radiator leaking.?

Question

help!! my radiator is leaking. we put the stop leak in it. my car does not over heat at all and the heater works great. every morning we check the fluid and it is low. every other day i leave work at night and have a puddle of antifreeze under my car. but still it does not overheat. any suggestions that don't require buying a new radiator until after christmas??

i live in PA

Answer 1

epoxy wont work here find some justice brothers stop leak it works the best its a temp fix
you will need a new radiator as stop leaks really dont work well in plastic radiators
if its cold there (below freezing use 50/50 mix antifreeze
if its not that cold use a 90 /10 mix

the cost of all the antifreeze you will be giong through may cost you more than the radiator

dont leave the cap loose as someone sugested that will make it worse as the antifreeze will come out there a lot faster
and your only problem may just be a bad cap anyway youmay just want to put on a new one just in case

Answer 2

From now until after christmas is a long time if it is leaking that bad. By that time you probably will have gone through 8-10 bottles of antifreeze at $7-$10 and 2-3 bottles of stop leak at $3-$5 dollars a bottles, you probably could have gotten a new radiator depending on what type vehicle it is.
Waiting till after christmas, you will have spent all of this plus the price of the new radiator. My calculations may be a little off, but I think you should buy the new radiator. Just my opinion, ok?

Answer 3

After, carefully inspect the hose, and verify that it is not the hose that is leaking, then proceed to the protruding (pipelike) stub from the radiator. That stub is 'soldered' to the radiator housing. With age, or a good slam, very minor cracks can occur. You can re-solder using a 'propane torch(after lowering the level of the coolant), or use J/B weld compound. Inspect the stub, to see if it corroding thru, or have a rough outer surface, which prevent the clamped hose from fully seal-over. Depending on the age of the car, and time yet ' to keep running', you may want to add a "radiator sealer compound" which will stop small leaks,,,,,,its pennies vs bucks for a new rad.

Answer 4

A new radiator is going to solve your problem. In the mean time you can put a catch pan underneath overnight and top it back off in the morning, until a new one is installed. An empty coolant jug with a hole cut into the side works well. other methods of temporary repair is 5 min epoxy or JB kwick. Merry Christmas

Answer 5

First, I suggest checking all the hoses coming from and going to the radiator. Many leaks come from the hoses and not the radiator itself. This is also the quickest fix. If that doesn't work, then you might have to start looking at a new radiator.

Answer 6

Try dumping a small can of regulasr ol' ground black pepper in it-I drove a truck for 2 years back in my younger days with a pepper-sealed radiator

Answer 7

keep 50/50 mix of coolant 5 gallons....and drive with radiator cap loose/not off...less pressure...fill often...dont drive unless u must...any how do u know its the rad? 100 hoses and 10 waterpumps go for every bad radiator..

Answer 8

You don't say where you live, but if it's cold outside, it likely won't overheat - especially if you're not driving really long distances. For now, you could just keep filling it up - but you will need to get it replaced eventually.

Answer 9

put 2 raw eggs in the radiator after it warms up it will seal the hole I have done this many times with great success and they even did it on mythbusters will success

Answer 10

IF YOU LEAVE IT ALONE,DOES IT GET REALLY LOW ON FLUID? IT JUST MIGHT BE IT CANT HOLD THE EXCESS FLUID. OR IT COULD BE YOUR WATER PUMP. WHEN THEY GO BAD THEY WILL LEAK