Egg in Radiator

[trigga_b]

Has anyone ever tried this? Is it safe to do? I've read somewhere that it's better than using additives to stop radiator leaks.

[wjcollier07]

Just. Replace. The. Radiator.

Fix it right, or you'll regret it later.

[LakevilleSSEi]

Depending on the issuse.....a tin or two of Copenhagen can plug a hole up temporarily...

I've NEVER heard of the egg though.

IIRC Pepper works too.

[2000Silverbullet]

Now is your opportunity to replace the rad with a thicker more efficient one. Take it to a rad specialist and have them do it right. Shouldn't cost you more than $200.

[GoldenBullet]

i wouldnt try an egg... something that cooks in boiling water doesnt sounds like a good idea to me.

[Boreas]

They DID try that out in Mythbusters and it turned out to be plausible, it did stop the leak in their test. However this is a temporary solution in the case of an emergency if you are in the middle of the road and need to get home. Obviously not a permanent solution.

Linky dinky.

[GoldenBullet]

but who has an egg?

[trigga_b]

What type of radiator should I look into getting? The fins on this radiator are still in good shape. It's leaking from the passenger fin area. A shop said they'll repair it for 35 bones. I really can't put too much money into the SSE though because I'm working on the SSEI.

[TenGHz]

They DID try that out in Mythbusters and it turned out to be plausible, it did stop the leak in their test. However this is a temporary solution in the case of an emergency if you are in the middle of the road and need to get home. Obviously not a permanent solution.

Linky dinky.

I saw it too. Definitely NOT a permanent solution. Fix it right or you will regret it!

[Bugsi]

You can get a shop to repair your radiator for $35, and you're here asking us what you should do?

If your radiator is in otherwise good condition and won't blow up from a pressure test, then spend the $35 and get your radiator fixed. If you can't afford that, learn how to solder and fix it yourself. It really isn't that hard. Of course, you'll spend more than $35 on tools, time, and equipment to fix it yourself, but you'll have learned a useful skill and you'll have the tools to repair a radiator in the future.

If your radiator has a leak because it is in generally overall bad shape, then any time or money spent on it is time or money wasted. In that case, you buy a radiator and install it.

I saw the Mythbusters episode too, and yes, an egg stopped a very tiny leak. But how long will it last? I personally don't like the idea of putting ANYTHING in my cooling system other than coolant and water. My wife's '01 GP GT had a minor leak at some fitting, and the General Motors service bulletin actually called for adding stop-leak pellets to the cooling system, and that's what my dealership did. It stopped the leak. I'm still furious about it. But if you're serious about putting an egg in your radiator, maybe phone a dealership and ask them what kind of stopleak pellets they use.

[Bugsi]

(I hate replying to my own post, but to do it anyway. . .)

I learned about fixing cars because my father was both cheap, and terrible at fixing anything. If the radiator leaked, he'd buy stopleak and dump it in. If it leaked again he'd buy more stopleak and dump it in. When the radiator eventually blew up from a pressure test, he'd buy a used radiator for half price from a junk yard. When that would fail after the warranty was out, I'd eventually go buy a new radiator for full price.

Now add up the cost of all of that in terms of time and money spent on stopleak and used radiators, and compare to just buying a new radiator once and fixing it right the first time.

Since *I* was the source of labor to remove and install the original and junkyard radiators, it was immediately obvious to me that there is both a financial and time benefit to fixing things correctly the first time around. Put simply, you'll just spend more money and waste more time trying to band-aid a problem instead of fixing it correctly the first time around.

There is a time and a place to use band-aid solutions. That time and place is when you need to limp your vehicle to a location where you can fix it properly. If that's not the case, then just fix this correctly the first time around and thank yourself later.

-Mark

[BlackHawk99]

To reitterate what Mark said in my own terms that I often say.....

"I can't afford cheap parts" and "I can't afford cheap tools".

[bonnevillain]

yeah, pepper will work temporarily i've used it on my motocross bikes.

[Troyport]

Cheap parts, cheap tools.. depends on the application. I have a set of Harbor Frieght impact sockets, 1/10th the cost of snap-on, and for the amount they get used, a much better buy. Now if I was supporting my family with those tools, I'd get the best.
When I rebuilt the tranny for the bonny project, I did not replace all the hard parts that I would have in my daily driver. Same reasoning. I've used the band aid stop leaks, but not in a car I planned on keeping. I'd shy away from an egg, might put a stop leak in MY daily driver, depending on the leak.. but my wife's van would get only new top-quality parts, I don't want her broke down on the side of the road with my girls.
However, my father in law has some type of special god looking after him, He'll find some kind of clearance shelf additive and it will work for years. My favorite story was his Bronco 2, it had over 200K on it, piece of junk. Tranny was shot, he ran it out of fluid, little bits of metal goodies in the pan, fluid was black and stinky.. He filled it up with bargain basement fluid and added a can of transfix he found on the clearance rack of a drugstore, and I'll be *dang* if he didn't drive it another 30K like that. He even took it on a cross-country trip. Incredible. Mike

[Roadtech195]

They DID try that out in Mythbusters and it turned out to be plausible, it did stop the leak in their test. However this is a temporary solution in the case of an emergency if you are in the middle of the road and need to get home. Obviously not a permanent solution.

Linky dinky.

Um, how many people carry eggs with them on long drives? raise your hands... anyone?
Seems like it would be a good idea if you popped a radiator near a chicken farm but you would still have to steal an egg without getting shot by the farmer. Just fix it the right way and you will never have to post about using an egg for repairs ever again.

[Ol' Timer]

I remember using this stuff as a quick cheap fix in my old '67 Chevy Nova. I was amazed that it plugged up the pin hole leak in the radiator. I never lost sleep over it and I never had a cooling problem with it throughout the life of that car.

[radomirthegreat]

Now is your opportunity to replace the rad with a thicker more efficient one. Take it to a rad specialist and have them do it right. Shouldn't cost you more than $200.

:sad5: I'm still fine!

I've heard of both pepper and eggs being used, but it's not something I'd ever put into a radiator. That may plug a hole, but your water pump will slosh it around too. I was down and out with a large radiator hole out of nowhere just before work about a year and a half ago, and my friend and I worked on my car while it was raining under the shelter of a gas station roof. I didn't use any of those awkward fixes. Instead, I bought a new radiator and dealt with the horrible cost. It's worth it, though.

[Barry]

x2 on the Bars' Stop Leak. It has been around for decades and I've know many shops that have used it. Still, for $35.00, I wouldn't even bother to open the hood and remove the rad cap. I'd take it in and have them fix it.

[b18jason]

my brother has a caravan with the 3.3 and 2 years ago the head gasket started leaking bad externally. Just on a whim and because my brothers a college kid with no cash, we put barrs stop leak in it and it worked. He drives from his college in New York to Mass every other weekend and it hasn't leaked a drop and its been over 30,000 miles

[trigga_b]

What size is the sse radiator 1" or 1-3/8 and does it have the eng. oil cooler?