Omega Owners Forum

Omega Help Area => Omega General Help => Topic started by: chrisr on 13 July 2025, 14:19:07

Title: Radiator plastic
Post by: chrisr on 13 July 2025, 14:19:07

Can anyone tell me what type of plastic the sides of the radiator are made from, I have a crack near the top hose which is weeping. I have some Plastex to repair it but it says it will not adhere to polypropelene or polyethylene.
Has anyone successfully used Plastex or anything else for this?
Thanks.

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: TheBoy on 13 July 2025, 16:11:43

Not sure to be honest, but nothing I've ever tried fixes those types of cracks, so I've always replaced the rad when it happens.

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: cam.in.head on 13 July 2025, 17:58:56

as a quick "get you home type fix" you could melt the crack with a small soldering iron and maybee overcoat with jb weld or similar but it probably won't last long term and new rads are not that expensive .

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: Nick W on 13 July 2025, 19:43:44

plastics are notoriously difficult to glue, and that's before they've had twenty years of heat cycles and chemicals flowing through them.


When a brand new radiator is about £100****, gluing one should really be considered nothing more than a get-you-home lash-up


**** Or much less; LINK (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162169908649?_skw=Vauxhall+Omega&itmmeta=01K02HEK2S897Z1HDV8RNQ1PK7&hash=item25c2146da9%3Ag%3AHj0AAOSwSSNbkVYq&itmprp=enc%3AAQAKAAAA8MHg7L1Zz0LA5DYYmRTS30mLyY2fE%2F5ccP8wwGUmbICidz9sCy5LDiVoEf%2FK6Sq5puZS%2BvqCpsy6jESZATWI8udqwdckRZIwDHCPQK7T3BZ7N3MWmEONPpZVq5qwVo4HzQHCMDYiMZo5R71XAMKK4zXka8fFsiHYjzPKctMGurQfZch%2F2yJngy1b1cip8oXgpv%2FSwwv7EI1q9pY6Y1WT%2FiVkDxQWvjtA%2F54wl%2BS7HZms%2BnxrPK4VHFA1Fs8K%2BF8yaBDPE3wHzHNs0W7DuQeYyHaEN2qwN94nVyjtNJ3Mo0ypQN6Nf86pBW4QDQ8HdmIPOQ%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR76xutGAZg&fits=Car+Make%3AVauxhall%7CModel%3AOmega)

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: chrisr on 13 July 2025, 20:16:11

Thanks for your replies, I already have a replacement, I was just trying to put off doing it as I need the car a lot at the moment, plus something is bound to go wrong!

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: Nick W on 13 July 2025, 21:32:57

Quote from: chrisr on 13 July 2025, 20:16:11

Thanks for your replies, I already have a replacement, I was just trying to put off doing it as I need the car a lot at the moment, plus something is bound to go wrong!

If you count the time needed for any adhesive(that might work) to set, changing the radiator will be quicker.

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: omega2018 on 13 July 2025, 21:55:52

Won't be polyethylene or polyprop which are both low melting point and quite oily plastics hence very difficult to glue.  It's probably glass re-inforced nylon.  As a temporary repair I would use a plastics epoxy eg Unibond 1381190 Repair Power Epoxy for plastic.  You might find the repair outlives the rad but I wouldn't rely on that. Clean the joint with meths beforehand.

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: chrisr on 14 July 2025, 04:43:18

I can't find a guide anywhere on the forum as to how to replace the radiator, is it straightforward and is there anything else I need other than the new radiator? Thankyou. 2.2 Petrol

Title: Re: Radiator plastic
Post by: Migv6 le Frog Fan on 14 July 2025, 15:20:37

Pretty straightforward. Its just nuts, bolts & screws really.
If it has a transmission cooler built into the drivers side it would be advisable to get four copper crush washers for when you reattache pipes to the new rad.
Apart from that, just some new coolant.