Ok, I have a small leak in my rad. I dont have the cash available to buy a new one till after christmas. I want to put some of that rad sealer in, to temperarily seal the leak. I just want to see if anybody has opinions on the rad sealers. Should I just rough it till I can get the money or are the sealers any good??

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Godti
'89 Trans Am (Red)
305 TBI 5spd

 

They've always worked for me, but I can't help wonder if the metal flakes don't coat up inside the radiator.

 

Prestone super sealer sealed up my 94 sonoma 4cyl head gasket long enough for me to trade it. I was consuming 2 quarts a week(250 miles) Wal-Mart has it.




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82 camaro--original steering wheel, brake/gas pedals, seats--everything else modified
82camaro

 

Are you sure the radiator's leaking? I helped someone change their Camaro's radiator, they thought the plastic side-tank had a crack in it. Turned out that after the switch (to a new radiator), the leak was still there. The upper rad hose had a pinhole leak in it that was spraying onto the side tank when the coolant was hot.

Personally I'd say to just live with the leak. If it's in a spot you can get, stores sell a two-part putty that seals leaks. You twist it together, and push it against the leaking area, like modeling clay. This way it's not circulating around inside your engine. A kid I knew sealed his radiator up with it and drove like that for a few years.


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-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards
---Think your car could be pic of the week? Visit http://www.f-body.net for details!

 

That is my concern!! I want to know if those little flakes will cause any long term damage! I plan on replacing the rad in a few months. My real issue is that its cold up here in Canada, and when I let my car warm up (I usually let the car warm up for 5 to 10 minutes before I drive, especially in the cold weather), it wont blow hot air at idle. When Im driving around it blows hot air, but by the time I get to my destination, its just starting to get warm inside the car. And freezing rain is a bitch. Anyways, someone told me the reason for this is there is not enough fluid due to the leak. ( www.thirdgen.org/messgboard/Forum7/HTML/003345.html ) You can read for yourselves. So long story short, for the next couple of months I want to keep my system from leaking so I have hot air at idle.

As for know that its the rad, Im not 100% sure, but, there seems to be a whole right in the middle of the rad. Right around the center of the fan. But I will check around the hoses to see. Plus it does not seem to leak when the car is running, only when I shut it off.

Thanks for the respones!! Keep'em coming!

[This message has been edited by Godti (edited December 20, 2000).]

[This message has been edited by Godti (edited December 20, 2000).]

 

I just came in (15 degrees) from putting in a new radiator so hopefully you have a heated garage. The plastic side tank was cracked on mine.
There are several aftermarket such as TCI, Go/Dan, GDI, Modine, UAR (local chevy dealer carried this brand), etc that you can buy for about $120-140. However, Im suspect its the radiator if only leaking after you shut the engine off. Anyways, I opted for a new radiator after I found out the plastic side tanks were $40 each. good luck!

 

If you can't duct it...




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89 iroc-z
everything stock, except for a mirror that fell off

 

If your leak was in the side tank i'd say forget it. But you sound like it's in the core. Here's what i did with a freebie aluminum radiator for my "hobby stock" car i used to have. It worked great. No real science. It involved a shop-vac, JB Weld, and some duct tape.

The radiator was not in a car

-I rinsed it thouroughly
-Located the hole
-used duct tape to cap off one inlet/outlet
-taped the shop-vac hose to the other inlet
-Mixed up the JB Weld
-turned on the shop-vac
-applied JB Weld to the hole

Be sure not to let the hole start sucking air once the vacuum is started. Don't fill the etire radiator up with JB Weld either

I hold NO responsibility for the outcome of this experiment (applying for a pattent tommorow ), worked for me though.

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The world is full of stupid people...and I am no exception.

'83 Z28 5 speed (regrettably with T-tops)
'83 Z28 No T-tops (regrettably automatic)

 

If it is leaking from a flue, and not a tank (a flue is the rows that are sandwiched between the fins and run from tank to tank) you can use Acid Core Solder and a Crack Torch (mechanics humor) to permanatly fix the leak. If it is a tank, yeah, tanks may be $40, but after paying a shop to remove the old tank and crimp the new one on, you would have broke even, but at least with the new one, you will have two new tanks, instead of one.

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