1956322 Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Anyone use the bars or gm tablets.. Heard good things..I have a minor leak on the bottom of my radiator by the passenger transmission cooler fitting.. It gets damp and will leave a few spots on the asphalt.. Been like this for years but now leaving spots.. Was recored 15 odd years ago Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buick man Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 … I would not recommend going this route as gummy bear plug-up of system components and the entire system can and do occur with the advent of more oxygen getting into the system due to the leak … also that area around the trans fluid cooler fitting is now experiencing increased metal stress and fissuring due to torsional forces which ultimately leads to metal fatigue and failure … I would take the leap and remove the radiator and properly repair and / or disconnect and thread plug these two transmission route orifices at the base of your radiator and then extend lines to an external cooler mounted in front of your radiator for peace of mind ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Actually I am also running a separate transmission cooler as well.. I've been tempted to not run the transmission through the radiator at all but I doubt this will help my leak..I havIs feeling there's a hairline crack in the threads where the line threads in.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Bars Leak, black pepper and oatmeal are like your spare tire. Designed to get you home when and where the problem should be properly fixed. My Grandfather drove his Pontiac (now mine for 58 years) for two years with homemade stop leak remedies. Ten miles to a pail of water. When I started working $160 per month it cost me $60.00 for a brand new radiator, NOS, fresh out of the box. A week and one half's wages and it has lasted 58 years and 400,000 miles. Always had 50/50 antifreeze in it and always changed it every two to three years. It's not worth the chance to not fix it properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 I'm definitely not a fan of stop leaks but this one seems like the list bad of all of them for what that's worth lol.. Just can't afford 600 odd bucks for a new one... I'm going to drop off a spare one of unknown quality at a shop tomorrow here's hoping it isn't to bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 The underlying issue is your heater core. Good chance the core(if never serviced) is getting a bit clogged. The stop leak could possibly finish the clogging job for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KongaMan Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 11 hours ago, Tinindian said: Bars Leak, black pepper and oatmeal are like your spare tire. Designed to get you home when and where the problem should be properly fixed. My Grandfather drove his Pontiac (now mine for 58 years) for two years with homemade stop leak remedies. Ten miles to a pail of water. When I started working $160 per month it cost me $60.00 for a brand new radiator, NOS, fresh out of the box. A week and one half's wages and it has lasted 58 years and 400,000 miles. Always had 50/50 antifreeze in it and always changed it every two to three years. It's not worth the chance to not fix it properly. Concur. Stop leak is the automotive equivalent of a comb-over. It might hide the problem temporarily, but it won't fix it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Well the spare radiator is at the shop we'll see what they say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Spare radiator? Just swap tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 There were several components of some of the earlier "stop leaks". One was the soft pellets to "seal" the leak. Another was the soluable oil for lubrication of the water pump and such. The not-used part of the stop leak compound will probably settle out somewhere in the system, including in the lowest part of the cooling system (as the rear of the engine's coolant passages in the block). Key is not to use too much, but just enough to stop the leak until a better long-term fix/repair can be made. Only thing is that this last part can tend to be a longer time than we first expected. Out of sight, out of mind. NTX5467 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemon Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Get yourself a kiddie pool and fill it with water. Plug up the holes in the radiator with rubber expansion plugs and then tap one for an air compressor. Then use no more than 7psi of air and see exactly where the bubbles are coming from. Once you find the leak, use brass solder and patch it up... I paid $75 for a radiator shop to repair my radiator like this. Kind of wish I knew about it sooner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 13, 2017 Share Posted May 13, 2017 Be sure that the solder you get is "high quality" solder AND that you prep the surfaces to receive the solder with the appropriate substance so the solder "sticks and holds" reliably for several years. There IS a reason that the brand-name replacement radiators I've purchased lasted at least as long as an OEM radiator rather than the seemingly-typical 2 years between cleaning/re-solders that many local radiator shops' work seemed to yield. To me, that additional longevity relates to the solder used and cleanliness of the parts being soldered. I later found a shop whose work lasted "as new". Bad thing, to me, is that those larger shops whose work held up the best may well be out of business in later years, as the other ones have work, by observation. Many of us have tended to venture off into "parts unknown" as we expand into doing more diagnostic/repair operations on our vehicles as we pay somebody else to do something and then say "I could have done that!" . . . and then did it (usually with a slight learning curve and additional time), which can be good and make us feel proud of our accomplishment(s). But I've also determined that there are some labor operations/activities which can be best done by others who know what they've doing AND are set-up to quickly and expeditiously do some things I'd have to spend time and money getting set-up to do (and only need very sporadically!). Determining whether to invest that time/money to do those things myself can be a variable situation. As my age advances, there can be more things I'd rather have somebody else competently and expeditiously do, although it might cost a little more money to get it done that way. Of course, the allocation of blame if it doesn't work can be an influence, too! This can be a variable situation, dependent upon many factors, including a "busy schedule" and whether or not I'll need to do the job on another vehicle at another time. Plus investing in the appropriate "hardware/utensils" to do the job. Congrats on that innovative approach, Beemon! Several KEY things include . . . a reliable way to have air pressure of that lower level in enough quantity (7-15psi range), being able to keep the immersion fluid temperature at or near actual cooling system operating temperature (for good measure), having some suitable stand-offs such that the radiator/heater core is suspended in the immersion fluid itself. PLUS that when