I have a maybe 2 inch long, thin, crack in my radiator just below the filler neck on the side facing the engine. Is there anything i can use to effectively seal the leak(ie maybe some type of adhesive or something) Im trying to fix it cheap first because it is truly a small crack and only leaks a tiny bit at driving temp. TIA

 

wut if u try liek JB weld. Not sure lets see what other got to say

 

Just change the radiator. Contrary to the belief, it isn't bad at all. A peace of mind and no bring down on LONG TRIPS is something that shouldn't be compromised.

I'm changing my koyo radiator in along with new coolant, plenty of new hoses, new thermo. That gives me confidence like no other. =)

 

yea might as well replace the whole thing

 

or put like 3 raw eggs in through the radiator cap and start your car..... LMAO seriously though ever see myth busters on that where they punch a whole in the radiator then drop a couple eggs in and it seals? Well anyway my radiator blew out on my beater neon a year ago and i had no cash and had to leave ASAP so i cracked 3 eggs into the radiator and ran the car... about 6 min later it sealed up and i filled the reseviour and i was on my way. It lasted about a week then started leaking again but man was it funny to tell people it actually worked!

 

haha my friend actually told me that when mine leaked i laughed in his face

 

yo eggs wtf


do tell more


you just get three eggs and put the whites/yolks into the radiator cap? ??

 

eggs. or black pepper will work. will also dirty up your system.

 

Just fix it now, you can swap em out urself and the radiator is only 60-70 bucks at autozone. If you fix it now, you wont regret it later!

 

man i know somebody was gonna say that.. what a hillbilly fix.. dont tell people these things please....

 

lmao it was more of a joke, i would NEVER do it to the VQ! But a neon i got for $300 sure hahaha o man its still funny

 

Few months ago mine head a similar crack, I tried epoxy glue but that didn't work, bought the radiator on ebay for $67 with shipping. Don't waiste your time just replace it.

 

Don't forget the hash browns!

 

Replace the Radiator... but for a temp fix just get a bottle of Radiator Stopleak...

http://automotive.hardwarestore.com/...ak-101076.aspx

I used it in my 92 Cavalier for the headgasket, it worked, but its not a permanent fix...

 

(keep in mind, I think he should borrow the dough and fix it right)

If it's the plastic part and he has no cash, I wonder if a soldering iron could be used to close up the crack. I've used that method in a pinch to seal up cracks in PVC that were under pressure (60psi) and it worked great.

The method was to lightly "rake" heated plastic from around the crack to seal it up. Of course, if he has no money, he probably doesn't have a soldering iron and probably not enough power cord to get A/C power to his soldering iron anyway.

The car has most likely served you well. Replace it.

 

Use JB weld until you can save up $60-70 for the new radiator. I'd strongly suggest not putting anything into your cooling system. If you do, you'll stand a good chance of destroying your heater core which is a ***** to remove and the whole job will cost you alot more than replacing a radiator.

The JB weld should hold for a little while, it held for a week on mine while I waited for my radiator to arrive in the mail.

 

Hi all

So my radiator is cracked on the top, just below the cap and I was hoping to be able to "fix it" without replacing it until next month but then I see that a radiator is like $60 in this thread, well The auto parts store wants $160 Where should I buy a good inexpensive radiator? I'm going to have it installed by my mechanic since I have no confidence in my abilitys to replace it. The last time I replaced a radiator was ona car from the early 80's and I don't seem to have the time or even the patience to deal with any problems that might come up if it doesn't go smoothly.

 

Radiator R&R is only 2 bolts and two clamps, plus a wiring harness connector or two. Not hard at all.

I had this same crack, apparently it's a common place for the A32.

 

I get mine from www.radiatorexpress.com $139.95 for all metal, Love mine. 1st time I ordered from them, they sent me an all-metal Koyo. 2nd time was all-metal chinese brand, but still awesome for the price.
Dr J

 

best thing is to replace it, but if you don't have the $$$$ buy some fiberglass fabric and fiberglass resin and hardner, drain your anti freeze down away from area.. Prep cracked area, by sanding it down and cleaning it with acetone or MEK, Mix your resin/hardner and apply to area of interest then apply fiberglass to area and apply resin to it until completely saturated. Put a heat lamp/halogen lamp close by to accelerate the curing time. You should be good and thoroughly dry/cured in about 2 hrs. Oh yeah stop drill the crack b4 you get started to prevent it from spreading, use a 1/4 bit please....

 

I got mine from ebay about a year ago. No problems at all.

 

Just buy a new one and put it in yourself. Anything you do to patch it will fail at the worst time; you in bumper to bumper traffic on a hot *** day far from home.

Also any additive you use will have a negative impact on the life of your water pump. 60 dollar rad or a new water pump?

Finally not fixing it you run the risk of hurting other hoses on your car. Since radiator fluids absorbs heat so well your other hoses will break down sooner. Sooner or later it'll become bad enough that your fan will just fling it all over the engine.

 

i got my oe replacement off ebay $70 shipped. for a fix go to walmart, they sell an epoxy which after hardening resembles plastic and bonds with plastic really well - i got it for a few $ in the home repair isles and lasted me 2 months till i had $ to replace the rad.

 

Replacement is the way to go... all the temp fixes are not worth the trouble as they're not affective.

Kruso