How to Repair a Radiator
When caught in a traffic jam, you may experience the worst - a radiator leak. Do not waste your money on engine repairs that are far too costly and time consuming. The engine, if it is over-heated will react; it will break and melt thus leading to expensive repairs. The main reason for the engine break-up is when the coolant of a radiator evaporates, leading to a car damage. Therefore repairing the radiator of the car is far more sensible and inexpensive than repairing the engine.
Following are some tips for a successful radiator repair and maintenance:
A broken radiator hose or a damaged coolant is the main culprit for car damage; therefore one should immediately try to repair the radiator hose with some patchwork or sticker tapes.
In the case of a pinhole leakage in the radiator, some pepper might do the job.But exercise extreme caution, let your car cool down for half an hour before handling the repair otherwise you may end up burning your hands very badly. A hot coolant can be very dangerous to handle.
Once the car is cool enough the coolant protective covering or the filler cap can be opened and filled with lots of pepper pieces.
Restart the car and warm it considerably for the pepper to mix up well. The pepper might do the trick and block the pinhole. After this temporary repair you can take your car to the mechanic for a real check-up. But the pepper magic will not last long; it is not a permanent solution. And the pepper needs to get cleared out from the cooling system of your car. It may cause minor harm to the sensory parts of the car.
Now, if it is the rubber of the radiator that is creating problems, pepper will not help. When the car is cool enough, opening its hood one should be able to trace the cause of the steam. On locating the hole in the rubber, you should make it completely dry. Then rip off 2 to 3 inches of duct tape, which is easily available and position it over the puncture in the radiator. Firmly place the tape by pressing it nicely around the center. Tear more tape pieces and wind it around the smaller tape.
If there is little or no fluid left in the radiator, one can even add water as a temporary solution to reach the destination. Keeping the radiator clean may also avoid over-heating problems, as the radiator is relatively cool when clean. Oil or other hard deposits can become a blockage for the cooling system. A radiator flush is a cheap and an easy way to keep the cooling intact.
Keep all necessary things close at hand if one intends to drain out the radiator for flushing, or else it could be quite taxing if you need something desperately after draining the system.
Checking the coolant level of your radiator is a good thing. If the level is really low, then one needs to add the premixed coolant that is easily available in shops.