Radiator Sealant 'issues'

[Bluebelles Mom]

I decided to use some sealant since I have to wait until next month to get the radiator worked on or replaced. Right after putting it in the steam got much worse and it forced out much of the coolant. I haven't looked today but I am betting much of the water I added is gone. Somehow I don't think this is supposed to happen when adding something to Stop it from leaking. What now?

[Bluebelles Mom]

Ok, I just went out and took the radiator cap off. I found some probable pellet residue sitting on top of the inner ring where the cap should probably seal. I am wondering if that prevented a good seal. Anyway, I cleaned it up and added some water, I will have to pick up some more antifreeze tomorrow. Fun and games.

[takza]

Might give this a try?

viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6039

If you got some of the pellet under the seal it could leak for sure...not a lot of room to use BarsLeak with the Tercel radiator. Could be a defective rad cap. I'd carry some leftover antifreeze mix with you and keep an eye on the temp gauge and coolant level.

[Bluebelles Mom]

What would the concensus be on adding more Barsleak into the radiator at this point? I suspect a pellet or two was missed on the inside lip and broke the seal of the cap (I poured in in after dark). I know I lost a lot of fluid as a result and I have no idea how much of the Barsleak stayed in the system to do its job. Would it hurt anything to add another?

And thanks for the link. I will go out and check clamps, hoses and such when I leave for the auto parts store.

[rer233]

NO NO NO!!! i'm a new member to this site but have been working on cars professionly for almost 40 years. have also owned tercel wagons for about 16 years. my experience is that bars leak seals up EVERYTHING, [radiators, heater cores, etc] just bought a new radiator off advance auto website for $87 [including shipping] it has a 2 row core but is made in china [these days- what isn't?] part# is 43-3813. price is with promo discount rad25 applied. my advice- get that motor-mungis outta there and replace the radiator!! good luck

[Bluebelles Mom]

Yikes...well, too late for now. I found some Prestone sealant that I tried instead of the Barsleak. Also discovered the old coolant was really bad, so dirty I couldn't read the needle in the coolant tester. So I drained the system, then put the sealant in and new coolant and water. Oh...and the old cap was leaking so I bought a new cap too. I drove around for about 20 minutes and the temp guage stayed just a tad under the middle line. I will check the level again tomorrow. The radiator is one of the old metal ones so I am leaning towards getting it fixed vice buying a new plastic one if I can. That will hopefully wait until next month if I am still losing coolant.

[takza]

I've used BarsLeaks in a lot of cars/trucks...usually with older high mileage vehicles...and other than the oily goop that ends up in the coolant tank...it does OK. In fact it recently plugged up a leak in the bypass tube on one end. I do use the Prestone backflush kit and change out the coolant fairly often...major issue with old vehicles is the heater core...good idea to keep decent coolant in them and use some stop leak?

[Bluebelles Mom]

The coolant was a little low this morning so I am going to continue to monitor it and take the car into a radiator shop next month. If I can get the existing one fixed I will do that.

[Petros]

Rer223,

Welcome to the list! It is nice to have another experienced mechanic join our ranks. But I have to say I do not know where you get your information from about stop-leak. The typical rad stop leak will not harm an engine or cooling system in anyway. A little known secret is that all car manufacturer's deliver their new cars with some form of stop leak in them from the factory. Clearly there can be no issues with them if all new cars come with it, it saves them lots of money in doing costly warranty work caused by minor leaks anywhere in the cooling system. There is no passage way in any part of the cooling system that is small enough to be affected by the stop-leak. It is a perfectly good way to temporarily protect the cooling system until more permanent repairs can be done. It will not likely hold up indefinably as the suppliers of these products claim, but neither will it harm anything if used properly. They would be sued into bankruptcy if it did.

There are some resin type of specific head gaskets sealers that can wreck havoc with the system if used improperly, these are not compatible with anti-freeze and you must follow a very specific procedure or you will make a mess of the cooling system. But that is not your typical low cost stop leak. I have worked as a design engineer for several major car and parts manufactures, worked for fully factory sponsored professional racing teams, paid for my engineering education by working as a mechanic and have been rebuilding and repairing engines for 40 years, so I should say that I know what I am talking about. You I think have fallen victim to one of the common auto mechanic myths that gets passed around as professional knowledge.

BB-Mom, you have done no harm. I once had a very old International tractor I used on my property, it had liquid filled farm implement tires and a 4 cyl diesel engine and it was built in 1954 (it was older than me!). It had a massive radiator and a very messy cooling system that leaked like a sieve. I considered pulling it all apart and fixing every leak, but that would have required removing the front loader and a very heavy front iron grill to just get to the radiator. I had to put TWO large containers of Barrs leak into it to seal up all the leaks, it never gave me any cooling system problems after that for a number of seasons, and I ended up selling it that way a few years later. I have pulled apart many engines for rebuilds after using the stop leaks, and I have not found anything wrong anywhere in the engines or cooling systems, they are perfectly safe to use.

You are doing the best you can afford right now, and while a new or properly repaired radiator is more desirable, you have done no harm and have protected the engine from possible greater harm by keeping coolant in the engine. BTW, used only filtered or distilled water in the rad (mixed with anti-freeze), it will protect the rad from scale and it costs less that running pure anti-freeze.

[Bluebelles Mom]

Thanks Petros, I did use filtered water when I added it to the radiator. Of course I dropped the hood onto the Prestone coolant guage I just bought so I can only guess at how the last bit of filling worked out. So I erred a little on the side of coolant when I topped it off after running it.

[Neu]

I've successfully used black pepper to seal cooling systems. I've done it in both of my tercels. It works within a minute or two.

I just plop a tablespoon into the radiator, give it a few good revs (making sure thermostat is open), and it'll usually clog whatever hole there is in the radiator.

It's worked everytime I've done it.

[Petros]

I have seen black pepper work, and ground red pepper too. It is essentially the same type of plant cellulose that comes in the radiator sealants, but the stop-leaks probably have a better control of the size of the sealant particles. And the stop-leaks are much cheaper than a can of table spice. So okay in an emergency, but I would not recommend it.

[Neu]

I believe the black pepper works because it clumps up in the hole. when you drain the coolant you'll see the black pepper in little balls, unless it's broken up. So i'm not sure if it's the planet cellulose or just the behavior of the pepper.

[Bluebelles Mom]

Ok, STILL have steam coming out from under the hood like it was a Stanley. I saw a larger bottle of Prestone Leak fix in the Exchange that claimed to stop even BIG LEAKS. My plan is to pick up a bottle of that tomorrow and put it in. The radiator will definately get looked at next month.

[Petros]

Are you sure it is indeed the radiator that is leaking? Check your hoses and connections, radiator stop-leak will not seal a leaky hose, or hose connection, or leaky o-rings. Also observe the water pump, it it is blowing seam out around the shaft, it needs to be replaced (not too costly).

stop leak only works on the radiator and heater core, it does not work on soft parts leaks such as seals or hoses.

If you are sure the leak is in the radiator, than more sealant is required. if it is not the radiator, than you will have to fix the leaking part. Fortunately, replacing a hose or water pump is much less expensive than replacing the radiator.