I noticed a few drops of anti-freeze under my Durango this morning and checked the overflow bottle it is a little bit low. I guess it is time for a water pump or a radiator, however I do not have the time nor the space to fix it immediately nor do I want to work on it outside since it is only in the teens right now!(I would go hunting though so I am not a total wimp!)What is the best stop leak? There are so many choices and I would like some opinions on what to use.
Thanks
Doug
Depends on how big a leak, or what you are trying to fix, LOL. The best stuff requires you to drain the radiator,fill with water/stop leak, run for prescribed time period, drain, flush, refill with anti freeze/water.
Bars leak works often if it is something that a stop leak will fix.
Mechanics on the whole hate the stuff as you find it in the water cavity of the block when you knock out freeze out plugs and some say it will plug heater cores and radiators though I haven't seen it. Laughing just thinking of some of the engines I've dumped multiple big truck quanity stop leak in to try and nurse along. Sometimes it will surprise you.
T LEE. How much? Spicy or mild? Does it have to be fresh ground?
Stuff that comes in a little tube, used to be called Silver Seal, but I think they changed the name to (something else) seal
Silver Seal Most auto parts stores carry it. Make sure you follow the directions as it says don't use more than two tubes. Good luck!
til later
You may be assuming the worst when something much less can be the culprit.. Have you first looked to see if you can tell where the anti-freeze is coming from? Have you checked all the hose clamps for tightness/integrity? Could there be a small crack in the overflow hose to the bottle?
If nothing else, have the local garage do a pressure test. That alone might be quite revealing.. I'm hoping you won't have to spend a ton of money for water pump or a radiator...
Best to you.
From the position of the puddle on the ground the leak seems to be located near the end of the radiator where both the radiator cap and the overfolw bottle are located I do not see a trail of antifreeze so I am assuming that the leak is on the bottom of the radiator.
Doug
That's common with dodges- they have little puddles under the tranny, under the motor, under the rearend. Just keep topping up your fluids and you will be fine.
Go out after dark tonight and use a flashlight to locate the leak. Could be a tank or the core leaking. Don't assume it's comming from the bottom.
Does the radiator have side tanks or top and bottom? Plastic tanks w/aluminum core?
Just a small can of store brand of ground black pepper, I have used that trick for more years than I care to admit. The suggestion to check the hoses & such should be done before anything else.
378 Kanuck
Yeah I know all about Mopars and their little leaks. Found out first with my Jeep Grand Cherokee and now my Durango.You can definately tell where I park and my wife parks her Lexus!I was a Toyota Tercel SR5 4x4 wagon junkie for about 15 years.Had 2 of them each had about 200k on them and neither of them leaked anything. My wife's Lexus has almost 150K and no leaks go figure.
Bars Leak. Also lubricates. My bet is your water pump. Tom
Take a good look at the water pump, too. There's a weep hole on the bottom. If water is coming out of it, it's got to the bearings and your pump is shot.
Dick
Take a good look at the water pump, too. There's a weep hole on the bottom. If water is coming out of it, it's got to the bearings and your pump is shot.
Dick
The Silver seal can still help, even with the water pump. My pump was leaking bad on my jeep on a hunting trip. I managed to get to a parts store, added the seal and drove it 600 miles home and then around town for a couple of weeks before it started to leak again. THEN I replaced the pump.
The reason for the weep hole is so that you know your bearings are gone
BEFORE catastropic failure.
Yep, let that water pump go too long and then it really gets bad with the fan taking out the radiator. BTDT
sauer, from your description it sounds like the radiator or one of the hoses is the culprit. for a temporary fix use silver seal. it looks like metal flakes. add to radiator & run engine for 15-20 minutes.
if it is water pump, there is nothing that will help. these leaks usually come & go sporadically until the pump finally lets go.
-ken
check your bib cock on the bottom of the radiator. they are usually palstic and going in to an aluminum radiator when it gets cold often times the plastic will contract more than the aluminum and cause a leak, as a mechanic i hate that stop leek stuff, however pepper like T said doesn't usually cause much of a problem i have also seen an egg work, just crack it open in to the radiator the white will cook and fill in some small holes until you can fix it right the rest will get broken up and flushed out.
I just got back in from looking under my vehicle and I can not find any sort of antifreeze trail any where.Am able to look under the pump and along the hoses and nadda. I am going to get some of the silver solder type stop leak and give it a try until I can get it to a shop and have a pressure test done on the cooling system.I really am beginning to despise this vehicle.It is worthless in the snow and the A/C has never worked very well even after I had the evaperator core replaced. It just seems to me that a lot of little things are going wrong with it that are really ticking me off. I cannot wait until I get my degree and go back to work so that I can afford a Toyota Sequoia or maybe even a land cruiser!
Thanks for all the input
Doug
Yep it sure is.
In my former life I managed a small used car dealership and much to my amazement Chrysler products seemed to sell the best for us.
The only GM vehicles that I would keep on the lot were Blazers and S-10s and any of the rwd vehicles like the Caprice. No fords in any flavor were great sellers for us.