Hey guys like it says I have a radiator leak.

(on a side note for the past two days I have been smelling a sweet smell similar to pancake syrup don't know if its the same thing)

Anyway so I was driving the tib and I noticed the A/C wasn't as cold as it should it be. Looked at my guages and noticed the thermostat was getting hotter. I also realized when I was driving the A/C got cooler and when I stopped at a light it pretty much got warm. So I turned off the A/C and drove the rest of the way with windows down.

Popped my hood open and noticed that there was coolant spewed everywhere in the engine bay. Located the source and its a tiny 2 inch crack on the top of my radiator.

Can I fix this? What can I use to plug this crack up? Don't think silicone will work because it gets hot as hell in that spot.

Should I buy one of those radiator stop leak bottles? Will this work if the leak is on top of the radiator?

What is the radiator made of? Metal?

Any ideas?

New radiator time.....

try to avoid the stop leak and temporary solutions, it's like putting a bandage on something that needs stitches. Just pony up and do it right by getting a new one. Your a/c naturally gets cooler when driving because you're slamming air into it, helping it cool.

Regarding the pancake smell, I had that in one of my old cars with a radiator problem whenever i turned on the heater, although i don't think that my radiator smelled like pancakes when it was leaking..... coolant has a very distinct smell, which is certainly not sweet.

Coolant has a sweet smell, i had three blown headgaskets on my supra, and everytime it would smell sweet. It is almost maple syrup like

and like previous posters have said do it right the first time. get a radiator.

yea probably is like that in the system, but i think we can all agree it smells like paste... or balls... or just unpleasant at all other times.

If you're leaking a lot try to just constantly refill it with water constantly when going to a mechanic (if you are taking it there). It's illegal to be spilling coolant all over the place.

it's prolly fixable, but replace it.

dont wast your money fixing it i bought a new one i had a crack on the top all the way across i got one for $40 brand new in the box , and its a oem part

yeah i just replaced my radiator tuesday. very easy to do and only took two hours. however i paid 150 from napa.

wow thats alot of mula you should jave tried some junk yards cause somtimes they but aftermarket and oem parts like headlights radiators and more like i said i only got mine for $40

thanks for the info guys... i can't afford a new radiator right now so looks like i'll be using good old JB Weld on the crack and hope for the best

good luck but i tried JB weld and it didn't work at all. it didn't even stick to the radiator.

what was the problem with yours?

i had a stress crack on the top plastic portion.

that's exactly what i have

did u clean the area before placing the weld? also thinking about melting the plastic to seal the crack

JBweld will not work....it doesnt expand with the tank, and it will go right back to leaking that day. and the stop leak stuff will not work either as it will just plug up the cores and you'll be worse offyou could actually take the radiator out and go to the radiator shop and they can put a new tank on it. But for that money I would just go to the salvage yard and get one used till you can get a new one

REPLACE!!!

Stuff like Barsleak or any other stop leak product will do nothing to repair the problem. I tried to use that stuff on my old Mazda and learned the hard way.

Spend the money, your cooling system is one of the most important components for your cars engine. If you don't, your next post might be in search for a new cylinder head to replace your warped one PLUS a radiator!!! (Which was the exact reason why I had to get rid of my MX-6...)

Not very smart. I'd try to find the cash or a cheaper radiator, but whatever you have to do, I'd replace it.

Better to replace a radiator than a warped cylinder head because you overheated.

You can get a good deal here

Brand New For $120 including shipping.

Much cheaper than a $175.00+ used head and $100.00 + gasket kit

I just found out I have the same problem...there's a 4 inch crack on top of my radiator and my coolant would be splashed all over my engine bay and when it's sitting you can see coolant sipping out from the crack....I stuffed a shop paper towel in that gap for now to stop it fro splashing but I guess I'd need to replace the radiator.
Do you have to remove the front bumper to make room for removing the radiator? and where do you dispose the old radiator (since it's will have some coolant in it even if drained)....thanks

A shop might be able to braze it....basically weld the area, its kinda like soldering.

just ended up buying a new one thanks guys

GaTo THATS EXACTLY what i was going to post. The exact same thing happened today, i looked and when i was accelerating my temp went up as fast as i was accelerating.. ifilled it all the way back up so i cant drive on it for a little while till i can get a new one..


dangg sucksss

is there a DIY on replacing a radiator?

Im going through the exact same right now. My radiator cracked in the same place too. Every time my car is warmed up, the pressure from the heat forces all of my radiator fluid out. Im going to buy a new high performance unit. I think you should do the same!