Clifton Griffin

Believe it or not, this is not a Ron Paul blog. To prove such, I will tell you a long and boring story about my recent car troubles in hopes some other young, ambitious someone will benefit from it.

About a week ago I was on my way to work when I realized my 92′ Pontiac Bonneville (SSE!!!!!!!) was pouring rusty antifreeze and leaving a trail of steam and blood. Closer examination revealed the culprit: a small hole in the upper right side of my radiator. When the engine reached any kind of heat, coolant sprayed out of this whole until there wasn’t enough coolant to spray, at which point steam would billow.

When filled, the engine would reach dangerous heat levels within 5 minutes. Strangely, I wouldn’t lose much coolant during this time.

My first attempt at fixing this problem was to flush out the radiator. I took it to a car wash and drained the radiator. I then filled it with water and radiator flush and let the engine idle for a few minutes. Draining it again, I decided to run water through it with a hose for approximately 30 minutes.  I then filled it with a 50% solution of antifreeze and water and added nearly 2 bottles of Presstone Stop Leak. I let the car idle for 10 minutes and drove it around for a few miles.

It seemed cooler, but still was flirting with the line. I thougth I might have temporarily fixed it, but upon reaching my destination I realized I was still spraying antifreeze.

All I could do was limp it to work and back for the next two days, praying it wouldn’t blow up.

I decided to tackle a different theory. I decided that the real problem could be my thermostat. I reasoned that it were faulty, my engine wouldn’t be exposed to coolant which could have caused the high temperatures that would have resulted in a hole in my radiator.

That was this afternoon. As soon as I left work I started the proccess of replacing the thermostat. This went smoothly barring a few problems (a bolt that was nearly fused to the engine block, a missing gasket, and missing wrenches). Once I had the new thermostat installed I filled it with a solution of antifreeze and water and put approximately 3/4 of Bar Leak’s Liquid Aluminum. I then started the car and waited for 10 minutes. Soon a jet stream of water emerged from the radiator. I watched it with some depression as my Dennis remarked, “I don’t think it’s going to be able to stop up a hole that big.”

I agreed. I decided to tap it off and try to limp it home. Before I could finish pouring a few drops into the reserve tank, he motioned me over. “It’s stopped.”

And so far, it’s still stopped.  The real reason I couldn’t keep it cool was not a lack of coolant due to the rupture, or a faulty thermostat. It was a lack of pressure. The hole in my radiator corresponded to the water hose that brings coolant to the engine block. This loss of pressure did not allow the proper amount of coolant to reach the engine.

So if you’re ever in the need of some radiator stop leak, I highly recommend Bar Leak’s Liquid Aluminum (assuming you have an alluminum radiator). It worked wonders while the competing brand did nothing at all with almost twice as much as is recommended.

I still plan on replacing the radiator soon, but this has bought me precious time.

There you have it. I catalogue this for any other travellers who have spent the day searching google for “stop leak”, “best” and “radiator”.

And now you know a part of the story…