Leaking coolant from radiator..

[rob1990]

It appears I have a leaky radiator, as I'm losing coolant quite rapidly

Due to the other multitude of faults I've had to pay for repairs on, I can't afford a new radiator just at the mo.

I've been recommended to use 'rad weld' as a short term measure to seal the leak, until I can scrape enough dough together to pay for a new rad (bang goes the sat nav unit)

Can anyone tell me what problems I may incountet if I pour it in the coolant system?

Also, I've bought pink 50/50 coolant from halfords. Is this ok for my 06 2.0tdi passat?

[DSG4ME]

Bite the bullet mate, you don't want rad weld in the rest of the cooling system, get the yellow pages out and see if you can get it repaired, is it leaking at the core or the tanks or the hoses?

[rob1990]

Bite the bullet mate, you don't want rad weld in the rest of the cooling system, get the yellow pages out and see if you can get it repaired, is it leaking at the core or the tanks or the hoses?

I had a guy look at it, who just said it was leaking from a small hole at the bottom of the radiator , from what he could see.

He was meant to be getting back to me with a price for a new one, although at that stage I didn't know they could be repaired

anyone want to guess at the approx cost of repair or replacement?

[DSG4ME]

GSF or Euro Car Parts will be best for price on a new unit.

[patomlin76]

Dealer price around £300 including fitting, independent varies between £220-260 in my experience. I had the same leaking problem and fortunately for me it was done under warranty. Think there's a weak spot on some radiators.

The actual cost of a radiator isn't too much I don't believe, it's the labour in putting it in, as my independent informed me they have to 'drop' the radiator out of the bottom of the car - so not really a DIY job!

[rob1990]

Dealer price around £300 including fitting, independent varies between £220-260 in my experience. I had the same leaking problem and fortunately for me it was done under warranty. Think there's a weak spot on some radiators.

The actual cost of a radiator isn't too much I don't believe, it's the labour in putting it in, as my independent informed me they have to 'drop' the radiator out of the bottom of the car - so not really a DIY job!

Diy is not an option, as my knowledge of cars starts and stops with seeing the coil symbol light up and saying "FFS not again"

While I wait for my engineer guy to get back to me with a price, can I still drive the car as long as I keep the coolant topped up?

[patomlin76]

yes - my independent said you are fine to keep topping the coolant up (with the right VW spec one of course - think it's got a pinkish tinge to it) Just keep an eye on the coolant - with my problem the coolant sometimes dropped quite quickly over a few days, sometimes stayed quite level for a week... odd.

[rob1990]

yes - my independent said you are fine to keep topping the coolant up (with the right VW spec one of course - think it's got a pinkish tinge to it) Just keep an eye on the coolant - with my problem the coolant sometimes dropped quite quickly over a few days, sometimes stayed quite level for a week... odd.

Indeed, this is the same with mine. Didn't appear to leak for a whole day, then leaked about half a pint in hours!

Also, just to fuel my paranoia, I'm concerned I may have caused further damage as when I first got the 'low coolant' warning, I topped up with water to get me to the garage, but fear I put too much in (above half of the 'ball')

Am I doomed?

[zollaf]

no, that wont hurt. at worse it will throw some coolant out of the cap.

[rob1990]

Phew!

Thanks so far for all your helps, guys

As you can probably tell, I'm pretty crap at this car malarkey