re-soldering, rather than just a drop in a hole, you can easily end up re-soldering the entire "joint" surface as the heat can cause the existing solder to release and expand the scope of the "fix it" job, by observation. And, of course, as mentioned, getting "the better" solder (rather than a generic and more-inexpensive) solder and cleaning agents is very important! Happy Motoring! NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 13, 2017 Author Share Posted May 13, 2017 Well the core is shot on the unknown spare radiator... They'll give me a quote on Monday but I'm expecting around 500..I think I'm just going to bite the bullet and order a brand new one from classic radiator 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 Order has been placed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NTX5467 Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 The "GM Cooling System Tabs" are really there for ph balance, but might perform a mild sealing action, too. For many years, the coolant recovery jugs would have some of their residue in them. GM recommended that all engine changes get a new batch of crushed-up tabs in the radiator. The normal small block Chevy engines used the part number with just two tabs. When the Cadillac aluminum V-8 came online, the 4.1L V-8 family, a part number with 8 smaller tabs was introduced for those motors. I never did know of them causing any issues (clogging, etc) when used in the correct engines. The tabs were reputed to be pecan shells, or possibly walnut shells. Seems like that by the time we got DexCool coolant recommendations (particular model year and later), the cooling system tabs fell from grace? Cooling system and engine sealing had improved, too. In the earlier 1970s, seems like there was a Zerex antifreeze that came with "stop leak" in it. Small plastic balls which sealed holes in radiators and such that the coolant was leaking through. It worked well, but I always wondered about them settling-out during non-use or if there were no leaks to seal. One guy I knew of, in "the neighborhood", had trouble finding a decent car for his family. He found a '61 Ford that was in good shape and could haul his family well. The 2-speed Ford-O-Matic soon developed a front pump seal leak. Not only a nuisance but a messy one. He got some of that stop-leak antifreeze and put it in the transmission. A few days later, the seal was dry! We figured the balls were piled up behind the seal's lip area. Although it worked well, he had another car a few weeks later. We just shook our heads and were glad it worked for him. Two years later, that particular coolant was gone, allegedly due to clogged heater cores. NTX5467 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 Just a quick update.. Got the new radiator today haven't installed it but it looks amazing.. They did misspell my name and leave off part of my address so it took a tad longer then it should have to arrive. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 3 hours ago, 1956322 said: Just a quick update.. Got the new radiator today haven't installed it but it looks amazing.. They did misspell my name and leave off part of my address so it took a tad longer then it should have to arrive. Hopefully they screwed up your credit card number as well, then you should be good to go. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted May 23, 2017 Author Share Posted May 23, 2017 Unfortunately they somehow got the card number right darn it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 1 hour ago, 1956322 said: Unfortunately they somehow got the card number right darn it Bass turds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lancemb Posted May 23, 2017 Share Posted May 23, 2017 On Thursday, May 11, 2017 at 0:13 AM, Tinindian said: Bars Leak, black pepper and oatmeal are like your spare tire. Designed to get you home when and where the problem should be properly fixed. My Grandfather drove his Pontiac (now mine for 58 years) for two years with homemade stop leak remedies. Ten miles to a pail of water. When I started working $160 per month it cost me $60.00 for a brand new radiator, NOS, fresh out of the box. A week and one half's wages and it has lasted 58 years and 400,000 miles. Always had 50/50 antifreeze in it and always changed it every two to three years. It's not worth the chance to not fix it properly. You drove a what-year Pontiac 400,000 miles??! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted June 13, 2017 Author Share Posted June 13, 2017 Just a quick update new radiator installed today along with all new hoses and a new and correct water outlet.. So far so good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 (edited) lancemb...... read my signature on post #4 or on this post. The car had 99,000 on it when I started to drive it and I have put 400,000 miles on it. So now it has over 500,000 miles. Edited June 13, 2017 by Guest (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted June 13, 2017 Share Posted June 13, 2017 On 5/22/2017 at 5:05 PM, 1956322 said: They did misspell my name and leave off part of my address Only a radiator, but aren't simple mistakes more common, even "no pickles" is tough. Here's one of the best. My name is Bernard Eugene Daily, I use a script B. E. Daily as my signature. A doctor's office asked me to sign for a medication. Five minutes later I get a call. "We wanted your signature, not the frequency of the medication." Now, what you think be wrong with me being annoyed. I must attract them. Bernie 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Eaton Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 The short version of my story......purchased an 88 GMC P/U in 1996, coolant was going someplace, had the radiator repaired and that only slowed it by about 1/2. Purchased some Barr's and when I got back to work called the 800 number on the container.....the customer service guy said guaranteed not to hurt your engine, he claimed all the new car manufactures put some in each new car just to take care of potential leaks. I put the can in the P/U and drove it for 2 1/2 years without loosing additional coolant or any cooling problems. I would not hesitate to use it again, but would repair any obvious leaks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Lmao now that's funny.. So far I'm very happy with the product 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beemon Posted June 14, 2017 Share Posted June 14, 2017 6 hours ago, 60FlatTop said: Only a radiator, but aren't simple mistakes more common, even "no pickles" is tough. They raised minimum wage here to accommodate my frustration with getting pickles and onions on a burger. Glad I'm not the only one. Glad the radiator is working out for you, any fitment issues? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1956322 Posted June 14, 2017 Author Share Posted June 14, 2017 Fitment issues no not really it's made for a 56 Buick..I did have to drill my own holes for the fan shroud to bolt to it.. And the bracket didn't quite wanna line up but I had a buddy give her a good tug so I could get the bolt in..I dont know why but I always have a hard time lining up those old radiator brackets 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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