BY BENJAMIN HUNTING / ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 5, 2018 / NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION / A radiator leak is a fairly serious problem to have with&hellip;{"id":11655,"date":"2019-12-30T13:15:25","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T21:15:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/?p=11655"},"modified":"2019-12-30T13:15:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-30T21:15:25","slug":"3-signs-of-a-radiator-leak-that-you-shouldnt-ignore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/30\/3-signs-of-a-radiator-leak-that-you-shouldnt-ignore\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Signs of a Radiator Leak That You Shouldn&#8217;t Ignore"},"content":{"rendered":"<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\">BY BENJAMIN HUNTING \/ ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 5, 2018 \/<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NATIONAL AUTOMOTIVE PARTS ASSOCIATION<\/a>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">\/<\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A radiator leak is a fairly serious problem to have with any vehicle. While it might be tempting to just keep adding coolant to the top-up line and continue driving, your car or truck\u2019s cooling system has one of the most important jobs under the hood, and an issue like this one can\u2019t be ignored for long.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rather than running the risk of suffering a more catastrophic failure that could leave you stranded, let\u2019s take a look at the three signs that the leak is indeed coming from your radiator, and examine at how you can best deal with the issue until you have time to visit a trusted mechanic for a repair.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Puddles of Coolant<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The most obvious sign of a radiator leak is a puddle of antifreeze underneath the car. Of course, not all puddles indicate a coolant problem, and not all coolant pooling is related to the radiator itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Take a close look at the puddle. If it\u2019s got a green, yellow or blue tinge, it\u2019s most likely coolant, but you can double check by seeing if it feels greasy on your fingers. Coolant also often has a sweet smell, which is another strong indicator that you\u2019re not dealing with simple water condensation from your air conditioning system.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Locate the Drip<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Your vehicle\u2019s cooling system is composed of a number of hoses and clamps that could all be the source of the puddle you\u2019re seeing on the ground, so the next step is to try to locate where the drip is coming from. Typically, a radiator leak starts within the cooling fins themselves, along any plastic or welded seam, at the filler neck\/spout or at the bottom where the drain petcock can be found. With the vehicle\u2019s engine off and cool, check each of these areas to see if they are wet, dripping or showing any signs of having been wet in the past.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>Watch With the Engine Running<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Sometimes, you might be dealing with a leak that only occurs when the engine is hot and the system is pressurized. In this case, you\u2019ll need to do the same inspection as above, but with the vehicle warmed up to its operating temperature. Be sure to take the necessary precautionary methods and wear safety glasses when doing this, because a\u00a0<\/span><strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"http:\/\/knowhow.napaonline.com\/deal-radiator-leak\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pressurized leak<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">can squirt or spray out of the radiator unexpectedly. Be careful not to come into contact with any hot parts of your car.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What Should You Do?<\/strong><\/span><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There are a few options to keep your leaky radiator running long enough to get to the shop for a real repair. Some antifreeze manufacturers offer a<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/p\/PARAS195Y?cid=social_blog_112018_radiator_stop_leak\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">stop leak product<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">that you can pour directly into your cooling system, which works to gum up any existing holes temporarily. Think of this as a last resort, because once that fluid is in your system you\u2019re going to want to completely flush it and remove it after a more permanent repair has been done. You may also be able to fix a radiator leak with a commercial epoxy, but the radiator will have to be cool and empty for this to have the best chance of working. If you\u2019re feeling ultra-handy, a brass, copper or aluminum radiator can also be welded to fix a leak.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you notice a radiator leak and you\u2019re in a tough situation, using a temporary fix may be the best solution to get you back on the road and to a<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">professional shop<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. Getting a permanent fix as soon as possible, though, is crucial as it will ensure that a leak doesn\u2019t happen again in the future and that your vehicle continues to run smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Check out all the<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a class=\"SWhtmlLink\" href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/c\/engine-heating-cooling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">heating and cooling products<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">available on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA Online<\/a><\/strong> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">or trust one of their 17,000<\/span> <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.napaautocare.com\/store-finder.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NAPA AutoCare locations<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0<span style=\"color: #000000;\">for routine maintenance and repairs. For more information on the effect of a radiator leak, chat with a knowledgeable expert at your<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.napaonline.com\/en\/store-locator\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">local NAPA AUTO PARTS store<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Photo Credit:<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nickharris1\/5633237920\/in\/photolist-bzPC1U-9zMPnJ-58SUsb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Earth Week 1<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">by<\/span> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/nickharris1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Harris<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">(<\/span><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/2.0\/legalcode\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">CC BY-ND 2.0<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">).<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This article has been reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder, National Automotive Parts Association. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Click here for more<\/span>\u00a0<\/em><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/category\/classic-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">automotive tips and stories<\/a><\/em><\/strong><em><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, or here for more information on<\/span>\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/event-info\/car-show-hours-dates\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the next Pomona Swap Meet &amp; Classic Car Show<\/a><\/strong><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":null,"protected":false},"author":98,"featured_media":11657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cos_headline_score":0,"cos_seo_score":0,"cos_headline_text":"","cos_headline_has_been_analyzed":false,"cos_last_analyzed_headline":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[805],"tags":[3645,3342,4010,6046,7396,6302,7395,7393,7391,3491,7388,7394,7399,7398,7397,2241,7389,7390,6370,7401,7400,7392],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Coolant-Leak.jpg?fit=1920%2C1281&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9nnZN-31Z","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11655"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/98"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11655"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11655\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11659,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11655\/revisions\/11659"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pomonaswapmeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}