Yay or nay? Got a tiny pin-prick hole in my rad which is leaking ever so slowly, taken it out twice so i know that's exactly where it's coming from, I've seen it leaking. Should i just throw in some radiator Stop Leak for a temporary fix? I know it can cause issues with the heater core, but mine's been bypassed. This is a TT rad BTW.
try to avoid that stuff mate, its pretty bad for the cooling system in general, not just the heater core.......if you know where the leak is from, take it to a radiator shop to fix up the hole, shouldnt cost much........
Depending on where the leak is, use the chemi \weld putty stuff on the outside - don't use the crap that goes inside! Or just get a new rad...
Another rad going in tomorrow, i just needed the zed for work tonight so was after an extremely temporary fix. 30 min drive i lose maybe 200ML, so it's not a massive leak. It's cold and raining anyway so i'll just risk it and take a bottle of coolant. Didn't put it in anyway, cheers guys
Lol, what about an egg? //Edit: Oh, the egg-white myth lol. Yea i know it works, but the coolant isn't"pissing out", so there won't be enough pressure for the egg to clog the hole i would imagine? Either way, it's not something i'd risk just for a 24 hour fix.
Crimp it?? ...if it had've been in an accessable area i suppose you could try and crimp it shut with a pair of pliers.
Don't put that stuff in there mate...might stop your radiator leaking, it will also block the coolant passages in the block and heads. Get a tube of kneadIT or similar and stick it on over the hole.
I thought that bars leak and similar stuff only reacted with air once it found a hole, other wise it stays liquid, and it actually contains a solulable oil so is apparently good for your water pump also. I know of several cars where it's actually recommended factory maintenence from new Ben
I know the bottles say that but i figured it would mostly be a marketing ploy so that's why i asked first. FYI, i wasn't talking about the clear fluid with bits of metal filings ect in it, i was referring to the thick foamy light green stop leak.
Narr, the Zed cooling system is too well designed, i've never ever heard of anyone having problems with air trapped in their cooling system Ben
No, no, no Unless Nissan quotes this (and they don't) don't be misled into thinking it is safe for the zed... Anything other than water and the recommended inhibitor in the cooling system shouldn't be used in the cooling system. Many ~20 year old zeds that haven't had the plenum pull done yet will have fragile rubber water hose just waiting for an excuse to split and leak.
I just had my plenum pulled the first time in its life and i know what your saying about the hoses ! lol .. i changed them all as they were all brittle.. did cost me nearly 2 grand by the way with a radiator clean out and 1 coil pack..
on a bush baher car I would consider using an additive to stop a radiator leak but never on a car I want to keep in good mechanical order, I have seen engines with blocked water galleries due to this sort of thing, remember if you have a leaking coolant system there is bound to be air in the system somewhere (something has to replace the lost fluid). As an aside to this the egg idea is definately a usable one in a pinch (for those crazy enopugh to do this) but even better is a dose of Ground black pepper. you know the little packs you can get almost anywhere, takes about 50-100 grams though and it to will block up the galleries.
, It was in no way recommending he use some. And would I use it personally? No. :zlove: But on the other hand, I don't think it's all necessarily doom and gloom though. Like I mentioned, i've read on some car forums where its a regular maintenance item and blokes have used it every six months for a decade, and i've also heard where a similar product was used from new by a US car maker on a particular model that had cooling problems. This is exactly the problem though, it's a band aid fix. It might get you out of trouble in a pinch, but i'd much rather fix the actual problem. Unless it's a design flaw like the above case, then your kinda screwed haha So to summarize, This in not an endorsement, just some information from a different point of view (and not necessarily mine either!) Ben
Dont use it. I had a car yard do that to a nice Celica I bought. The car boiled on me halfway across the Hay Plains on a long weekend. The NRMA guy diagnosed leaking head gasket. The yard took the car back to Adelaide on a truck (I had to hire a car in Wagga Wagga), they "fixed" the head gasket, so they said - all they did was put some leak stopper in the rad. It lasted another month, just long enough to get out of warranty, then it boiled again without warning and in the end I had to buy a new engine and new radiator. Turned out the stuff they put in the rad just clogged the tubes and stopped the flow.
