Radiator Stop-Leak in 4.6L ?

[Puddin' Man]

'94 TBird LX V8, 64k mi.

Rad. started leaking a little last winter, only when temp was below, say, 30 F.

Rad. is aluminum finned unit in middle, evidently plastic tank on each end. I'm told that the connection from tank to finned unit fails to seal as the years go by. Tracing the location of the leak seems to confirm.

I can't afford new radiator, hoses, etc, and it's generally too damned cold to work on it anyway.

I have an 11 oz. jug of Bars Leaks Stop Leak (Original Pelletized Formula) that I bought last year and was afraid to use ...

What'll this stuff do to my cooling etc system(s)? Maybe gum-up my heater core?

Would you use this or other rad. additive?

Thx, Puddin'

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot Nine days old ...

[dpb]

...

No, I wouldn't although some folks do.

A good radiator shop can repair the plastic tank welds to the core unless the tanks are really bad.

[Puddin' Man]

Welds? Between plastic and aluminum? Not at all sure I follow.

I assumed there was just (timed to fail) seals at the connections.

P

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot Nine days old ...

[Al Bundy]

Puddin' Man wrote in news: [e-mail]:

It's been known to happen...many many times. That's how you know to even ask this!

And consider IF the heater core does clog up how much fun it is driving when it's always cold on the interior. Don't cha hate when it's so damn cold your breath ices up the inside of the winshield and you have to drive with the windows open even???!!!

And what if it clogs the heater core but doesn't fix the rad leak!

Ya see, there's this guy Murphy that I know.......

[Tony Hwang]

Hmmm, Damn cold?(Damn cold is when temp reaches down to -35) Result of neglect? When is the last time you flushed and refilled the rad? Jug of Bar Leaks to plug the rad/heater core up and make things worse? Do a proper repair or replace the damn rad. and get it over with.

[Al Bundy]

Tony Hwang wrote in news:o597h.321904$1T2.101390 @pd7urf2no:

Been down that road. When starting that old GM pickup there were noises only heard in those demon/possessed movies. Along with the sound of a case of spray paint cans banging around under the hood. Good thing it was fuel injected. Could not touch gas pedal for 5 min or so or it would stick open.

[DanG]

The Barr's might get you through the winter. Yes, it can plug up the radiator and the heater core.

I had mine reworked this past summer. $65.00 rodded out the tubes and reset the plastic tanks. I took the radiator out and carried it to the radiator shop. ___________________________ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

[ds549]

alot of aftermarket new rads are 100.00 . ive used bars and never clogged the heater core. an old chevy mechanic i know uses a few spoons of pepper to seal leaks. i used i once in my mgb while on the road and pepper worked. but with an old rad, anew one is best. lucas

[Puddin' Man]

Greetings,

Can you describe "rodded out the tubes"? You got to see the faulty connection between tank(s) and alum. core? Can describe?

If I knew exactly what I was dealing with, I might be able to figger what to do (I can raise $65, not $500).

Right now it's kinda like "Is it Animal, Vegetable, or Mineral???". :-)

Thx, Puddin'

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot Nine days old ...

[DanG]

If you look carefully at your radiator, I think you will see the plastic ends with bent over "tabs" holding it to the core section. The fella that did mine took off both plastic ends and shoved a very thin metal "strap" down through the fin tubes to get the crud out. He then vatted and flushed the tubes and reinstalled the plastic ends, I'm not sure what they do for gasket/sealant.

Call a radiator repair shop in your area and ask. A radiator is fairly easy to remove on most vehicles. Top radiator hose, bottom radiator hose, transmission in, and transmission out are usually the only connections. YMMV. I'm sure they would charge more to do the remove and replace. ___________________________ Keep the whole world singing. . . . DanG

[Puddin' Man]

Was it a Ford 4.6L? Other?

You had a flow problem? A leak problem? Both?

To my knowledge I just gotta leak. But, come to think of it, it takes kinda long for the heater to warm up ...

Yeah, I should be able to get it out, save a $. If we get a warm-up day or 2.

I'll ring the shop that wrote me the $500 estimate. Be interesting to see if they do such 'detail' work.

Much Thanks, Puddin'

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot Nine days old ...

[George]

No, and you won't believe how cheaply built the radiator is. The first time I replaced a radiator of that vintage I had to look in the replacement radiator box to see if there was something in it. When I removed the old radiator a light wind could have blown it away.

[Puddin' Man]

Yeah, I would ...

I looked it over as carefully as possible w/o disassembling. You'd think if they were gonna use cheapo components that do not mate well (plastic, alum.), they'd at least put a truly good seal in where they are joined.

Anybody know where I could get an exploded view of the plastic, alum. parts (not present in my Ford repair CD)??

Puddin'

Pease pudding hot, Pease pudding cold, Pease pudding in the pot Nine days old ...