Radiator with teeeeeny leak

[Xearo69]

so when its warmed up, there is a small leack on the top of the radiator near where the big hose comes out of it. its not at the hose... its just on that side. the leak is where the sheetmetal folds together and didnt make a perfect seal.. just minor bubbling out of it.. i drive it around and it still cools itself just fine.

what should i do?

 

[Seabronc]

Look into getting a new radiator. Don't use stop leak, it messes up your whole cooling system. If you take it to a radiator shop, they may be able to solder it for you as long as the rest of the radiator is good.

Good luck,

>-

 

[Justshootme84]

I agree with Seabronc, since the STopLeak won't work too well on a crack anyway. We used pepper in the old days, but a new rad for your Bronco can be found for under $200 now. Would be a good time to upgrade to one from an F-250, and flush the whole cooling system, JSM84

 

[Broncobill78]

so when its warmed up, there is a small leack on the top of the radiator near where the big hose comes out of it. its not at the hose... its just on that side. the leak is where the sheetmetal folds together and didnt make a perfect seal.. just minor bubbling out of it.. i drive it around and it still cools itself just fine.what should i do?

It's going to be time to replace it. Used to be that they'd repair a radiator like yours but nowadays with the plastic end-caps and all it usually winds up being cheaper to replace than repair. If you don't want to go that route you can always pick one up from a boneyard for fairly close to pocket change and odds are good that you'll get at least a few years out of it. Bottom line here is that if you've got a leak you're not likely to get it repaired and it's sure not going to get any better on it's own. This leak is just the first sign that the radiator has reached the end of it's usefull lifetime and this particular leak is only going to get worse or more leaks will spring up. If it were mine I'd replace it now rather than waiting to walk home some cold December evening, but hey that's just me & I *hate* the damn cold.

 

[Xearo69]

yah guess ill buy a new one.. i want it to be strong when its in the mountains n mud and stuff...

 

[WPW Bronco]

Yeah, your best bet is to replace the radiator. That teeeeeeeeny leak is just the beginning. You are lucky you found it as teeny as it is, I had a teeny leak turn a full out gusher in a matter of days after a friend soldiered it, telling me "It'll be good to go now". Granted that was in a government HMMWV, not a Bronc, but the premise is the same. And I also advise the system flush, it couldn't hurt and normally helps with the cooling coefficient by removing scale build-up. Good Luck My Man.