Small Crack In My Cooling System

[thaigerd]

Just discovered a 3inches long small crack at my cooling system in my car, just underneath the filler plug. When the engine gets hot and the water in the cooling system is getting under pressure I am loosing water through this crack!

Can I fix it by myself? Is there any kind of glue available or do Ibetter go to a garage for fixing it???

Thanks for ur help!

Gerd

[Mid]

guess you mean the radiator ( metal) as opposed to the reservoir ( plastic),

if so ,

there are specialist shops that will braze a fix .

[ZZZ]

According to Mythbusters an egg will fix a small leak in the cooling system, not sure how long it will last.

[lingling]

According to Mythbusters an egg will fix a small leak in the cooling system, not sure how long it will last.

Mythbusters is entertainment, not reality.

You can buy some stuff ("radiator cement") that you put in the radiator for sealing small leaks, but at the same time it will coat the rest of your cooling system too making it less efficient. Having the leak fixed properly is a better option unless it is a very old car that you are going to retire or sell.

http://www.permatex.com/products/automotiv...tank_repair.htm

Edited January 20, 2007 by lingling

[Crossy]

A three INCH crack is not 'small'

None of the sealants is going to fix this, not even an ostrich egg will do. If it is in metal, it's probably fixable by a specialist radiator repair man, otherwise, time for a new rad

[tutsiwarrior]

best to take the radiator to a specialist repair person and have it 'rebuilt'...they will pressure test to find all cracks then braze them, then flush the unit and repaint...either that or buy a new unit...remember to replace the hoses and clamps...a healthy cooling system is critical in the local weather...

[billd766]

Since the beginning of the year my Ford Ranger has been using water and spraying it under the bonnet from somewhere. My wife told me to take it to the dealers 125 km and get the service done and the radiator fixed.

Thet did a quick pressuse check and showed me that under pressure I had a leak from the top seam of the radiator.

For about 6,000 baht they replaced the radiator with a new one, replaced the thermostat and radiator cap and gave me the old parts to prove they had done it. Including the 140.000 km service it took about 5 hours and should be good for another 140,000 km.

A gentle word of warning. If your engine overheats or boils over you could end up with a warped cylinder head which causes long term problems as it happened on my wifes old Nissan Sunny.

[thaigerd]

Thanks for all ur help and suggestions!

I think it's better to spend some money and get a new one.

Gerd