Leaking radiator

[BatchFile]

Afternoon, As there's a few amateur mechanics around here I'll ask this car-related question:

 

I've got a leak in the radiator of my Suzuki Vitara and I'm considering trying K-seal ( Welcome to K-seal.co.uk where you can purchase K-seal, Seal-up, & Quiksteel online... ) in it. Does anyone have any experiences, good or bad, of it or anything similar (Radweld etc.)?

Edited May 15, 2010 by BatchFile
forgot the ?

[Sirbendy]

I personally wouldn't touch it with a bargepole....if it can seal a hole in a rad core, consider your heater core...MUCH finer, much more blockable. Or some of the cylinger/cylinder head coolant passages.

 

I've always resorted to scrapyards and "new" radiators. Or possibly look in the yellow pages/local garages and see if you can find someone that can do a proper repair to the rad.

 

I had a Renault 25 V6 once that was sat on the MOT test ramp on test...the tester was running it up to temperature, and I heard a massive "BANG!" followed by swearing..looked through to see the 25 in clouds of steam, so I legged it over. The rad had split majorly and dumped all the boiling coolant.

 

Nobody injured, but I had to shut it off fast as it was sounding MOST unhappy. Cost me £25 for a secondhand replacement. Radiators are too vital to take chances with.

[ahuxham]

K-Seal is fantastic, used it on a leak on mine and never had problems since! Make sure you flush the system and use new anti-freeze for the bonding process, it doesn't clog as previous mentioned!

[michael2k6]

I'm with sirbendy.

[SYNACK]

I also agree with Sirbendy, it may fix the leak but it is also likely to 'fix' a bunch of other bits in the coolant system blocking off bits and leaving you with a much less efficient radiator as it has much less area to work with and possibly a compromised flow of coolant through the engine. A second hand one without holes is a far safer and more reliable solution. Edited May 17, 2010 by SYNACK

[ButterflyMoon]

Have never used that particular one but as we speak my car is running with radweld in my radiator as I sprung a huge leak not so long ago 20 miles from home. Stuck an egg in first to get me far enough to the nearest garage to buy Radweld. Will be going to the scrappie soon though to get another radiator. Oh aye and the winder mechanism for the drivers door window. Good job I love a good mooch round the scrappies!!

[witch]

My car is also running with Radweld ATM. Can't get a scrapped rad for my beast so I shall continue on until it all goes pear-shaped again. It was a pain to do but worked like a charm

[Andrew_C]

Rad Weld worked for me. Got me a couple of weeks grace before I could do something proper as a fix.

[BatchFile]

I personally wouldn't touch it with a bargepole....if it can seal a hole in a rad core, consider your heater core...MUCH finer, much more blockable. Or some of the cylinger/cylinder head coolant passages.

 

 

I also agree with Sirbendy, it may fix the leak but it is also likely to 'fix' a bunch of other bits in the coolant system blocking off bits and leaving you with a much less efficient radiator as it has much less area to work with and possibly a compromised flow of coolant through the engine. A second hand one without holes is a far safer and more reliable solution.

 

I'm with sirbendy.

 

That's what worried me (hence this question) I must admit - unless it's a reaction with the air on the outside of the leak that enables it to solidify????

 

K-Seal is fantastic, used it on a leak on mine and never had problems since! Make sure you flush the system and use new anti-freeze for the bonding process, it doesn't clog as previous mentioned!

 

Have never used that particular one but as we speak my car is running with radweld in my radiator as I sprung a huge leak not so long ago 20 miles from home. Stuck an egg in first to get me far enough to the nearest garage to buy Radweld. Will be going to the scrappie soon though to get another radiator. Oh aye and the winder mechanism for the drivers door window. Good job I love a good mooch round the scrappies!!

 

LOL stick an egg in it was my dad's advice too - I thought he was taking the !

 

My car is also running with Radweld ATM. Can't get a scrapped rad for my beast so I shall continue on until it all goes pear-shaped again. It was a pain to do but worked like a charm

 

So we have 3 against and 4 for... The jury's still out on this one! if it helps sway the balance, it loses about a pint a week and if I squeeze the top hose I can JUST make it drip visably/squirt a tiny bit. I'm not averse to scrapyards either - but with a radiator I'd be worried about getting one with more holes in it than the one I've got now!

[bossman]

@TonyRidal:

 

Instead of taking the chance that it blocks any other ports inside the radiator why don't you get it professionally repaired.

 

Some of these radiator repair specialists keep a stock of radiators (refurbished and will swap out using your old radiator as part exchange) quite a good service these days and with a quick search in Google there is bound to be a repair specialist near you.

 

Saves all the hassle and the mess of DIY.

[ButterflyMoon]

Pint a week is nowt compared to what mine was p1ssing out that day. The egg stemmed the flow enough to get to a garage outside where I was. The egg cooks in the water and bungs the holes a bit enough to do something more reliable. Your dad was right though suggesting it

[BatchFile]

@TonyRidal:

 

Instead of taking the chance that it blocks any other ports inside the radiator why don't you get it professionally repaired.

 

Some of these radiator repair specialists keep a stock of radiators (refurbished and will swap out using your old radiator as part exchange) quite a good service these days and with a quick search in Google there is bound to be a repair specialist near you.

 

Saves all the hassle and the mess of DIY.

 

With any other vehicle I'd have done that already I actually bought the Vitara partly because it's easy to work on and fiddle with - there's loads of room in the engine bay - space for a V6 and it's only got a 1.6 -you can almost climb in and stand next to it - that and I'm saving hard to get away on holiday this year and money's tight but I'll have a look around

[BatchFile]

Pint a week is nowt compared to what mine was p1ssing out that day. The egg stemmed the flow enough to get to a garage outside where I was. The egg cooks in the water and bungs the holes a bit enough to do something more reliable. Your dad was right though suggesting it

 

He usually is right - but he's also a nutter:D I've got a great photo of him somewhere cutting into an empty calor gas cylinder with an angle grinder cutting it in half to make a barbecue

[difinity]

Ex-mechanic here, avoid radweld and the like. It's great stuff as a temporary bodge in an emergency, but i've seen many problems caused by the stuff, and i personally have a blocked heater matrix because of the stuff, done by the previous owner.

[bossman]

@TonyRidal:

 

I don't know what year you vehicle is but just to get a figure:

 

Radiators for cars

 

 

I like your dad already a man after my own heart

[john]

He usually is right - but he's also a nutter:D I've got a great photo of him somewhere cutting into an empty calor gas cylinder with an angle grinder cutting it in half to make a barbecue

 

Now I like the sound of that Does the photo contain flames at all?