question about radiator stop leak helping a leak from the plastic end caps

[tmoncrief]

Hi, folks, I have a 95 SL1 and for the last week it has been losing coolant. I was not able to tell where the leak was exactly until I put it under pressure today. Rented one of those pressure testers and saw that there is a leak on the drivers' side radiator end cap (the plastic one) between the first and second ribs, down from the top. Has anyone had any luck with the commercially available stop leak for radiators being effective on this sort of leak? Or would a new radiator be better and safer?

[tmoncrief]

Originally Posted by tmoncrief

Hi, folks, I have a 95 SL1 and for the last week it has been losing coolant. I was not able to tell where the leak was exactly until I put it under pressure today. Rented one of those pressure testers and saw that there is a leak on the drivers' side radiator end cap (the plastic one) between the first and second ribs, down from the top. Has anyone had any luck with the commercially available stop leak for radiators being effective on this sort of leak? Or would a new radiator be better and safer?

Also, I need to mention that it is a manual and not an automatic, that may make a difference as I understand the automatic has an additional fitting.

[PurdueGuy]

Get a new radiator, stopleak is unlikely to help much if at all. A heads up: you'll probably only find auto trans radiators when you shop for one. They work fine on manual trans cars.

[HandsOn]

I've used stop leaks with good results several times, but if I had an aluminum/plastic radiator starting to split at a seam, I'd follow PurdueGuy's advice and just get a new one.
Not sure about our cars, but in general, new modern car radiators are not that expensive and not that hard to fix.

If I was on a trip and just wanted to get down the road in a hurry. I'd give Solv-Tec K-Seal a try for a temporary fix. It's effective in the right cases and relatively inexpensive.
If it didn't work right away though, I'd be looking for the nearest radiator supplier before it got any worse.

Paul

[OldNuc]

Stop leak will not hold on a tank and it will block the heater core. If you use stop leak don't come here to whine and moan this winter about no heat.

Buy a Delphi or Silla radiator and be done with it.

[simkid5614]

End of thread.
Replace the Parts.
Never use Stopleak.


Yay for mass agreement

(sorry, just get tired of hearing stopleak this and stopleak that.)

[bountyhunter]

Originally Posted by tmoncrief

Hi, folks, I have a 95 SL1 and for the last week it has been losing coolant. I was not able to tell where the leak was exactly until I put it under pressure today. Rented one of those pressure testers and saw that there is a leak on the drivers' side radiator end cap (the plastic one) between the first and second ribs, down from the top. Has anyone had any luck with the commercially available stop leak for radiators being effective on this sort of leak? Or would a new radiator be better and safer?

Did not work on my SL2.