansion bottle  higher than the front end radiator bleed valve. if not car ramps or jack up and axle stands at the rear end.
I put the heater to hot to allow flow through the heater.
Draining  and flushing, thanks IIRC to Manos' s reference to draining via the foremost drains in the coolant tubes. I managed to reach them from above  the front of the car with a great deal of leaning, a 12mm ring spanner did the job for me.
Retrospectively I would have replaced these drain plugs and washers but that will now be a job for another day. ( I believe the coolant loss would be catchable and minimal if when I change them, (keeping the system closed, expansion cap on, really slows down or stops the flow).
For anyone considering this and wanting to change the drain plugs they are hex hd machine screws 8mm x 12mm long, I would consider a st st item together with flat st st washer and a fibre washer. A washer headed screw would not need the flat washer.
Unfortunately my " stock of parts was lacking these.
I guess these are also available from Mr T at a reasonable cost !
Once flushed and drained to clear water including the heater I drained one last time and measured what came out easily.This was a good 6 L.
I refitted the drain plugs and gradually poured in via the expansion bottle my chosen coolant to give slightly over a 50% mix this would be a total of 5.5 L , this was done initially with rad and heater bleed  valves open, and using the pvc bleed hoses that should be available hanging from the heater bleed valve. These hoses I directed into my bowl and held them in place with a piece of Gaffer tape.
 With  lots of checks to see if any was going through. it didn' t and so I started the engine and let it run at idle continuously pouring in the unmixed coolant until the 5.5 L was all in. The bleed valves were closed and opened in some sort of order until I got an air free issue. What came out I caught in a ( washing up ) bowl ( this fits nicely under the car and holds around 6 L brimful) and a plastic jug.
That which came out was put back in the expansion bottle to maintain the correct mix.
Beware, the cooling fan can and did start up.
Considering that Mr T had previously done this and explained to me how difficult it was to do and best left to their technicians I found it relatively easy but a little time consuming which is probably what Mr T really meant as they did it on a fixed price.