radiator problems

[Todd B]

when I drive my semi just 2 miles down the road and shut it off antifreeze will piss out on the very top of the honeycomb section (one hole). If I drive it 15 miles it does not leak. WHY???

[Plymouthy Adams]

the thermostat is not yet opened and the water that has been heated but not to the correct temp for the thermostat is still warm and thus expanded..the suction of the water pump will prevent the rise in the radiator..shut it off its got to go somewhere..

[John-T-53]

Sounds like the same thing that used to happen in mine...in this case it was the thermostat opening after the engine shut off and a surge of pressure going into the top tank. Made all sorts of racket and groans, and spit out the cap a little. I solved this by drilling a 1/16" hole in the thermostat flange. Also had the radiator recored a while after.

Edited June 11, 2012 by John-T-53

[Todd B]

Does any one believe in he radiator stop leak products, I have heard good and bad about it. Will this work to repair the little hole in the honey comb area or do I need to pull the radiator and get it professionally repaired.?

[karl head]

Does any one believe in he radiator stop leak products' date=' I have heard good and bad about it. Will this work to repair the little hole in the honey comb area or do I need to pull the radiator and get it professionally repaired.?[/quote']

First of all they do work, having said that I would consider them a band-aid fix. One of the biggest issues with that type of product, is what happens to the majority of the product after the hole is plugged. as you can imagine it only takes a very small amount to plug a tiny hole. that leaves the rest to circulate around and settle out elsewhere in the cooling system or block. like in your rad once you stop.

Karl

[ggdad1951]

First of all they do work, having said that I would consider them a band-aid fix. One of the biggest issues with that type of product, is what happens to the majority of the product after the hole is plugged. as you can imagine it only takes a very small amount to plug a tiny hole. that leaves the rest to circulate around and settle out elsewhere in the cooling system or block. like in your rad once you stop.

Karl

seeing as I may have to run some stop leak thru my block, my thought was to run it till it stops leaking and then drain and flush the system.

[karl head]

seeing as I may have to run some stop leak thru my block, my thought was to run it till it stops leaking and then drain and flush the system.

That sounds like a good Idea, I was just thinking of the rad leak when I commented I hope it works for you.

Karl

[Young Ed]

There is one brand of stop leak that has you do exactly that. You run it through with plain water following a procedure of heating and cooling the engine and then refill with proper coolant.

[Jeff Balazs]

Hi Guys;

The only other problem I have run into is that with very small leaks it takes awhile to work. Flow is what carries the components to the leak....and if it is just a weep it takes awhile. Other than that it does work. I can't imagine the residue causing much of a problem.....there is plenty of room in the water jackets for it to settle & solidify without affecting the cooling. It is a very small quantity of solids.

Hope this helps.

Jeff

[greg g]

I have used alumnaseal in a couple cars to good effect. The puking problem will stop if you leave it alone and do not replace the fluid that comes out. The level of coolant should only be about 1/2 to 1 inch over the core. That why the top of the radiator is refered to as an expansion area. It should not be fillet to the rad cap.

[Don Coatney]

Does any one believe in he radiator stop leak products' date=' I have heard good and bad about it. Will this work to repair the little hole in the honey comb area or do I need to pull the radiator and get it professionally repaired.?[/quote']

I do believe they work. But the key is to install them then drive several hundred miles without stopping long enough for the engine to cool. Others are allowed to disagree but I speak from my personal experiance. I have successfully sealed small coolant leaks in several vehicles using these products and this procedure. I have not plugged a radiator using the long distance drive after installing the product. As I said others are allowed to disagree and post there findings.

[John-T-53]

I had bad results using bar's leaks with the old v-cell core.

The problem with these old cores is they get clogged over time and can't be rodded out. On a 50 year old core by now most of them are at least 40 to 50% clogged. When you use a stop leak additive it makes it worse. You can sometimes have leaks spot-repaired, but you'll always be chasing a leak. The only bulletproof solution is to recore, and that's a 20 year fix at least.

[HanksB3B]

The only bulletproof solution is to recore, and that's a 20 year fix at least.

Wait....I need some wood to knock on.

Hank

P.S. I'd be curious to know if someone happens to know what lb# cap our trucks came equipped with. I've had a problem once in the past with a 9 lb radiator that in an overheating situation caused the radiator tank to swell and open a hairline crack in the seam along the bottom of the tank. I went to a 4 lb. cap, then decided to go with a 0 lb. pressure cap and have not had any problems since.

Thanks

[wallytoo]

P.S. I'd be curious to know if someone happens to know what lb# cap our trucks came equipped with.

hank,

i think the caps are 0 lb - no pressure.

wally

[ggdad1951]

hank,

i think the caps are 0 lb - no pressure.

wally

I don't think the cap really matters.....the little overflow tube is venting to atmo regardless...

[Jeff Balazs]

Pressure caps are just that. They function like a PRV and don't vent until the pressure goes a bit past the stated operating pressure. Or on some, if you lift the lever.

The old honeycomb core was never intended to operate at much pressure. Everything I have seen says our flatties don't require a pressurized system. That's Ok the lower the pressure the less likely to develop a leak.

Modern replacement cores can go pretty high if the tank, etc is up to it.

The fellow that re-cored mine said he tested it and would warranty it to 12# if I ever decided to do an engine swap.

Jeff

[Young Ed]

By the early 50s the cars were up to 4lbs. Not sure when the trucks joined in.

[HanksB3B]

Is there a difference in water circulation? The more pressure the more water circulation?

Thanks,

Hank

I know I've said this before, the radiator is one thing where I would rather have an all new hot-rod type all aluminium custom radiator than a re-cored (what I have) original equipment. I'm sure someone could make (or makes) one to fit perfectly in the support bracket. Has anyone done this?

[Plymouthy Adams]

no change in circulation, for each lb of pressure you get approximately an extra 3 degrees of boil-over protection...so at 4lb you will raise the temp of water boil-over to 224 degrees..not getting to formulas so why I said approximately, and this is also for straight water, not antifreeze/coolant mix

[HanksB3B]

Thank you everyone for helping me understand pressure/circulation. I can now feel comfortable that my zero pressure cap is the best way to go for my truck on what looks to be a radiator that must have been worked on by someone with limited tank seam soldering skills. If there is no significant cooling accomplished by having a radiator cap in excess of zero lbs., then for my truck a 0# cap is best.

Thanks,

Hank

Edited June 12, 2012 by HanksB3B