Coolant system Sealants

[Henry Cloutier]

Hello to all!
Has anyone had experience using sealant tabs in cooling systems? The radiator in the Z is leaking and there is only one radiator shop here in town and their best guess to repair (if possible) is about the same as replacing with a new unit from Camaro Cantral. While it would be nice to have the original stay in the car I'm not sure I want to give the shop that kind of money for a maybe good radiator. I have heard of these different sealants with mostly positive reviews and would like to know what you all think.

best regards,

Hank

[camaronut]

Don’t use those sealants.  Fix or replace the radiator.  Those sealants do more harm than good.

[Z10Mike]

Some of those sealants can work their "magic" on the heater core as well.  As in completely blocked. 

[Henry Cloutier]

Thanks for the replies! I've never been a big fan of additives so your opinions pretty much align with mine. New radiator it is then!

Best regards,

Hank

[KurtS]

I'd repair. I like original parts vs repro.
And realize that all the OEM's put a little pill of stopleak (ginger root) in every cooling system. Helps enormously with warranty claims.

[cook_dw]

Yep used the GM tablets many times and work great for a tiny leak.  But as said. Pull the radiator and have it repaired.

[Henry Cloutier]

I'll research the repair option further. Perhaps the shop was confused about repair pricing versus replacement cost.

Thanks you all!

[Sauron327]

I have used Glen-Ray Radiator to recore radiators and heater cores. Sometimes he has Harrison cores in stock. Had two local shops butcher a job. Big difference in repairing a radiator and restoring one. I found him by using that google thing. T^ook a couple seconds. I've posted this info on this site before. We had a radiator shop attached to our bodyshop so I know the difference between quality work and garbage.

[MO]

How original is your car? If it's mostly original, re core the radiator and put it back in. If your car is modified or originality is not important, buy a new radiator and store the original for later use. Additives can be problematic, but I never had issues the couple times I needed an emergency fix; and they did the job.

[Henry Cloutier]

As best I can tell the car is still mostly original, but I don't have any prior maintenance info/log. I would like to keep it as close as I can within reason of course. I'm heading to the radiator shop here on Monday for a face to face rather than the previous contact which was by phone. Given the shipping fiasco happening these days I'd rather stay local if at all possible. I have seen the Glen-Ray name in prior posts; do they have a standard turn time?

Thanks,

Hank 

[firstgenaddict]

I have had a number of radiators done at my local shop and have had people send in radiators to them as well. Last was a 69 COPO chevelle rad and a 71 vette big block Air con rad. new cores using the original tanks and rails $600 on the chevelle rad they hammered out tank dents and silver soldered a few pin holes in the drivers side tank for the $600.

Augusta Road Radiator
Phone: (864) 277-2928
Address: 3488 Augusta Rd, Greenville, SC 29605

[Henry Cloutier]

Thanks for the info! The original is still out of the car and needs more repair than the local shop here can perform.

Best regards,

Hank

[David K]

Replace it, have a competent shop repair it and store it in the box the replacement came in.

[Henry Cloutier]

Makes sense to me.

Thanks!

Hank

[KurtS]

But that undermines the originality of the car. It doesn't make the car more original if the original parts are somewhere in a box.
And you then get to store the second radiator.
Just get the rad repaired.....

[Jonesy]

Exactly as Kurt said. Get the original repaired.

[Sauron327]

But that undermines the originality of the car. It doesn't make the car more original if the original parts are somewhere in a box.
And you then get to store the second radiator.
Just get the rad repaired.....

Perfect answer. A person will restore a part, buy a replacement and put the original on the shelf. This seems to be the trend these days. Most are checkbook car owners with zero mechanical or bodywork skills.
Real gearheads are rare today. Lost track of how many radiators and heater cores I've had rebuilt. I have sb and  bb tanks in stock.