Pinhole rad leak?
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Tuned
Joined: Jun 2007
Posts: 317
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Pinhole rad leak?
When I brought the F250 home for the first time last night I quickly discovered a pinhole leak top dead center on my rad, shooting coolant like a little guyser. Obviously I should replace the rad in the near future but I'm a little tapped out after buying the truck. I'm considering trying some stop leak in the coolant but since the leak is very accessible I wondered if there's something else I could use?
Post Fiend
Joined: Jul 2006
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If it is leaking from the seam around the neck, you could heat it up, and re-solder it, but here is the problem with that. If the material is too thin from corrosion, then you will ruin it. The neck, and tank could be so thin that when heat is applied, it could just blow away the rest of the thin material, and create a much bigger problem.
I have never been a fan of liquid leak repairs. Older vehicles have small cooling passages for the heads, and they are usually restricted already. Not convinced that the stop leak would know the difference between a restricted passage, and a leak. Would hate to see a passage or two closed off from the stuff, and cause a cooling problem. Probably just a fobia of mine, but I have never liked to use it, when a real fix is to make a repair. I can appreciate being low on funds, but who is to say when the quik fix will fail?
"Murphey" rides shotgun in my truck, and his rules apply, my truck would break down at the worst possible time if I were to decide on a quick fix.
I have never been a fan of liquid leak repairs. Older vehicles have small cooling passages for the heads, and they are usually restricted already. Not convinced that the stop leak would know the difference between a restricted passage, and a leak. Would hate to see a passage or two closed off from the stuff, and cause a cooling problem. Probably just a fobia of mine, but I have never liked to use it, when a real fix is to make a repair. I can appreciate being low on funds, but who is to say when the quik fix will fail?
"Murphey" rides shotgun in my truck, and his rules apply, my truck would break down at the worst possible time if I were to decide on a quick fix.
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Tuned
Joined: Jun 2007
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It's not actually the neck seam. The pinhole is just above the fan shroud. I'd read somewhere you can buy epoxy patch kits at some auto parts stores, I'll probably look for one of those later. Sounds better than using stop leak anyway and in a month or so I'll just throw some money at it in the form of a new rad.
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Tuned
Joined: Jun 2007
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Laughing Gas
Joined: Feb 2007
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From: hohenwald, tn
i heard old timers used wood chips. don't know how well it would work. if its a steady stream then leak stops won't work. if possible park it till you get the funds. shop around, sometimes you find radiator sales. or try a radiator shop maybe they can fix it in your price range.
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Posting Guru
Joined: Jul 2006
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From: America
my ol' man said that hes put a few dashes of pepper in the water...the pepper will float to the top and when the water is getting sucked to the hole, the pepper will get there and plug the hole....maybe that would work for a couple of runs until you get the cash to fix the problem permanently
Senior User
Joined: May 2007
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IMO, either solder it, wait and buy a nerw radiator or take it to a radiator shop to have them check it out. Quick fixes only lead to headaches and being stuck on the side of the road at the worst time. I will agree with 75F350! Anything you put in your coolant to stop leaks is BAD. Not only will it plug the leak but can damage the water pump, plug the passages in the motor and clog the small tubes in the radiator causing severe cooling problems.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 162
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From: MN
If your really desperate and short of cash, try the local boneyard. I have found
some of the trucks have good originals and some have new replacement radiators
with low miles at yards near me. i was quoted $20 to $60 depending where i went...
some of the trucks have good originals and some have new replacement radiators
with low miles at yards near me. i was quoted $20 to $60 depending where i went...
Thread Starter
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Tuned
Joined: Jun 2007
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As it happens I replaced the leaking radiator with another leaking radiator I got from Pickn'Pull :P Good thing they have an exchange policy. In any case the new rad turned out to have a leak somewhere in the fins so it had a constant drip as soon as I put coolant in it. Didn't have much choice but to use some Gunk Stop Leak in there to keep my cooling system from flooding the street and killing all the cats. I'll get another rad next weekend and try again, should go alot faster now that I've got the rotted connections and hoses replaced.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2006
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From: Quad Cities, IA
I've actually used the ground pepper trick myself on a couple different vehicles. One was on my old '63 Chevy, which started out as a "just to get me home" trick, but wound up being a permanent fix. It never leaked from that hole again. Ironically, I had developed a split seam along the lower tank on that radiator a few years later, and just used some QuickSteel (two-part putty that hardens like steel) along the lower edge of it, which fixed that problem for the rest of the time I owned that truck.
For all I know, that original radiator is still in that truck, still going fine. I sold it last year and bought a Ford
.
For all I know, that original radiator is still in that truck, still going fine. I sold it last year and bought a Ford
.
