I've tried stop leak stuff, no benefit. I can see roughly where the leak is, on plastic surface. Might try drain the water and use epoxy some night, let it cure over night.
My other car is dead in the shop, and my policy is not to work on one car while the other is in the shop. No backup to go for parts and such. So, I fill with water every morning.
Keeping the options open. Pretty sure I know where the leak is. I may drain the water out, slap on some two part epoxy, and see how it does in the morning. The leak is at the plastic end.
I ran an epoxy patched radiator for years in a Camaro. If you reinforce it with aluminum window screen, it is very tough. Just be sure you do good surface prep and that you work the epoxy in well.
Antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors and lubricating properties. I made the mistake once of running a car with pure water, because I was in between repairs, waiting for a part, or whatever. Ran it like that for a couple weeks, the thermostat froze up. When I drained it, I was shocked at how rusty and dirty the water was.
I don't think it's particularly high, no. It's from a municipal water source and I don't have any of the typical problems you'd notice from hard water.
Less toxic, not non-toxic, but at least unlike ethylene glycol:
"Large doses and unusual circumstances are necessary for the development of propylene glycol toxicity."
"Unlike ethylene glycol, propylene glycol does not produce nephrotoxicity [kidney failure] in humans."
Straight from the bottle, RV antifreeze is typically 25% propylene glycol, 75% water, and that's it -- no additives to help stop corrosion or counteract hard water.
If you have a crack in a plastic radiator tank, about the only way to fix it well is by melting new identical plastic into the crack because no glue or stop leak will work. The plastic is almost always nylon with glass fibers mixed into it (radiator supplies and GM dealers have rods of this), and you need to melt identical nylon (there are several types) into the crack with a hot air gun (not a regular heat gun but a pinpoint one -- Harbor Freight sells plastic welding irons and guns, $15 - $65), soldering iron, or woodburning iron (latter has nonstick Teflon or ceramic coated tip). You first clean off the crack and melt a fairly deep groove into it.
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