Radiator "Stop Leak"

i've got a leak somewhere that is dripping coolant into my passenger side wheel well and my tire is slinging it all over the coil spring and inner fender. It appears to be coming over from the bottom of the radiator to the the front of the fender well, to the fender support and dripping down from there. i spent some time looking and couldn't figure out where its coming from. there is some coolant in the rubber spash guard just above the skid plate. i can't really afford to buy a new radiator right now and have someone install it (too cold for the driveway and too little time) I just replaced my water pump and flushed the system about a month ago
Well, my question is: what does everyone have to say about using that stop leak stuff that comes in a bottle? i can't imagine it does the system any favors but i need to stop the leak for now. are there some brands or types that are better than others?
Thanks A Lot

A egg.... worked for Mythbusters...

ha ha yeah, i saw that episode. i'm just not sure i could do it, after replacing my water pump and flushing everything clean not more than a month ago. the guys over on jeep forum are going against the stuff... i didnt want to use it anyways. i guess i'll have to look harder for the leak and see what is really causing the problem. any common areas that i should look into? i've read that where the plastic tanks meet the core is a common spot for leaks.
Thanks

I have been in an epic battle with the cooling system on the 97 XJ I recently bought. Evidently the person who had it before me had a small leak somewhere and rather than fix it they put an uknown amount of stop leak in it. So far I have had to replace the heater core because it was plugged up, the coolant overflow bottle because it was plugged up, I have drained and flushed the system about 4 times now and still don't have it all out. It's gonna have to wait for it to get warmer outside before I continue the struggle. I still don't know where the leak was they tried to fix, but it does look like it has a fairly new water pump on it so I would say it was the culprit and they had to get it replaced anyway.

I guess what I am trying to say is I wouldn't put stop leak in it if there is anyway to keep from it. You will fight it at some point in the future. I would try the egg idea before putting stop leak in it.

BADaXJ said:

Well, my question is: what does everyone have to say about using that stop leak stuff that comes in a bottle? i can't imagine it does the system any favors but i need to stop the leak for now. are there some brands or types that are better than others?
Thanks A Lot

Click to expand...

I work at a garage and we used it in a beater truck that we could not get to stop leaking from the rotted rad and it stopped the leak solid but they say it does plug up the cooling system. It only works for little holes

dont use it, i had a similar problem and it wasnt worth it. Just get a new radiator, it will be better in the long run.

BADaXJ said:

i've got a leak somewhere that is dripping coolant into my passenger side wheel well and my tire is slinging it all over the coil spring and inner fender. It appears to be coming over from the bottom of the radiator to the the front of the fender well, to the fender support and dripping down from there. i spent some time looking and couldn't figure out where its coming from. there is some coolant in the rubber spash guard just above the skid plate. i can't really afford to buy a new radiator right now and have someone install it (too cold for the driveway and too little time) I just replaced my water pump and flushed the system about a month ago

Well, my question is: what does everyone have to say about using that stop leak stuff that comes in a bottle? i can't imagine it does the system any favors but i need to stop the leak for now. are there some brands or types that are better than others?
Thanks A Lot

Click to expand...

It's funny, I literally just had the exact same issue your describing. I even had just replaced my water pump and flushed my cooling system about a month ago. Then this leak developed in the same spot. After calling around to see what it would cost to get it fixed, I ended up just buying a new radiator from Autozone. Cost me $209 bucks for the 3 core they had and I swapped it out in a couple hours. Simple swap really. You'll be time and money ahead if you just get a new Radiator.