radiator leak

[mlcase27]

Ok, I have a 1994 ford explorer. I filled the cold fill reservoir up, drove it all day and was fine. Checked later that night and cold fill was empty, so I filled it once more. When I started her up today I let her warm up for 10 minutes or so (cold here) backed her out of the garage and put her in park to lock up the house and when I went back coolant was leaking badly! Well I drove her to the gas station to get gas and the pouring stopped?? Could I just have a bad cap causing it not to leak back into the reservoir and spilling out somewhere? It didn't appear to come from the cap. ANY thoughts?? Also the temp gauge read about halfway (un normal for her) Then I turned the heat on and it went back down. After a few minutes it went back up so I turned the heat back off and it's been ok since.

 

[TedJ]

Sounds like a really bad case of bad end tank seals on the radiator. They often leak when it's cold but not at all when warmed up. Mine was fine in the summer but on 20F days it would leave big puddles before it warmed up. Replace the radiator....

 

[mlcase27]

you don't think anything like Bars Leak Liquid Copper™ Block Seal Intake and Radiator Stop Leak will work? I don't have the money at the moment for a new radiator

 

[shaggymane]

See Doonze's thread on How to; Ultimate Radiator flush. Pulling a radiator isn't hard. If see if yours has that same kind of coming apart as his pic in #9 post. Or not.

Side tank gaskets can be replaced at a Rad shop. It's really not a DIY repair. One shop locally pulled the rad from a Escort & put new seals in for 105$, which is the price of a new rad. Pull it yourself = cheaper. If that's the problem.

On the other hand I've seen Bars leak stop side tank leaks in 89 Probe. As far as I know that lasted a yr when the tranny went. It belonged to a teenage girl so I'm sure she never did the repair proper.

I've got a small Rad leak. Used Alum-a seal. Don't like it at all. Now it runs hotter. I have a theory that these aluminum radiators have smaller cooling passages than the old copper ones did, so stop leak is a bad deal as it makes them tend to over heat.

 

[TedJ]

I think the only thing you have to gain is plugging up other parts of the cooling system. The constant expansion/contraction of the gap in question is not going to allow the sealer to do much of anything(imo). You might try crimping the tabs down more in the area that is leaking but I doubt this will help. Places like radiatorbarn.com have some cheaper prices on the radiator. You could also look at a pick-a-part yard, see if you can find a truck with one that has been replaced. The factory ones are all starting to fail now, its an age thing. The replacement ones are typically not painted black on the top like the factory ones, so look for one with a shiny top.

 

[mlcase27]

Awsom, thanks everyone for all the help!