Brendan2010 Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 Looking for a reliable radiator stop leak - any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 I don’t think there is one tbh , best bet is to replace the rad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neil110 Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 The one I used was stop leak. It was effective at repairing a small leak where the soldered joint had failed (on a new radiator) at the neck of the filler plug. Only until I could return the radiator though. As luck would have it there must still have been enough of it swilling around the system to seal a subsequent leak in the replacement rad. This was where a nut (securing one of the horns) had rubbed a hole in it. I managed to find a place willing to carry out a soldered repair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 13, 2019 Share Posted May 13, 2019 4 hours ago, Ozzy50 said: I don’t think there is one tbh , best bet is to replace the rad ^ This. At best I'd drain it and try to epoxy-putty it if it's a plastic/ali one, if it's copper/brass you could try soldering it, but it either wants proper repair or replacement. The problem with the fix-leak gunk is you've then filled your engine with a load of random gunk. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quagmire Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 K-seal is good, it doesn't fill your cooling system with goo like rad weld does. It's strange stuff, like a thin liquid with copper coloured flecks in it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmgemini Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 Wynns stop leak is good and it works Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted May 15, 2019 Share Posted May 15, 2019 You might as well crack an egg in to the rad , just as effective! I still say there is only one cure for a leaky rad 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
landroversforever Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Anything other than fixing it properly is a bodge IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Radiator sealants are really emergency get-you-home fixes rather than repairs. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 I watched some chaps at a play day a while back trying all the "home remedies" on a punctured rad, went through a whole tray of eggs to no effect whatsoever other than making a worse mess than they started with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badger110 Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 Used rad weld in the Astra 6 months ago, still sealed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 (edited) These things are only ever a 'get-you-home' bodge - as well as sealing any leak they'll clag-up your radiator and heater-matrix and the smaller air-bleed passages in your cylinder-head. OK, so you've got-home - but at what cost? To make things good you'll now be needing a new radiator (to replace the one with the temporarily-bunged-up leak), a new heater-matrix, and some serious pressure-flushing of your block/head to remove the goop that's left therein. Rover Group issued specific warnings against using any kind of "radiator stop-leak" goop in its 1980s-era engines. "Bars Seal Stop Leak" specifically says it's not recommended for Rover engines! I guess they had good reason for this! Edited May 16, 2019 by Tanuki 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 ^Wot he said ^ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Landy-Novice Posted May 16, 2019 Share Posted May 16, 2019 K seal is brilliant stuff! as it's so obvious that it's been used so you know when to walk away when buying a vehicle. a friend used it many times on his navara due to headgasket failure. he wasn't pleased when he had to then have head gasket sorted, new rad+heater matrix plus oil cooler etc due to being blocked by the k seal.. do it right, do it once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quagmire Posted May 17, 2019 Share Posted May 17, 2019 I don't usually think this when reading threads on lr4x4, but this time I will say there's a lot of people riding around on high horses and giving naff advice. In my experience K-seal doesn't clog. Unless your chucking it into some knackered old hack to start with. I had a leaky core plug I couldnt get round to sorting for a bit. K-seal fixed the leak, rad still clear afterwards. I even know the water ways etc in the engine were good and clear afterwards as when I did my chassis swap I finally got round to pulling all the core plugs and replacing them while it was easy. Stay away from the other goo-like ones and you'll be fine. (I have no affiliation with K-seal, just a happy customer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 If it was understood how these sealers worked, the advice would be different, a lot less naysaying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted May 18, 2019 Share Posted May 18, 2019 I used a blocksealer in my CSK must be 17 years ago and it sorted it no problem with no residual gunk. Did 10k in it with this before Iparked it up. I need to get this restored soon it is breaking my heart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozzy50 Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 On 5/18/2019 at 7:27 AM, Bowie69 said: If it was understood how these sealers worked, the advice would be different, a lot less naysaying. Each to their own , I’m going off my own experience which has never given positive results and led me to the conclusion that there is only one way to fix a leaky radiator. No offence meant or taken James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mo Murphy Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 On 5/18/2019 at 7:27 AM, Bowie69 said: If it was understood how these sealers worked, the advice would be different, a lot less naysaying. Nevertheless Bowie it is still just an emergency fix not a permanent repair. Mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 I quite agree, Mo, but sludging up the whole system? No Perhaps the old bars leaks, but the modern stuff is entirely different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon_CSK Posted May 20, 2019 Share Posted May 20, 2019 13 hours ago, Bowie69 said: Perhaps the old bars leaks, but the modern stuff is entirely different. I was recommended to us block sealer from a very reputable local engineer and it is/was a very thin liquid which sealed the leak by filling the hole with a microscopic skim of ceramic. It didn't work the first time but after a second try it worked perfectly. That was on my CSK when the block went pourous. There are lots of "modern stuff" that works great and doesn't fur up the system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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