Upper Radiator Plastic cracked!

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Marcus101

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My upper rad hose cracked on the plastic portion and it's spewing coolant all over my engine -_- Don't have the money to get a new hose until friday...my mechanic suggested high temp resistant epoxy to seal the crack in the meantime.


Any suggestions?!
 
I really doubt that epoxy with work. Even if it did, the plastic will just crack next to the patch. Duck tape probably has a better shot.
Anyway, you are in for far worse than you think. All the rest of the cooling system plastic is in the same shape. It's cheaper to do it all now. Otherwise, you will be replacing another part every week and paying the same labor and coolant charges over and over again.
 
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joegr said:
I really doubt that epoxy with work. Even if it did, the plastic will just crack next to the patch. Duck tape probably has a better shot.
Anyway, you are in for far worse than you think. All the rest of the cooling system plastic is in the same shape. It's cheaper to do it all now. Otherwise, you will be replacing another part every week and paying the same labor and coolant charges over and over again.
Click to expand...
How about epoxy then ductape in the morning? It's the plastic T not the hose
 
Marcus101 said:
... It's the plastic T not the hose
Click to expand...

Yes, I know. That's where it always fails. The thing is, it's not just that crack. All of the plastic is rotted to where it will fail everywhere. Fix that crack and let pressure build, and it'll just crack nearby. Of course, you could always be the first exception to this.
 
Hose today, degas tomorrow, radiator sidetank the day after that, DCCV, coolant crossover, thermostat, etc.
It is a decent chunk of change, but it's a lot less painful to get them all done in as few rounds as possible.
 
if your "mechanic" recommended you use epoxy to fix the problem, you need a new mechanic.


lets say that were not talking about the LS and its proven fact that all of the plastic rots and fails around the same time... let pretend for a minute that that its a fairly new hose... and that it somehow got a crack... the coolant system is under a lot of pressure, if you epoxy over the crack, the pressure is just going to push the coolant right out of the same crack and push the epoxy right out of the way too.

there is no quick fix... even if you went out a bought a used pipe out of a junk yard car and that pipe somehow happened to make it to the end of the week, there is a very good chance that other pieces are going to fall apart from you just moving them around swapping the parts out.

welcome to owning a odd ball luxury car that are often bought for pennies on the dollar of what they cost new. its a love/hate relationship... or more accurately a love/hate/hate/hate/kinda like/hate relationship.
 
Yep. Duct tape was a serious suggestion, just to barely get you to Friday. It will leak, but it might hold it together enough for short, gentle, trips. I think that the plastic will flex and the epoxy will pop out.
 
I epoxyed with a plastic welder that is rated to wistand 3500psi of pressure and 121 degree Celsius heat. Just topped it up with coolant and made her run for 30 mins. No leaks, and epoxy is cool and dry. I epoxied where the crack was spreading too as well for good.measure.

Will update if it blows again after work. It's my only solution until this Friday as the part doesn't come until then.

I already changed the water pump and thermostat on March 3rd 2017
 
joegr said:
Why did you change the water pump? They rarely fail.
This is what you need to do: GenII LS8 Cooling System Overhaul
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It failed on the previous owner and lead to a coolant leak. Cost me $400 with labour to change it.

So far so good with the epoxy. Checked it just now and it's solid as a rock. As for the entire cooling system overhaul, I'll probably see if I can get it done next week as well.
 
joegr said:
Yes, I know. That's where it always fails. The thing is, it's not just that crack. All of the plastic is rotted to where it will fail everywhere. Fix that crack and let pressure build, and it'll just crack nearby. Of course, you could always be the first exception to this.
Click to expand...

You were right, there is a tiny crack near where I patched the initial crack. It's leaking coolant at a very slow rate (just a small run every minute or so.) Upper rad hose comes in monday so I have no choice but to epoxy that new crack this evening and let her sit overnight.
 
Marcus101 said:
You were right, there is a tiny crack near where I patched the initial crack. It's leaking coolant at a very slow rate (just a small run every minute or so.) Upper rad hose comes in monday so I have no choice but to epoxy that new crack this evening and let her sit overnight.
Click to expand...
Not to rub it in, but it's been proven time and again.
I'd rather spend the $$$ on coke, lap dances and hos, but it is what it is.
 
WhoBeDaPlaya said:
Not to rub it in, but it's been proven time and again.
I'd rather spend the $$$ on coke, lap dances and hos, but it is what it is.
Click to expand...
I feel you. I have to pick up my girl at 9 so I epoxied it at 4pm so it can provide some extra reinforcement until Monday lol. Gonna do a full overhaul next week after I install the upper radiator hose.
 
mine cracked 2 wks ago in the same place it started slow adding water every other day then everyday til finally it started to stream out like a little geyser I needed a quick fix til my replacement radiator came in $49.99 on ebay new so I went ahead and bought bars leak sealer it was the copper one for heads/radiator I kid you not I poured half in my degas and the rest in thermostat cap refilled with water (I use a different bleed technique) then took the 20 minute ride to my moms and usually as soon as I roll up somewhere I could not only see the water puddling but I could hear it well not this time the seal was completely stopped. now I expected it to slow it down but not stop it completely. a week later my radiator was in and I never had to top off the water. right now im running radiator cleaner to get a good cleaning since I do see some of the copper still in the system
 
abes_linc said:
mine cracked 2 wks ago in the same place it started slow adding water every other day then everyday til finally it started to stream out like a little geyser I needed a quick fix til my replacement radiator came in $49.99 on ebay new so I went ahead and bought bars leak sealer it was the copper one for heads/radiator I kid you not I poured half in my degas and the rest in thermostat cap refilled with water (I use a different bleed technique) then took the 20 minute ride to my moms and usually as soon as I roll up somewhere I could not only see the water puddling but I could hear it well not this time the seal was completely stopped. now I expected it to slow it down but not stop it completely. a week later my radiator was in and I never had to top off the water. right now im running radiator cleaner to get a good cleaning since I do see some of the copper still in the system
Click to expand...
Take Joe's advice and replace the hose, no problems for me since.
 
I replaced the hose first thinking that is what was leaking because it started dripping off the bottom of the hose until it got bigger and I noticed the crack everythings good now I haven't had any leaks I did notice the hose looking puffy or fat so I changed the thermostat and the outlet since one of the brass sleeves that holds the thermostat housing bolt in place broke free and was free spinning
 
Wondering if I have the same issue. Had to add a small amount of coolant after a recent road trip - noticed splash pattern on passenger side - followed it up from back to front and could see no actual leaking fluid car running while hot/cool etc Evidence appears to suggest it emanates from the plastic side of the radiator near top
 
Photos:

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OK so one day mine broke as well and I managed to use bars radiator and block seal and it stayed sealed even by the time my replacement part came in it was still good I almost wanted to leave it to see how long it would last but I didn't want it to give out at the worst possible time which I know it would so try it its worth a shot just be sure to flush the system when you replace the part
 
Mine just failed. It's the only part I didn't change. Failed several months after my initial problems. Waiting on tow truck. Fml. Parts ordered while waiting for the tow Hahaha.

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No comment!
You know the deal.
 
It's fitting because I haven't driven it in months and was literally on my way to begin chopping it up and removing anything of value. This is my donor v8.

It broke down beside a graveyard. Literally went to the graveyard to die. I sat there for over an hour waiting laughing to myself how ironic it was. Good thing I've got td auto club coverage! Free all the way
 
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