coolant leak

[jake91]

so today i noticed the cutty has a small coolant leak it seems to be coming fro the radiator. I have yet to pinpoint the exact spot as it looks like it is leaking from the bottom but the frame is in the way.it doesnt seem to leak when cold just when hot. it has been leaking for a while though as the coolant was very low. i have checked both the oil and coolant and they are fine that is why i know it must be the radiator. so sorry for the long post for a simple question. what is a good leak stop radiator treatment? my dad told me about one called dycus but i cant find it anywhere.

[94 olds vert]

I ended up replacing mine when I had my front end ripped apart.I also replaced the lower and upper rad hoses while I was

there.

 

This is what my dad put in his truck not to long ago.

http://www.barsproducts.com/C16_R6.htm

 

 

[3pt1lumina]

I have used Bars Leak for all types of cooling system leaks (small ones anyways) and I have always had good luck. Use the liquid form because one time I tried a powdery mix and that was a complete disaster...had to flush the entire system afterwords.

 

Although, if it is leaking the best thing to do is replace whatever part is malfunctioning. But Bars Leak will get you by for awhile. My LIMs started leaking in my gf's (at the time) white Lumina and she got almost another year out before they needed to be replaced.

 

All depends how bad the leak is and where it is. Looking back, we really should have put LIM's on it but we just didn't have the money at that time.

[jake91]

well it looks to be just a small rad. leak so that why i was just looking into a leak stop

[3pt1lumina]

IIRC a replacement radiator for my Luminas were $155 and I always put new hoses on when I replace a radiator.

 

The only reason I replaced my tranny cooler lines was because they were really rusty and they were only $6/line or else I would have left them alone.

[94 olds vert]

I paid $125 for my radiator. Darn it I forgot to replace the trans cooler lines when I was there.

[jake91]

i figure i will replace the radiator when i upgrade the trans cooler in the future because im out of work now. so i can aford a $4 stop leak but not a $150 radiator

[3pt1lumina]

This is true. The bottle also says to use it as a preventative thing for the water pump even if there are no leaks but I have never done so... probably could it wouldn't hurt anything.

[jman093]

Please don't put bars leak or similar in your cooling system. If the rad is leaking, replace it. That crap clogs up your system. Cars have come into our shop overheating with that crap in there system. It clogs the radiator, the heater core, the thermostat, everything. You can only imagine the parts and labor to replace all that and blow it all out of the block. I should have taken pictures of one of these cars. It's just clumpy brown stuff where coolant should be. Think about it. It's meant to clog up small holes where leaks are. It will do the same to radiator and heater core tubes as well as the thermostat opening.

[tornado_735]

Yeah, I have heard horrible things about Bar Stopleak.

[xtremerevolution]

Yeah, I have heard horrible things about Bar Stopleak.

 

I should cram a plunger down the throat of the idiot British engineer who decided that Bars stop leak should be added to every Jaguar engine from the factory. It makes it nearly impossible to remove cylinder heads off of the V12 because of that, and causes a plethora of overheating issues.

 

I'm sure the same sentiment can be expressed toward any car that has that stuff added into it.

[tornado_735]

 

 

I should cram a plunger down the throat of the idiot British engineer who decided that Bars stop leak should be added to every Jaguar engine from the factory. It makes it nearly impossible to remove cylinder heads off of the V12 because of that, and causes a plethora of overheating issues.

 

I'm sure the same sentiment can be expressed toward any car that has that stuff added into it.

 

FROM FACTORY!?!?!? AYFKM?

[Night Fury]

Please don't put bars leak or similar in your cooling system. If the rad is leaking, replace it. That crap clogs up your system. Cars have come into our shop overheating with that crap in there system. It clogs the radiator, the heater core, the thermostat, everything. You can only imagine the parts and labor to replace all that and blow it all out of the block. I should have taken pictures of one of these cars. It's just clumpy brown stuff where coolant should be. Think about it. It's meant to clog up small holes where leaks are. It will do the same to radiator and heater core tubes as well as the thermostat opening.

