Should radiator cap be regukarly replaced?

[MR_Loyale]

I cam across some videos on youtube in which the topic of the cooling system was discussed and it was mentioned that the radiator cap should be replaced periodically. I don't recall what sort of schedule was mentioned.

 

Should a radiator cap be replaced periodically? I have had the same one on my EA82 for the last 20 years. While it is true I am a cheap bastard at heart, I am willing to buy a new one if it is recommended. Just never heard of this before. What do folks think?

[-tombba-]

If it doesn't do its job correctly (that is keeping the cooling system pressure at wanted level and ofcourse without leaking) then you should replace it. Otherwise don't bother. I only replace it when it doesn't work or if I want to do so to make sure it does not fail I change it like once in a 100.000 miles or so. If the cap fails it won't keep the cooling sytem presure up and you may loose some coolant but it's not the kind of fault that puts you off the road right away if it starts leaking.

[BoxerRebellion]

I've replaced one radiator cap in my life. Purchased from CarQuest. The cap original to the Scoob was Japanese. The replacement cap was Chinese - and very "chinsy."

 

Periodically replacing a radiator cap in my mind... Is like periodically replacing your door handles simply because... "Welp, they might fail down the road."

 

If it isn't leaking, it's doing it's job and it's a simple job at that.

It doesn't do anything other than provide a leak-free pressure fitting - that allows access to coolant when you need access.

 

No leak. No problem.

Perhaps inspect it, if it's clean, it's clean.

[djellum]

they can go bad and cause problems before they catastrophically fail, so its a good idea to replace them.  Id say whenever you flush your cooling system throw the extra 7 bucks in on it.  id say the coolant flush is probably more important and thats done much less than it should also.  

 

for ultimate maintenance, flush and change the cap once a year.  for normal maintenance, do it every couple of years.  for what most people do, let it go until your mopping up fluid after a bad day.