everytime i drive my car now i can tell that coolant is leaking (and therefore burning). after some looking around, i discovered that the leak is coming from the top of the radiator; it oozes out of the top, depending on the slope the car is on decides which side the coolant leaks out of. after some searching, i think the problem is the "end tank" (whatever the hell that is) is "seperated" from the rest of my radiator. now, the leak has gotten worse lately, and i really, really hate driving my car with it leaking coolant like it is, but i have to drive it. im going to see if the shop can see me asap to try and repair it.. but here are my two concerns:
a) the shop won't be able to see me until next week, and i cant be without a car until then..
b) the shop wont be able to repair my radiator and i'll have to buy a new one, spending more money than i wanted and also taking more time out of me having a broken car.
here's some hope: [while searching,] i read that i could possibly use jb weld to "seal" the "end tank" back on, temporarily stopping the leak. would this work? that way i could have my car for a couple more days/weeks, while ordering a new radiator or waiting for a shop to see me to fix the current one. btw, my car has 47,500 miles on it, and im officially pissed that my radiator fucked me over this soon. also, i have heard really bad things about "stop leak," and i don't want to use that. hopefully this JB weld will help me out... what can i do?

 

yep...get jb weld. Has held up on my radiator for over a year. Just smear that all over the leaking area (after you clean it off) and let it dry for a few min. Order another radiator. Stock replacement will cost like $120 on ebay, or you can get a nicer aluminum one from earl or whoever on the bestbuys forum for $335 shipped.

Swapping shouldn't take you more than an hour, so don't worry about not having your car because it's in the shop.

 

well at first i was just planning on going to a shop and having them repair it, but after reading the topics that i found from searching, basically everyone said that it will need to be replaced. im not worried about taking it out/putting it back in; that's easy. but taking it to a shop and waiting for them to repair my radiator would take a while (theyd have to wait for it to cool off and stuff, plus i might have to wait a couple days before they can see me). so im thinking i'll probably have to replace it.. but i wouldnt be able to get a replacement for a week or two. would JB weld solve my problem? i know it can repair some radiator leaks, but my "end tank" (or something, again i dunno exactly) is "seperated" (the top part of the radiator evidently is not sealed right anymore, and is the cause of the leak). so i guess what im asking is, will JB weld be able to solve the problem that i have temporarily, say for a week or two? im hoping so... what's everyone's opinion?

 

I tried to JB Weld mine, but it was a no-go. I bought a used radiator from b18c1_powered_si here on H-T. He was straight forward and fast - I'd vouche for him. The swap over was painless.

If yours is a small hole/crack, check to see if it's in the plastic tank or in the radiator itself. If you're going to try the JB Weld approach, take the radiator out of the car completely and let it dry well before you do. Good luck!

 

i just brought the radiator to a radiator repairer and got a new top tank fitted.