 

x2, leak-stop additives are just a band-aid, and I'd never use them unless I literally HAD to or something. In The op's case I'd just keep adding coolant until I could get a new rad.

[xtremerevolution]

 

 

I should cram a plunger down the throat of the idiot British engineer who decided that Bars stop leak should be added to every Jaguar engine from the factory. It makes it nearly impossible to remove cylinder heads off of the V12 because of that, and causes a plethora of overheating issues.

 

I'm sure the same sentiment can be expressed toward any car that has that stuff added into it.

 

FROM FACTORY!?!?!? AYFKM?

 

I'm not kidding at all. The worst part is that the radiator cooling design is extremely over-complicated. Its effective when the system is running 100% proper, but its disastrous when its not. When it fails, your engine overheats and you need the valve seats on the heads re-machined. Removing the heads is a nightmare. Its an aluminum block with aluminum heads, and for structural integrity, the heads slide onto studs protruding out of the block. The stop-leak builds up around the studs, and you find the limits of your humor trying to lift a seized 45lb cylinder head off a V12 engine.

[jake91]

so glad i checked back before i put it in i will return it since i havent opened it and just add coolant as it is a very slow leak

[94 olds vert]

I let my dad read this thread. And he said you want to help me put in a new radiator.

[xtremerevolution]

I let my dad read this thread. And he said you want to help me put in a new radiator.

 

Yeah, new radiator is cheaper than new headgaskets, hoses, a new radiator anyway, and a complete engine block flush.

[tdvs]

I thought I heard somewhere, years ago they'd break a raw egg into the radiator to stop leaks.

Or maybe it was add oatmeal?

[jake91]

it was an egg mythbusters tested it and it did work

[Addicted To Boost]

Jake, make sure the hose clamps are tight on your upper and lower radiator hoses, and be sure your drain cock is tight as well. If all of these check out, just get a new radiator. I paid $25 for a new radiator out of a Lumina at the U-pull in Chandler. Someone must have junked the car right after putting in a new radiator Its an easy install as well.

 

Edit: I think I paid $25 on one of their "half off" days, and you need to bring in your old radiator as a core or you will be charged more. Luckily I had my old one on me so I didn't have to make the trip twice

[jake91]

okay i will take another look at the hoses i already checked the drain

[GnatGoSplat]

Wow, so strange, I had thought about making a similar post because I'm having the EXACT same problem with my 94 convertible.

 

It seems somewhere there's a coolant leak on the left (driver) side of the radiator. Maybe somewhere in the radiator plastic tank. I can't place it. It almost looks like it leaked from the hose neck, but it's always dry to the touch. There's often wetness on the side of the radiator and down by the drain plug on the frame, it's all wet. However, when I start the car, it's like that old saying where a watched pot never boils - a watched radiator never leaks. In fact, running the car to temp only burns off what wetness was there so I totally can't tell where the coolant was coming from. I've just been topping it off every couple of weeks, but started looking at it during my Christmas break because it got bad enough to make a small puddle in the garage.

 

If you figure out where yours is leaking from, let me know or take pics. Maybe mine is leaking from the same place since these cars tend to fail in the same places.

 

[jake91]

that is 100% how mine is. if you find yours let me know and take pics

[94 olds vert]

Mine was leaking from the drivers side. I never did find where. But I replaced it as soon as I found it was leaking.

I will assume if I didn't fix it the problem would of gotten worse.

 

At first I thought it was the upper rad hose. I replaced it and it still leaked.

[tornado_735]

You know, I just remembered something.

 

A couple of months back, I was having issues with a coolant leak on my GP. My low coolant light would come on when I was on the highway, and I could smell coolant when I parked anywhere. There was coolant down the side of the radiator, and was pooling on the subframe underneath. But it never looked like it was leaking out of the filler neck. It honestly looked like it was coming out of where the coolant level sensor is mounted.

 

I changed the radiator cap, and have not had a problem to this day.