Cheap radiator fixes?

The other day i noticed a lovely puddle of coolant under my Volvo. I initially thought it was the upper radiator hose and replaced that. No dice. Closer inspection revealed that there's a tiny crack (maybe 1cm) on the seam where the hose piece connects to the end tank. It's more of a seep than a leak so i'm hesitant to spend $100 on a new radiator.

I tried JB weld and it held for a day or so but started leaking again. I'm going to try some radiator repair putty later but if that doesn't work are there any more options?

The end tanks are plastic so i can't really melt or weld anything on. I thought maybe a smallish diameter hose inside the inlet but i'm afraid it might come dislodged and clog something up.

So any ideas or should i just suck it up and buy a new radiator?

thanks!

Jacques

That stuff that GM puts inside Caddy Northstar motors to make them seal. So many pellets in the oil, so many in the coolant and run it till it stops leaking. Whatsit called? If the search feature was usefull here, we discussed it a couple years ago. As in Three things you shouldn't see being made: Sausage, Law and GM Motors. You can buy the same thing at the auto parts store, I just don't recall the chemical name. Probably available under different brands.

Bars leak? Made in my hometown...

Joey

The old timers fix was half a can of plain old black pepper. Not the fancy-smancy pepper that you grind yourself, but the already ground stuff. I think you can get it at the dollar store for like, a buck. The pepper and fluid flow to the leak and the pepper coagulates and becomes epoxy like and magically seals up the leak. But, it needs to be replaced.

Replace the radiator, if the plastic is cracking in one place it's brittle. No sense messing around.

If its started to crack, its brittle at the inlet and will break at the most inconvenient time. Buy a new rad.

i fixed a 1/2" long crack in a plastic radiator tank with some 2 part epoxy- the kind that comes in the syringe that dispenses the two parts and you mix it up before applying it. unfortunately, i 'fixed' that car the day before i sold it, but i did drive it 90 miles to the friend that bought it from me and it was holding up when i got there..