Cracked Radiator - get me through the day

The radiator side tank on my V8 explorer is cracked and dripping - steady but not gushing. I have to drive about 125 miles today, mostly interstate.

what's my best bet to get it home safely without blowing the radiator?

I'm thinking buying a lever-vent radiator cap and leaving it vented so the system doesn't build pressure. Should still cool, right, just not as well. The cooling system is at LEAST 505 50, if not more antifreeze, so I shouldn't boil it at atmospheric pressure, right?

Help me out guys!

JB Weld? Open cap like you said, turn your heat on full HOT, drive with windows open.

Some of the parts stores have epoxy sticks that harden up in 10 minutes or so. I've had good luck with the powder type sealant too. The trick was to drain the rad 1/2 way, mix the powder in a jug with what you just drained out then pour back in.

I had success with bars leaks "liquid aluminium" product. My radiator had a slight puncture in the aluminium part from impact with a cooling fan blade that let loose. I put a bottle of that stuff in and managed to get two or three summer rallycross events out of it before I went ahead and put the new radiator in.

Really? I've always heard the pour-in stuff was a BAD idea due to build up in the block. Hadn't thought about the epoxy stuff...

I've used bars leak in the past but know it's a temporary solution. It will tear up your water pump if left in there.

Also, a really ghetto way to plug your radiator in a pinch is crack an egg in there and let it get hot. It'll coagulate as the water warms and clog up the leak.

DONT use the pour in stuff! clogged heater cores etc are the norm. use a high quality epoxy and put and egg in the radiator.

is it cracked on the plastic tank?

I think so. It looks like a hairline in the plastic end tank on the side, lower than the top hose fitting by about an inch. The one down side to the V8 in a ranger chassis is the inability to see anything in the engine bay from the preponderance on engine.

Where is the truck? Can you get a soldering iron in there? Then JB Weld over it?

Pepper works in a inch too!

I made it 100 miles once using chewing gum on the crack and leaving the rad cap off.

Don't use the pour in stuff. Go grab some Plasti-Weld or JB Weld two-part putty. That stuff is awesome. Either crack the radiator cap open or get a vented cap like you mentioned. Shouldn't need to run the heater unless temps start creeping up.

I have gotten thousands of miles (including a Challenge weekend) on a JB Weld end tank repair with zero issues.

I suggest mixing it up first so that it has a little time to thicken while you prep the plastic. Clean as well as possible (alcohol or similar) and rough it up with coarse sandpaper for bite. Spread liberally along the cracks and cover the surrounding area well too for added strength. Wait as long as you can before driving on it.

The stuff in a bottle has only ever brought me moderate success and I have never used it on a car that I actually planned on keeping for long.

Always have heard good things about the egg trick, but I assume it comes with the same issues as dumping anything into the system that really shouldn't be there.

Good Luck

And for the love of god bring a LOT of extra water with you today.

Remove the pressure in the system by driving with the radiator cap loose.

Carry a few gallons of water with you, and top them off where you can, when needed.

Thanks guys. I bought the new radiator on Advance Auto's website and will have it 'delivered' to a store on the way home that already has it in stock. With a gallon of Peak antifreeze and the 15% discount for buying online, it was under $170 total.

At lunch I'll go get a vent cap and some of the plastic tank patch epoxy from the parts place around the corner. Let the truck cool while I eat lunch and then patch the tank. Give it another 20 min and then I'll have to get on the road.

I'll probably pull a late night tonight to get the swap started, then finish it tomorrow. Gotta take the sailboat to the lake Sunday for her maiden voyage after all!

In reply to ultraclyde:

Sailboat specs please!

Half a can of pepper and a raw egg.

Been running on a JB Weld radiator fix for 5 months, and I beat the living heck out of my CRX. Have a new radiator, been too lazy to put it in.

Once heard oatmeal will work.

As far as pour in sealers I have found proper use will not cause a problem. Used it lots of time over the years. It's when, if one is good then three more will be better that causes the problems.

I had a severe crack/hole torn when I dropped the engine out of my Volvo, but forgot a retaining clip that held the trans cooler line to the subframe. One of the trans cooler lines ripped out of the plastic side tank of the radiator. I survived driving it for 4 days with an auxiliary trans cooler and a fiberglass cloth/plastic epoxy concoction patching the hole.

You don't need a vent cap, the normal style can be turned loose and will not come off, there are stops molded into the filler neck to let you do this. Due to the lack of pressure, this will greatly reduce the cooling capacity of the system(boil over at ~212*).

I've had good luck with the bars leaks powder and their basic liquid(actually fixed a external HG leak with it once). I've heard the tablets are best though, those were developed for GM to keep their alloy Cadillac northstar blocks in the 90s from weeping.