I’ve tried to patch a radiator in the past on an old BMW. No matter what I used, it didn’t work. The surface that was cracked was plastic.
I even tried epoxy. Whatever I put on just ended up melting off.
There’s a good chance I didn’t do it right.
I do, in fact, have an automatic. Does this take the job out of the realm of the inexperienced do-it-yourselfer? I can turn a wrench, and my dad is an excellent mechanic who can walk me through the job.
I’m sure Rick will be along soon, but I don’t see why it should make much difference in the job. You’ll need to make sure you have the proper new radiator, that’s essential. Your dad should be familiar w/ this.
If your radiator is aluminum, don’t use water. It will just corrode and the problem will escalate. You have to use a coolant in it instead of water. If it is brass, use a mixture of water and anti-freeze, summer or winter. In either case, temporary fixes are ok, but with an aluminum radiator, you will need to replace. With a brass radiator you can get an adequate long lasting repair. Have your cooling system flushed out in either case.
Not at all, it just makes it a little harder that’s all.
The oil cooler will be inside the radiator and most likely has 2 threaded fitting. Usually they are on one side or the other of the radiator. You will need to drain the radiator. (Do not drain into the street, antifreeze is poisonous and tastes like candy to animals. Dispose of properly and legally.) After the radiator is drained of coolant, then put a oil drain pan under the side of the radiator that has the oil cooler fittings. Loosen the fittings and allow to drain. You can probably do this with an open end wrench, but if they are very tight, you will need a flare nut wrench.
After the oil lines have drained, remove the mounting bolts and remove the radiator.
When installing put the cooler lines on before you tighten the radiator down to the core support. You DO NOT want to cross thread one of these fittings. They should screw on by hand until almost tight. If it only turns about 1/2 a turn and then gets tight it is probably cross threaded.
Don’t forget to tighten everything and top up the trans with the correct fluid before driving away.
You’ll probably want new hose clamps and likely new hoses. You can reuse the coolant, as long as it isn’t contaminated, but you’ll probably lose some, so you’ll need extra to replace what’s lost. Also, as rick advised, some new tranny fluid.
You might take a look at the water pump while you’ve got the radiator out, see if the shaft has excess play, or if there are any signs of leaking.
Hmmm … might leave it to the professionals, after all. Thanks for the advice.
Plastic radiator tanks are not reliably repairable. Radiator shops will not even attempt fixing them. That said, I have seen a do-it-yourself job with JB Weld or something similar that was holding. How long it might hold, I couldn’t say. I won’t attempt it either, because my customers have expectations of reliability in my repairs.
I have seen Bar’s leaks work successfully a number of times. For this type of leak, I would say the odds are good. It’s certainly a cheap thing to try first. Bear in mind it’s not a permanent repair, though I have sometimes seen it work for years.
Sigh.
No, no, no.
Coolant is whatever liquid is in the cooling system.
The proper coolant for ALL vehicles is a 50/50 mix of water and the correct antifreeze. The radiator material is irrelevant.
Pure water is not recommended because it can freeze, it can boil out, and it fosters corrosion in the metals it contacts in numerous engine parts - radiator, heater core, cylinder head, coolant pipes, etc.
Pure antifreeze is not recommended because it doesn’t transfer heat as well as water.
So don’t use ONLY water in ANY cooling system, except for emergencies in non-freezing weather. And don’t use ONLY antifreeze in ANY cooling system, except for emergencies.
Thanks for the replies, Gary T.
Barrs Leak will only work if the liquid coolant is in contact with the hole/crack. From your description it sounds as if the coolant is not actually in contact with the crack. (Barr’s works by oozing through and solidifying on the leak area).
Regards
FML
(Note- an old 1930’s depression era “fix” for a radiator/coolant leak was finely ground black pepper. It would essentially work the same way BArr’s does (By plugging/solidifying around the edges of the hole)
Hard for me to tell … tiny bubbles and wisps of steam come out of the crack. But I don’t know if Bar’s Leak can “bubble and wisp” it’s way into a crack like that at the very top of the radiator.
If the cooling system is full - all air bled out - there will be liquid at the top of the upper tank.
JB Weld is indeed good stuff for lots of repairs. It held the bumper cover on my car for 60-thousand miles.
While doing this little project, I got some drops on the floor and I called the JB Weld company and asked about what may take it off. I was given two options: a grinder or heat it to over 450-degrees. Tough stuff.
As this was a vinyl floor, I left the little drops in place.
450 is from memory but I think it’s right. Over 400 for sure.
If it means anything … whenever I top off the coolant/water mix, I fill it up as much as possible (letting it settle, then fill a little more, rinse, repeat). The last few times I’ve done it, I was only able to get in maybe 2 cups.
FWIW … the Bar’s Leaks stuff has worked great. Still check under the hood for bubbles and steam after my drives to work. So far, nada. 
Okay, time for a final update (hopefully), in case someone searches for this problem.
The Bars Leak didn’t work all that long. For a while, it kept the leak slowed down, but over time the cork shavings (or whatever that stuff) starting leaking out through the crack with the coolant.
Two weeks ago, the truck had a near-meltdown on the road – clouds of steam everywhere, and the temperature gauge rose to just short of the max.
Turns out that all those times I was adding coolant and/or water, I was doing it while the engine was cold. It was explained to me that doing this ensured that I wasn’t adding enough, and that over time, the coolant level was decreasing.
So, I got some 50/50 coolant mix, topped off the radiator cold, started the trucked, let it idle five minutes, topped off the radiator again, and then capped the radiator and took off driving. The overheating went away instantly – back to the normal temperature range.
Of course, the crack was still there … and that was addressed as well this past weekend. Versa-Chem’s Plastic Tank & Radiator Repair Kit seems like it’s going to be the answer. It involves applying a layer of resin, fiberglass, and more resin. Once it hardened, it gave the appearance of a very strong and substantial fix, with some flexibility so as not to be brittle. It’s been going strong for 3 days so far, with not so much as a wisp of coolant escaping. The product claims to be a permanent fix … guess we’ll see.