What is the best sealant for a leaky radiator? I have tried Aluma Seal and it didn't stop the leak. It may have helped some but it still steams and dribbles when I park the car. Is there a better one? Thanks for any suggestions.
snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.nospam.com wrote in article ...
and it didn't stop the leak.
car. Is there a better one?
The "best" radiator sealant is the solder that your local radiator shop uses to repair the leak.
A replacement radiator without leaks.
DS
and it didn't stop the leak.
car. Is there a better one?
I've had terrific success with NewRad.
I guess I should have been clear that I meant off the shelf sealants. A repair will cost about $75-$80 and a new radiator will cost about $90, so I wanted to find a cheaper method, even if it wasn't a permanent fix.
...
and it didn't stop the leak.
car. Is there a better one?
repair will cost about $75-$80
method, even if it wasn't a permanent fix.
Let me get this straight.... you can get a brand new radiator for $90 but you'd rather spend $10 on a can of shit that might seal your radiator but will likely cause other problems in the future. You may be short on money.... but you're even shorter on brains. Save yourself some grief and just buy the radiator. In the long run the new radiator will be cheap. Bob
Unless you mistyped the price of the radiator, then there's only one obvious choice because $90 is practically free for a new radiator. Don't screw around with half- assed measures that may strand you one day (a tow alone could cost almost $90) and require engine repairs costing
10-30 times as much. Bite the bullet and change the radiator yourself. It's easy.Is it my accent or am I typing to fast? I ask for a simple opinion of the best radiator sealant and I get this? I k-n-o-w - h-o-w- - t-o - f-i-x - i-t - p-e-r-m-a-n-e-n-t-l-y. Is that better?
Ok, enough of the smart remarks. I do not want to put any money into this car. It is probably going to be given away or junked in the very near future. That is why I am not concerned with a long term fix.
repair will cost about $75-$80
method, even if it wasn't a permanent fix.
Let me get this straight.... you can get a brand new radiator for $90 but you'd rather spend $10 on a can of shit that might seal your radiator but will likely cause other problems in the future. You may be short on money.... but you're even shorter on brains. Save yourself some grief and just buy the radiator. In the long run the new radiator will be cheap. Bob
If you just have a wet spot on a radiator then something like a Bar's Leak can work for a season. When you have dripping as you do after using something, the situation is hopeless for additives. If it's an old brass radiator the fins and supports can be so badly deteriorated at the bottom that the tubes have no support. Plastic rads have other problems. Go shopping for a radiator.
Get yourself a jar of ground pepper. Either black or white, but a fine ground one. Add a heaped tablespoon to the radiator and let it circulate.
The pepper will swell with the water and as it flows into the leak it will block it and congeal to form a solid plug.
Does not always work for radiator leaks in the thin sections but if it's a thicker bit of metal like a cracked block or a leaking head gasket (but not the high pressure seal to the cylinder) that leaks water to the outside or the oil sump it will work like a charm and you will get many years of happy service.
As a bonus, it's cheaper than any other product.
However if you want to get top dollar for it as a trade, you should make sure you flush the remaining pepper out so the radiator doesn't smell like pepper to a potential buyer.
My tractor has run like this for 15 years and several car leaks have been fixed with this method over many years.
Hope this helps, Peter
Thanks! I had forgotten about the pepper trick. I never tried it before but I had heard about it along time ago. I'll give it a try.
didn't stop the leak.
Is there a better one?
Sometimes Bars Leaks Gold works well and sometimes you just have to pay the man.
Believe it or not, you can go to the supermarket and buy a can of ground pepper..finely ground. Put that in the radiator water while the engine is running and warm and it will seal the leak...temporarily for a while.
Old wives recipe.
it didn't stop the leak.
car. Is there a better one?
I agree. My Father once used several cans of Bar's leaks to fix a radiator leak. The coolant passages in the head ended up getting clogged. We replaced the head with a resurfaced one, but it did not help. Oil continued to seep out near the rear of the engine, and it ran rough. There was obviously other damage.
It was a 225CID in a 1963 Plymouth Valiant Convert.
-Kirk Matheson
|I agree. My Father once used several cans of Bar's leaks to fix a |radiator leak. The coolant passages in the head ended up getting |clogged. We replaced the head with a resurfaced one, but it did not |help. Oil continued to seep out near the rear of the engine, and it |ran rough. There was obviously other damage.
You expected Bar's Leaks to cure an oil seapage problem ??? What were you thinking?? Rex in Fort Worth
|What is the best sealant for a leaky radiator? I have tried Aluma Seal and it didn't stop the leak. |It may have helped some but it still steams and dribbles when I park the car. Is there a better one?
Bar's and any other good sealant works best on a clean system. Just like paint or adhesive, it will not work on an oily surface, That means a reverse-flush with Permatex HD Cleaner or similar product, thorough flush with clean water, then add the Bar's to the pure water in a clean system. Once the leak has stopped (give it a few days) drain, reverse-flush with only clear water, then refill with 50/50 antifreeze. Should be good for quite a while.
What can happen is that a seam has separated under pressure. No chemical will seal that, because of the flex. Rex in Fort Worth
Just because you disagree with the answers everyone gave you doesn't necessarily mean that they're wrong.
JB Weld (on a tank leak) or good ol' Bondo (slathered over weak areas of the matrix) can keep you going for a while, but eventually your radiator will have to be replaced. Don't piss around with sealers as they're one of those things that work once, but then you get tempted to use them again and again when you still have a little leak and then you get all sorts of cooling system problems.
I imagine a junkyard will give you less for your car with a blowed up engine as opposed to if you drive it there as well...
nate
best radiator sealant and
Is that better?
car. It is probably
not concerned with
the best radiator sealant and
p-e-r-m-a-n-e-n-t-l-y. Is that better?
this car. It is probably
am not concerned with
and it didn't stop the leak.
car. Is there a better one?
I've used more expensive stuff, but Solder Seal--the old powdered silver-looking stuff--made in NC, I think, cannot be beat. A 'box' of it still costs under $1 at AutoZone, IIRC. HTH & good luck
I wasn't disagreeing with the answers that anyone gave. I was just returning the rude remarks to "Bob". There was no need for him to insult me when all I was doing was asking a simple question.
the best radiator sealant and
p-e-r-m-a-n-e-n-t-l-y. Is that better?
this car. It is probably
am not concerned with
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