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Hi, I'm doing alot of motorway towing tomorrow with a Fiat Ducato van (2.8D) and I've just noticed a very slight pin head area of dampness on one of the radiator channels - enough I'm guessing to give that very subtle "hot water smell" that you smell when walking round the vehicle. Obviously I can't sort the rad out for tomorrow - if I put a tin of Rad weld in, will that preserve things, is there a better product or am I wasting my time! As yet no water loss at all and no overheating probs but like I said, towing 1300kg tomorrow in this hot weather so the fan will kicking in and out all the time.
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i dont think radweld will make any difference, personally.
Buit if you are worried about the leak getting worse etc then the only stuff I have used that has worked is product called cargo? leak stopper.
Its a glass/copper mix stuff that will plug sensible sized small holes, (but remember it cant tell the difference between a hole and a waterway!)
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it does block any leaks,but is only a temp measure,ie untill you can fix problem really depends on radiator core.
if the core has small pipework there is a chance it will block channels and possibly cause more problems-I would, as leak is extremely small,not put any additive in coolant and see what happens on the trip ie keep an eye on matters
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Steve
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I'm not a fan of this product either, but it's generally at its most effective with pinholes in radiator or heater cores. It does tend to make rather a mess of the cooling system. I would suggest that you buy a tin and keep it in the vehicle, together with plenty of water.
659.
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Did you know, it's made from finely shredded sugar beet?
Okay for an old banger, but I wouldn't use in a modern car, too many divertor valves, auxillary waterpumps and fine matrixes to block.
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"it's made from finely shredded sugar beet"
Legend says you can use almost anything edible but insoluble - porridge oats, mustard, pepper, even raw egg. But as the others have said, better do without and travel prepared for loss of water.
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rad weld can fix small leaks in an emergency.we put it in our race engines as a precaution before every race(can stop pin hole leaks from stone damage)another motorsport fix from the old days which i would recommend is a small amount of rapid araldite "blobbed" over the pin hole area.about the size of a 1p peice.
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I have used Bars Leaks in the past to seal up minor seepage. Once on a Metro where there was a leak around one of the cylinder head bolts and most recently on a Transit with a top hose leak at the radiator. Bars Leaks also contains a water-pump lubricant.
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Radweld gets my vote. Out of all the times I've previously used it, only once it didn't work, which is mentioned in this link.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=11...6
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I have used both Radweld and Barrs Leaks before with success on leaking radiators.
Diesels (Peugoet Citroen) with thin bore copper pipes for coldstart devices (also many Toyotas), Rover V6 engines and many modern engines? a NOGO due to the risk of blocking those pipes and seriously impacting cold start performace/ mixture control etc.
madf
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so, referring to Madf post - is a Fiat Ducato diesel 2.8 non turbo 1998 model the sort of engine not to use this stuff in? leaving in 3 hours!!!
Many thanks for all the replies...............
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As suggested previously you leave it OUT, however you take a lot of spare water with you and a tin of barrs or radweld just in case you need it.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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I used Barrs in a SAAB. Once in, it worked for about 3 years with no problems.
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I used Rad Weld in my old Sierra and ended up with a partially blocked radiator as well as a leaking one.
The sludge it leaves behind in the system is unbelievable and just adds to the time it takes to ultimately fix the problem properly.
Cheers
DP
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I cracked an egg in my kit car rad and it worked a treat, and still is..... : o )
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free range?
or "battery hen"?
thought you were off cruising the country?just heard of street violence in preston one dead avoid area at all costs
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I would avoid places like Preston like the plague anyway. Rad trouble or not.
For the record we only ever buy free range eggs......kinder to the Chicken and better for the rad : o )
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Bars Leaks works for me. It's kept radiators functional when they should have been replaced, most recently in a Citroen Synergie. It's also got claimed lubricant and anti-corrosion properties.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Perfectly safe to use.
I've had some in my k-series for over 5 years now, with no problems.
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>>I've had some in my k-series for over 5 years now, with no problems.
Yet, so no coolant change in that time??
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Steve
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>>> so no coolant change in that time?? <<
Coolant changed after 2 years. Now using Halfords 5 year AF.
Radweld will still be in the system, as no flushing was done.
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Radweld and its ilk -- trusted mechanic doesn't trust it.
New radiator: £100+ from GSF or Euro Car Parts, £100ish to fit -- no worries, none at all.
Just another perspective. Depends on your attitude to risk.
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Years ago when I worked with engineers developing temperature-sensing fan drives, we used Bars leaks as a temporary measure in a Rover V8 which was instrumented with thermocouples in top tank, cylinder head and datalogging equipment.
The leak was certainly fixed but the head temperatures went up 10 - 15 degrees C as the sealant tends to deposit on all surfaces and reduces heat transfer - didn't hurt the Rover but some engines might not like it.
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It would be cheaper to buy some Colemans Mustard.
It does the same thing as I was told when I was an apprentice.??
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The factory maintenance instructions for Jaguar XJ12s and XJ-S V12s for many years used to specify adding a package of Bar's Leaks every six months. Probably the longest-running example of well-intentioned sabotage ever. The cars have a side-flow double-pass radiator, so the solids in the Bar's Leaks end up congealed at the bottom of the radiator, blocking the tubes. As the blockage creeps ever higher, the car overheats more and more. The factory also recommended putting a resistor in line with the coolant sensor to disguise the increased temperature and dealer mechanics often told owners the high temperatures were nothing to worry about. The end result was a large number of cooked V12s with exhaust valve seats loosened due to overheating, especially in the USA, where catalysts greatly increased engine bay temperatures. Perhaps Jaguar thought that it was better to have a reputation for blown engines rather than leaky ones. The crazy thing is that the V12 cooling system just needs proper maintenance to remain leak-free and efficient, not desperation measures.
Am I spinning a yarn? Jaguar World magazine mentioned adding Bar's Leaks to a V12 in an article. My letter to them included some of the above information. It won letter of the month, and I received a very nice fountain pen.
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We have used the stuff for years. It works brilliantly to stop a leak within minutes. Unfortunately, I agree with many above. Heater matrices are the first to suffer. Costly to replace and time consuming. I suggest that if you are using it for an emergency, wait 'till the leak is sorted and then flush the system at your earliest convenience. That should stop the problems.
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Mk1 Punto sprang a leak in the heater matrix. Popped a Bars Leaks into the radiator, solved....
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