JayEstes 173 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 Guys- I have taken the girl out for a long drive (900-1000 when done). Everything's been great and I have a ton of parts tools with me, but I've developed a radiator leak seems to be mostly at pressure (doesn't leave a puddle) what are my best options for getting her home without trying to track down a new radiator? stop leak? I think I'm ready to try it, but I don't like that much. Leak seems to coming from radiator itself as fan is coated in coolant and other engine components. Hoses are new anyway. other thoughts? Pull it and try to get a shop to fix it? Ugh. Lemme know your genius ideas. I need an option or two thanx, Jay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
moodster 55 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 Years ago my father would have found the leaky tube, cut it at the top and bottom, pinched it together with some nines and soldered it shut. I'd definitely keep an eye on your engine temperature. Sometimes, especially if the radiator is rotten, the leak will suddenly get a lot worse. david Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969_Mach1 333 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 There are several stop leak products that work pretty good. For minor leaks, the Bar's Leak Stop Leak in table form or the liquid form works good. The liquid is a brown muddy looking liquid. Bar's leaks also have more aggressive products. Get a couple different types and start with the most mild like the stop leak I mentioned. When I worked as a mechanic, primarily when a GM technician, every time we opened up a cooling system, GM had stop leak tablets like the Bar's Leaks stop leak tablets, that we would put in the cooling system to prevent any minor leaks that might occur later down the road. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
J's69Mach1 17 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 Aluma Seal worked good for me. Powdered form. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JET 445 43 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 Just undo your radiator cap enough to let the pressure out, this will stop it leaking until you get a chance to fix it properly. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 831 Report post Posted October 20, 2017 I've read that ground pepper or egg yolks are good for minor radiator leaks on a temporary basis. https://www.wikihow.com/Seal-a-Leaking-Radiator Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayEstes 173 Report post Posted October 21, 2017 Ok an update! Thanks for all those thoughts guys! I made it to my "far destination" about 620mi from home.. (hey I'm not against an adventure!) i decided I needed to try the stop leak. I had used something called "liquid copper" once on my sons 71 and it really seemed to help- so I decided to look for that. An Autozone carried it and I got more antifreeze and one bottle of what I believed to be the same thing I had used before. It is one of the bar's leak stop products as mentioned by 69_mach. interestingly - after I poured it in and filled up and headed out, my temp gauge decided to start reading offscale low.. unbelievable. A quick stop and check of the sensor connection brought it back. It amazes me the timing of some of this crap.... but amazingly- so far the leak stop has held well. It seemed to stop losing fluid, and I drive 2+ more hours (some of it in stop and go traffic no less!). Even after arrival at my destination I don't need to add fluid. Some very helpful stuff above - including leaving the cap undone to run without pressure. I wouldn't have believed Midlife on peppered eggs but the article actually does say that! They are listed separately and it made me wonder if mixing the egg yolks with pepper would be a real option. Hope I don't have to go there and the stop leak will hold. I'll keep y'all posted. I've got a solid 600 miles to home- so the drama is not over yet! Jay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Midlife 831 Report post Posted October 21, 2017 You doubted me? I heard it on Car Talk, and everything they say must be right, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayEstes 173 Report post Posted October 21, 2017 1 hour ago, Midlife said: You doubted me? I heard it on Car Talk, and everything they say must be right, right? Oh I learned my lesson about you! That car security option you recommend where I'm supposed to take the gas tank with me!?!!! Had to learn the hard way that was impractical!!!... ;) Can't trust ya- well except for wiring advice!! Lol hahahaha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969_Mach1 333 Report post Posted October 21, 2017 The Bar's Leaks liquid copper you used works pretty good. I've heard of the egg yoke and pepper method. I wouldn't try it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JayEstes 173 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 Alright! Final update! I made it home no problem! Today I drove the old girl a solid 580miles, and had ZERO issues. I had my eye on the temp gauge all day. Temp never got out of the normal range. Watching it as much as I did I now have a lot of questions about small fluctuations that occur (watching something close for a long time leads to some hyper-sensitivity in changes that are probably totally normal) I basically added fluid to the radiator after pouring in the leak-stop, and never needed to add more fluid. That's pretty amazing that it worked that well. Temps were generally stable all day. It was nice to find that I had most everything put together right, and even though I carried $100+ in spare parts I didn't need anything. I had great weather for the ride back and generally cool temps so that helped, but in any case, the stop leak is a good solution in my case. Bear in mind I have not completely isolated where the leak was, but I believe it was in one of the cooling fins. The car is still running on it's original radiator which was repaired before I put it back in, but is at risk of these kinds of leaks due to it being so old. I really appreciate everyones help with this. I hope to followup with concise list of all the "spare parts" and tools I took. I found lots of lists of recommendations, and I would now add radiator stop leak - certainly something I didn't think of but has the real potential to put you down in a tough spot if it goes out. All in all a great trip, and a good discussion on this. Thanks again. Jay Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,232 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 Thanks for the update Jay. I'm glad it worked out for you with a trouble free ride home. Guess I'll add some radiator stop leak or box of pepper :) to my box of liquids in the trunk. Any pics of your trip? 1 JayEstes reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Ridge Runner 1,146 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 There is a problem with using stop leaks like this ,they can plug a heater core or even the radiator causing the car to over heat ,especially with these new radiators ,they have smaller tubes in most of them ,not like the older brass radiators. Be carful how much you use Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
RPM 1,232 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 Good point Jim. Not sure about others, but I would only use it as a temporary emergency repair and fix problem when at home. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
1969_Mach1 333 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 Small fluctuations of the temperature gauge are usually one of two things: 1) Thermostat opening and closing (normal) 2) Air pockets in the cooling system (not normal). The air pockets could simply be trapped air that occurred during filling or a leaking head gasket. If there are no other symptoms, i.e. slight loss of coolant with no visible leaks, engine running rough for no known reason, then any air pockets would be air being trapped during a coolant fill. Yeah, once in a while an aggressive stop leak can finish plugging a partially plugged heater core or radiator. That's why most specify the cooling system be flushed and clean before adding the stop leak. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
stangnet33 88 Report post Posted October 23, 2017 Yes very fun to flush it out of block and cooling system... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
