- Moderator
- #1
Gawd I hate cars sometimes.
Anyway...noticed a couple little drips of coolant underneath my Escort today; it appears the (very minor) leak is where the plastic tank meets the aluminum core.
Maybe re-bending the "tabs" would help, maybe stop-leak...but I think it's just time for a new radiator. Shouldn't be too bad a job, and while I'm decidedly less than thrilled about paying for one...they aren't too awful expensive.
But- here's where the question comes in: I don't have time to change a radiator for a couple of weeks. I'm figuring to drive quite a lot in that time, too, and I'd really, really like to use the Escort not the pickup if I can. (I'd rather drive the pickup than have the radiator blow on the Escort...but at the same time, there's no telling WHAT might blow up on the pickup
)
Is a leak like this likely to lead to blowing the radiator completely? It's not cracked, just seeping a little at the seam.
EDIT: Not sure if it's relevant or not- I got this car from my grandmother. Back maybe...almost two years ago, she asked me to look at it because the "low coolant" light was on. I topped off the coolant, couldn't find any evidence of a leak, and have simply been keeping an eye on the level since then. None has had to be added since then (and it wasn't low enough to be a concern- the rad was full, and still a little in the overflow bottle). So it's entirely possible this thing has been leaking like this for a couple of years or more. It's never left drips I noticed on the ground- I was underneath it and saw the moisture on the splash shield.
Anyway...noticed a couple little drips of coolant underneath my Escort today; it appears the (very minor) leak is where the plastic tank meets the aluminum core.
Maybe re-bending the "tabs" would help, maybe stop-leak...but I think it's just time for a new radiator. Shouldn't be too bad a job, and while I'm decidedly less than thrilled about paying for one...they aren't too awful expensive.
But- here's where the question comes in: I don't have time to change a radiator for a couple of weeks. I'm figuring to drive quite a lot in that time, too, and I'd really, really like to use the Escort not the pickup if I can. (I'd rather drive the pickup than have the radiator blow on the Escort...but at the same time, there's no telling WHAT might blow up on the pickup
)Is a leak like this likely to lead to blowing the radiator completely? It's not cracked, just seeping a little at the seam.
EDIT: Not sure if it's relevant or not- I got this car from my grandmother. Back maybe...almost two years ago, she asked me to look at it because the "low coolant" light was on. I topped off the coolant, couldn't find any evidence of a leak, and have simply been keeping an eye on the level since then. None has had to be added since then (and it wasn't low enough to be a concern- the rad was full, and still a little in the overflow bottle). So it's entirely possible this thing has been leaking like this for a couple of years or more. It's never left drips I noticed on the ground- I was underneath it and saw the moisture on the splash shield.
Last edited:
