You notice you have a car radiator leak and ask yourself what are my options to fix it.

1. Is the leaking radiator an older one or newer?

2. Saving money on fixing your radiator leak can be as simple as, can you do the the labor of removing and re-installing it yourself?

We need to know these things since the older ones are mostly all metal, like copper or brass and can be easily repaired ourselves. This is assuming it is still in good shape and doesn’t show significant signs of corrosion. Once we have it on the ground and out of the car. We can inspect it for scaling inside and we should be able to tell right away if corrosion is the problem. If so, the metal may be too thin to solder or braze and we may cause more problems than we fix. We may need to explore other options if this is the case.

Most of the newer cars are now using plastic and aluminum for their radiators where the aluminum is for transferring the heat which is the flues or core and the tanks are made from a high grade plastic. This can cause the the answer of how to stop a radiator leaking to become more difficult. You would need to know how to weld aluminum and have the equipment to do so if this is where it is leaking. If the plastic tanks are leaking I would not attempt a repair since it would only be temporary. At this point it may be better to let a professional handle it or check pricing on a new one, a used one, and the price of the repair. It might surprise you at how a little more money may give you peace of mind with a new one. In any case you will be saving money by not having to pay those high labor rates for someone else to remove and reinstall it.

First decide if removing and reinstalling the radiator yourself is something you want to tackle. If it is you will save money from the labor you would have to pay a shop to do this. Once you have it out of the vehicle you can identify what type of material it is made of. if it is made form copper or brass you may can repair it yourself. It is a good idea to get a radiator tester from your local auto parts store so you can put some air pressure in it and locate exactly where the leak is. You will also want to test it for leaks after the repair also. If you it is made form plastic with an aluminum core, unless you have a welding machine setup for welding aluminum, you will more than likely have to have it repaired.

We do not recommend using any of the fast fix it, just pour this in the radiator and your leaking radiator problems are gone. There are plenty of stories you can read online that talk of clogged heater cores and other issues moths and even years later.

We want to repair our leaking radiator so as to not cause us trouble anytime in the near future. This means we either need to properly repair it if we have the means or replace it. Since we are going to do the work ourselves we are already saving money on the labor side of things. If we look at it like this we are still saving money even if we replace it with a new or quality used one. Even if it is something I have never taken apart, I will just get out my trusty ole digital camera and take pictures as I take it apart. this ensures I can put it back together with confidence it is right.

Author: Dan A. talkinaboutcars.com