Clogged radiator?

keltichiro · Post by **keltichiro** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:31 pm

Well, Neon gurus - I have another question....I've been asking a lot recently; I've got a well used Neon and I'm learning as I go, trying to nurse this poor guy back to health....

that being said...I knew the car had a heater core issue, as the heater core had been bypassed....but being brave, I may have screwed something up.

I hooked the lines back up properly, and let the car run for a good bit....it seemed fine...heat was working, gauge wasn't overheating - the car had been sitting idle for 20 minutes or so.

I started driving on the highway, and then it happened....it started to slightly overheat (never in the red, only 3/4 of the way up) and I could hear gurgling in the dash, the window started fogging up...I'm assuming the coolant was steaming up the window.

So today I picked up some Bars Leak Liquid Aluminum (I know... I know..as I said, I was feeling brave...) and I knew there was a chance that I could cause some harm, but I grilled a lot of people about it before I got it, and all of them said it could work.

so...as this car doesn't have a cap on the radiator, I took the cap off of the top radiator hose and poured in half a bottle, and then filled up the reservoir with coolant, and let it sit and idle for 20 minutes, then cut it off and let it cool down...about an hour later, I go out to check it, and the stop leak was still in the upper hose at the cap (oh shit!), I pop my finger in it and it's still gooey - I put the cap back, and let it idle another 10 minutes..nothing..I drive it for about 1 minute and the gauge starts to creep quickly up to 3/4...so I park and let it cool again, while I think.

I figured, maybe there's an air bubble...so I opened the reservoir cap and let it idle another 10 minutes or so...the temp stayed normal....I close the cap and drive again, and it begins to overheat up to 3/4 yet again....but I checked all of the hoses....all of them are getting hot all the way through...I checked under the hose cap and the stop leak is not there now.....

I've also noticed that there's a puddle of coolant under the car, and I keep checking the reservoir tank and its still full.

Now then, that all being said..what have I done? Do I have a clogged radiator? or even clogged hose? or perhaps a massive air pocket? or something else?

I've searched the forums and also Google, but I haven't stumbled across this specific incident yet, so this is why I'm asking...

Lord help me LOL

Gnuserup · Post by **Gnuserup** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 3:50 pm

would try the stop leak directly just through the heater core and let it flow only there some rounds

keltichiro · Post by **keltichiro** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 4:58 pm

Does it seem like the heater core is still acting up and the stop leak just didn't work?

How would I use it in just the heater core?

RayWolf · Post by **RayWolf** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 8:24 pm

first off flush that leak stop out it does more harm than good. I Know from experience. I'm a Mechanic.

your rad might be clogged or the water pump is not running right. or the cap is bad or the thermostat is bad.

I would do a complete flush of the rad and engine and the heater core while its all apart.
then replace the thermostat with a mopar one (I've never had any good results with non mopar ones) and the rad cap.

Where is the water on the ground?

Are the fans running with out you turning on the defrost or ac?

Also Pick up this

http://www.amazon.com/Lisle-24610-Spill ... ant+funnel

Best thing you will ever buy to do all coolant refills.

Try those things first and then you might be looking at a new rad.

I could easily tell you if i saw what the car was doing.

keltichiro · Post by **keltichiro** » Sat Mar 02, 2013 11:56 pm

The fans kick on without me having the AC or heat on.

The water seems to be directly beneath the engine...I can't really tell where it's coming from yet..I'm hoping that I'll have a chance to get under it and watch tomorrow.

The cap and t-stat should be ok - since they were working fine before I monkeyed with things....unless, Stop Leak can have an impact on those two items?

I guess first I should flush out the radiator...and if it's still doing this, I'm assuming it would be the water pump at this point? I may be getting ahead of myself here.

keltichiro · Post by **keltichiro** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 10:21 am

Also, when I think of a radiator flush, it consists of draining the coolant, filling it up with prestone coolant flush and water, letting it idle and cycle through for a bit, open the drain again, pop a water hose in the top and let it run for awhile.

That's about how a regular old flush goes right? Will that be enough to flush out the stop leak?

RayWolf · Post by **RayWolf** » Sun Mar 03, 2013 12:23 pm

you may have to spray water in the engine and heater core directly.

they are cheap to replace and i would replace them to be on the safe side. and yes that stop leak can ruin them.

how to see if your rad it clogged is to take it out and turn it upside down. Put the hose on the upper ( which is the bottom hose hole) hole and fill it with water.

if it is not clogged it should flow out the bottom ( the upper rad hose hole), if it comes back out the top its clogged and needs to be replaced.

done this tons of times and it always works to see if a rad is clogged.