Cadillac Repair: rad leak in 88 Coupe Deville, auto recycler, jb weld

Question
I have a rad leak in my 88 coupe deville and was wondering if there is any products I can use to stop the leak until I have the money to replace the rad. I have the 4.5L engine. A machinic told me not to use barr's leak on it because it apparently has a plastic rad. Is this true or did he just not know what he was talking about. Thanks

Answer
Hi Lorelei, Cadillac has their own version of stop leak which is a bigger tablette...aprox. 1" in diameter and 1/2" thick. Because you have a plastic radiator shouldn't make a differance weather you use Barrs Leak or not in my opinion, the problem might be mixing the two types of sealers and having too much sealer in the system. If too much is floating around it can plug up the radiator or heater core and then there can really be problems like the engine will overheat and/or there won't be any heat available in the fall and winter because the heater core will plug up and need to get replaced.

    To replace the radiator should take maybe 1 1/2 hours and doesn't require alot of special tools and is pretty easy to do. Just make sure the engine has sat for at least 4 hours so the anti-freeze has cooled off and doesn't spray all over when the cap is removed because it can cause bad burns if it gets on your skin. A drain pan to catch the oil and coolant, 2 milk juggs or bottles to put the used liquids in(cats and small animals like the taste but will kill them if they drink it so make sure wash away the overspill with water), 10mm and 5/16 socket and ratchet, 1/2 or 9/16 wrench and a 18mm wrench or you might be able to get by with a smaller cresent wrench. The drain is on the drivers side at the bottom of the tank. I got on the AutoZone.com website and they cost aprox. $169-$215 plus tax or you could call a junkyard/auto recycler and they might sell one used for $80. If money is still a problem you could try a product such as JB Weld on the cracked tank areas but it might not hold. You would need to rough up the tank surface alittle bit with 60-100 grit sandpaper to alow the JB Weld to stick and apply maybe 1/8 thick or more on and around the crack. Let it set up for a couple hours and then put the antifreeze in and run the engine. If the antifreeze is still clean then reinstall it into the engine or add fresh in a 50/50 mix with water along with the seal tabs. Your Caddy dealer sells them in a 6 pack so stop off there first and pick up a 6 pack of seal tabs first.

   If you have a dad, brother or husband available I'm sure you should be able to round up the tools and maybe have one of them do the job or watch on while you change the rad.

   Hope that helps. Bill