i have a 3 inch fine line crack on the top left side of my radiator. The top part is plastic and am 99% certain its coming from there because I can see coolant slowly leaking through the crack.

I refill my expansion tank to the max line and after commuting, it ends up below the min level. I can see antifreeze near the top of the radiator area make its way down to the bottom splash shield since it is wet.

I tried JB Weld kwik to patch it but it doesn't hold under the heat. After driving, the patch seems soft & melted and coolant still leaks. I just used Quiksteel plastic repair / epoxy putty and will put it to the test tomorrow.

I also bought Alumaseal Radiator Stop Leak but not sure if I want to put that stuff in my car.

Any suggestions for easy & cheap fix?

My 97 Civic Radiator kinda looks like this. The crack is located on the top left side of the radiator where the Honda Imprint is.

 

buy a new radiator with lifetime warranty. the best possible fix.

 

just replace it, they are not very expensive, 100 for mine, life time waranty.

 

yeah replace it if you buy it at autozone its 100 bucks with a lifetime warranty which is good cause they always break in the same spot every 100,000 miles or so.

 

replace

 

the epoxy putty didn't do the trick so im just going to have it replaced. should i replace anything else while i'm doing the radiator? btw, the car has about 173k body and the engine probably around 80k. I plan on keeping the car for at least 2 years.

i can't diy since i live in an apartment and plan to take it to a friends mechanic. any estimate on the labor / hours charged?

thanks for all the help

 

Dude, it takes all of 5 minutes. Drain the coolant, take the top rad mount off, slide the overfill bottle off, unclamp top and bottom hoses, pull the rad out. Swap things over to new rad, reverse the steps.

 

Yeah, I've tried everything to seal one of those up, including JB waterweld. I think that it would work given 2-3 days to cure before applying pressure, but I was never able to go without the car for that long, so I just replaced the radiator.

 

Replace it. If your looking for a quick fix JB Weld will work (I've used it in a pinch) but it wont last.