What can be done about rust on a radiator

A simple pressure test can find if there is a leak. After that, the location can be pin pointed.
Some people use the wrong product to clean their radiator and this can lead to corrosion. Salt from Winter roads can also cause corrosion.
Simple Green EXTREME is recommended to clean aluminum and if it is not rinsed COMPLETELY, it will not cause more corrosion. Some of the other cleaning solutions actually make things worse if they are not rinsed out of every little gap.

I don't know about leaking, the coach wasn't there for the radiator issue it was there for an electrical issue. I do not believe it was leaking, it just had rust on the bottom as I mentioned.

Hold on. Some coach s have radiators that have a steel frame around
The core. Of course that steel can rust especially if radiator is cleaned with a caustic and not rinsed well. A rusted frame does not automatically mean the radiator is leaking

The coach isn't mine. I was at Clark Power Services on another issue and the Bluebird was in front of me. A couple other guys were looking at it and talking about how much easier it is with a side radiator to get at the engine. It was then that the rust on the radiator was pointed out and someone said 8V92's are know to be hard on radiators.

I personally have not seen rust outside a radiator before. But I should 't have said it had a 2" to 3" strip like it was static. I should have taken picture but didn't really start thinking about it until I was on the way home.

Mine has a side radiator and I'm going to look at it when I get home. I know from what was said that a new radiator is around $4000 not including installation and fluid. Ouch!

You need to do two things:
1. Do you ever change your coolant? If not then it needs to be changed - on a regular maint. basis. If the fluid was good nothing would rust even if it leaked.

2. You ALSO need to get the radiator repaired or replaced.

Maybe it would be worth it to take a quality photo of the rust area (as well as the section of the engine) and take it to a trusted shop and ask their opinion?

Since the rust is on the outside and in a strip, is it possible that there was some metal label that had been there at one time and rusted off? Often those old metal labels would rust out and create a rust stain on the actual engine part but there is nothing wrong with the engine part.

This was like a 89 to 93 Bluebird diesel, not sure the kind of radiator it would have. But there was a 2" to 3" strip of rust on the bottom. The question was asked what was needed to fix it and how long it could be driven this way?

I had no idea other than the coach already had almost 200,000 miles on it.

They stopped making steel radiators a long time ago. Your radiator is probably made of aluminum and brass so any rust you see is either rust coming from your engine block and leaking through the radiator with the coolant or rust from some exterior bracket. If it is coming from your engine block and leaking out, the only solution is to remove the radiator and have it checked to see if it can be repaired or if it needs to be replaced.

Hi guys,

I don't fully understand. Are you saying you can drain the old and put in new antifreeze etc and not have to replace or record the radiator?

I ask because a diesel radiator is no inexpensive item to refill. How would you tell what exactly needs to be done to the radiator? Somebody said to buy CLR (I may have the wrong product but it was something like that) and spray it on the rust and that will take it off, is that right?