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Example 1
2016 December I've noticed a leak,from drivers side radiator. I was losing about a cup of coolant a month.. I've filled the Pelican carts with three radiators.. hoses..clamps. The bill came to USD 3200 + Shipping + Customs..about USD 5,000.
My car costed me USD 38,000. I've decided why the hell not. The worst case scenario is a coolant flush. I bought two bottles of Prestone Radiator Stop Leak and poured them in according to the direction. It has not leaked since and still holding. At 48,000 miles I will wait, on the repair until the major leak.
Example 2
I had bought a hardtop last year, for USD 650.. The color is black although my car is Artic Silver. The convention says to paint the top..but I like this two tone look, on the car. In fact many of the new cars are coming out in this scheme. Also the effect is almost same as with my softtop.
I welcome your lively feed backs..
I had bought a hardtop last year, for USD 650.. The color is black although my car is Artic Silver. The convention says to paint the top..but I like this two tone look, on the car.
I would not put stop leak in my car. I did however re-crimp the end tanks on my two side radiators about 2 years ago when they were leaking. Still going strong with no leaks. Easy to do with the bumper off and you are in there cleaning the squirrels and cigarette butts out of the radiators .
I would not put stop leak in my car. I did however re-crimp the end tanks on my two side radiators about 2 years ago when they were leaking. Still going strong with no leaks. Easy to do with the bumper off and you are in there cleaning the squirrels and cigarette butts out of the radiators .
Did mine a couple years ago as well, replaced one with a cracked end tank and re-crimped the other which has now barley started to weep should have just replaced both sides. It's a pretty easy job though now, I bet less than two hours to replace the one.
Did mine a couple years ago as well, replaced one with a cracked end tank and re-crimped the other which has now barley started to weep should have just replaced both sides. It's a pretty easy job though now, I bet less than two hours to replace the one.
Thanks on the 2 tone ,,
On the stop leak ,, yes I will eventually replace with new ones,,
Here are some thoughts, from Barr and an INDY on stop leaks ,,
"Bar_s_LeaksDec '10
We have actually sold our powder tubes to people who used them in car emergency kits which included jumper cables, flares, etc. This is extremely popular with off road people who need the product in an emergency.
For many racing teams, our stop leak products are put in the vehicle before they even have a leak to seal up problems that might occur quickly out on the track. We have suggested over the years that consumer can install the product in the vehicle once per year to prevent leaks from happening in the first place.
Now, like anything else in a free marketplace, not all products/brands are created equal. This category of products did sometimes get a bad name and this stemmed mainly from some old-style products which were made strictly to get people home for an emergency and they were noted for potentially causing issues.
All of our Bar?s Leaks products have been thoroughly tested in the lab and the real world -- OEMs, race teams, military -- to make sure we don?t cause clogging issues or make the problem worse. The only thing you should watch is if the cooling system has been neglected and is dirty or partially clogged, you don?t want to install any type of stop leak product until you have the system clean (including ours).
Hope this helps!
Jeff "
Another INDY says and I quote, and yes he does say replace the radiator, for the correct maintenance.
Wally, the man behind the Radiator Repair website.
Wally's family has been in radiator business since the early 1940's, specializing in radiator repair and replacement.
"Does stop leak work?
Radiator stop leak works if used correctly and in the right situation. Coolant stop leak has been used in new vehicles for years, and rumor has it that it is still used in brand new vehicles. GM used Delco Coolant pellets with the Northstar engine. The sealant tabs were intended for nuisance leaks. Anytime we did a flush on a Northstar engine we had to add the Delco pellets.
There is stop leak for head gaskets, oil stop leak, transmission stop leak, engine stop leak, tire stop leak, and stop leak is added to vehicles all the time for various leak situations. It just provides extra protection against leakage. While many will say, stop leak is bad, there are millions of vehicles on the road today that have stop leak in them. You need to think of stop leak like a tonic. The key to using stop leak is the right amount is enough and just don’t keep pouring this stuff into your cooling system. Preston and other antifreeze suppliers even have stop leak antifreeze that helps keep the cooling system free from leaks."
I would not put stop leak in my car. I did however re-crimp the end tanks on my two side radiators about 2 years ago when they were leaking. Still going strong with no leaks. Easy to do with the bumper off and you are in there cleaning the squirrels and cigarette butts out of the radiators .
I had my INDY take out the front bumper,, the leak was coming from, where plastic meets aluminium. He says many cars do this during the winter. Hence the choice of using the stop leak. Behind the rads were clean,, no leaves or dead animals.
I had my INDY take out the front bumper,, the leak was coming from, where plastic meets aluminium. He says many cars do this during the winter. Hence the choice of using the stop leak. Behind the rads were clean,, no leaves or dead animals.
Yes, which is why re-crimping the plastic end tanks to the aluminum core usually stops the leaking for a while as has been mentioned earlier in this thread. The end tank seals get old and shrink a little but the aluminum crimp fittings don't change their shape, so eventually coolant begins to leak around there.
Stop-leak is risky... it usually stops the coolant leak (good) but it can have the tendency to block small slower flowing coolant passages (very bad). I would use it on a beater car that costs $5k, but I probably wouldn't in the 996TT.
Yes, which is why re-crimping the plastic end tanks to the aluminum core usually stops the leaking for a while as has been mentioned earlier in this thread. The end tank seals get old and shrink a little but the aluminum crimp fittings don't change their shape, so eventually coolant begins to leak around there.
Stop-leak is risky... it usually stops the coolant leak (good) but it can have the tendency to block small slower flowing coolant passages (very bad). I would use it on a beater car that costs $5k, but I probably wouldn't in the 996TT.
Dan
Dan,, next spring will change them out,,, also I went by my INDY today ,,he swears that he crimped the radiator, when we had the front bumper off ,,
Inhshallah ,, tomorrow decided to paint the sides of the hard top ,, to accentuate the targa look ,,,
Will post pics,,
Now if some one would be kind enough to post all the necessary hose part numbers for three radiators,,,
It's not the radiators that you need to worry about regarding stop-leak. It is the rest of the cooling system.
If you could localize the sop-leak to the rads, it'd be a no-brainer. Try it, and if it doesn't work, change the rads out. But you now have the poop all over. I know of no serious technicians who consider stop-leak a viable solution.
I hate paying the p-tax as much as anyone - and if I can get parts cheaper or find alternative repair methods, I will do both. But not at the expense of quality.
The previous owner pull that crap in my Bronco and I am still cleaning the $hit out 8+ years later...Im not even kidding, every time i take the radiator cap off there is some around it. I would not put that stuff in anything but a POS beater car.
10-28-2017, 11:53 PM
Confessions Of A Cheapskate
