If you don't want to pull it out, try some Bars Leak and cross your fingers.

 

Clean off the bottom good and try some JB Weld on the spot as well. Ideally, replace/repair is the preferred choice.

 

Get a new radiator. Whatever you do won't "fix" it and it's easier to do the job in the driveway than on the side of the road[emoji57] When that seam goes between the plastic/core it could go at any time and be very large-lol. The leak is just a friendly jeep heads up to fix it now properly.[emoji106]

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They all eventually leak there. IMO replace, don't fix.

The OMIX replacement has held up well for me. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0046LSZJW/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Ok. So it looks like replacing it is the best option. I definitely would rather be stuck and do the job in my driveway than the side of the road as mentioned. Thanks everyone!!!!!

 

Not repairable. If you have a manual transmission, the Mishimoto is a great option and has a lifetime warranty. I installed the Mishimoto in mine last year. Also put a Mishimoto with lifetime warranty in the Honda minivan.

Amazon.com: Mishimoto R2957-MT Plastic End-Tank Radiator Compatible With Jeep Wrangler 2007-2018 : Automotive

Buy Mishimoto R2957-MT Plastic End-Tank Radiator Compatible With Jeep Wrangler 2007-2018: Radiators - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

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Get the proper antifreeze full strength and dilute with distilled water. That will save u some $ also. Not a horrible diy.[emoji482]

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You should replace the radiator and get new coolant. Don't use sealants or any kind of stuff you can by to put in the radiator to gum it up as you will end up with bigger problems.

 

If you change coolants be very, very careful. You will need to clear out ALL the old coolant because mixing OAT and HOAT (5 yr and 10 yr) coolants is bad. When mixed they turn to gel.

 

Nope you didn't hurt my feelings. But thanks for the compliment of me being an internet expert. I never would of given myself that title.

I work both counters. Do I know it all? Of course not. There is a lot to learn in the world of parts.

I assume this world-renowned "Expert" KNOWS this person's financial situation (if a guy asks about trying to fix a radiator leak and not replace, it sounds like he's just trying to get by until he can or afford it). I gave options and he barged in with the typical social skills of a neanderthal, and bangs on people. Expected behavior for one from the Bay Area, as I have seen and work with people from that specific area. Not that all are that way. I'm sure he is a hit with all the 20-somethings in the shipping department and they look up to him as a God as he obviously has a self-image problem which most likely stems from his childhood (Dad: "You can't do anything right"). I appreciate this site and the contributions you make and keep it up, Jeep Momma!

 

I assume this world-renowned "Expert" KNOWS this person's financial situation (if a guy asks about trying to fix a radiator leak and not replace, it sounds like he's just trying to get by until he can or afford it). I gave options and he barged in with the typical social skills of a neanderthal, and bangs on people. Expected behavior for one from the Bay Area, as I have seen and work with people from that specific area. Not that all are that way. I'm sure he is a hit with all the 20-somethings in the shipping department and they look up to him as a God as he obviously has a self-image problem which most likely stems from his childhood (Dad: "You can't do anything right"). I appreciate this site and the contributions you make and keep it up, Jeep Momma!

Thanks for the scathing rebuke and psychology lesson. You're obviously butt hurt over my response and seem to be projecting your own issues onto someone that you don't even know. This is a public forum and it was an open question so there was no butting in. Your advice is still bad and you should probably have thicker skin on this forum and stay away from the fix-it-in-a-can aisle at the parts store. Jeep Momma has thicker skin than you do. Instead, consider chiming in with your first hand experience where your proposed solution actually worked.

Radiator stop-leak products can and do make a mess of the entire cooling system and it is very difficult to clean out when you finally do have to perform the repair properly. JB Weld or something similar may work temporarily to repair a crack in the plastic tank but there is usually no way to get the epoxy inside of the crack. It would be just a surface repair that won't hold up long term to the pressures seen in a modern cooling system and the coolant will probably start making its way past the surface repair. I've used JB Weld to repair leaks before and it didn't work at all - started leaking right away and the JB Weld came off.

Looking at the pics that Jeep Momma/Tammy posted, it appears that her radiator was leaking at the seam between the plastic tank and the aluminum core. That is where a lot them leak anyway, versus a crack in plastic tanks. There is no way to fix that without replacing the entire radiator. These plastic tanks aren't designed to be removed and re-sealed. And JB Weld wont fix that either. FWIW, I've taken these radiators apart (to recover the recyclable aluminum not to repair them) and they are not repairable in that way.

Before the advent of plastic tank / aluminum radiators, radiator repair shops were a lot more ubiquitous. They could remove the brass tanks, replace the radiator core, solder the tanks back into place and also braze any holes in the tanks. Shops that specialize in radiators are now mostly extinct.

I'm sure Tammy is a nice person. It's just fun to heckle her a little given her past history on this forum.

The OP made no indication that they were necessarily on a budget. Everyone wants to do a repair as inexpensively as possible. The radiator that I am suggesting, while more than the price of a can of stop-leak + JB Weld, is still relatively inexpensive @$183 compared to other options (such as Mopar radiator or a full aluminum radiator). It also has a lifetime warranty.

Amazon.com: Mishimoto R2957-MT Plastic End-Tank Radiator Compatible With Jeep Wrangler 2007-2018 : Automotive

Buy Mishimoto R2957-MT Plastic End-Tank Radiator Compatible With Jeep Wrangler 2007-2018: Radiators - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

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It's not that shops are trying to make the most money possible by sticking customers for the higher repair cost of replacing a radiator. The cheapest way to perform a repair is to do it properly and do it one time. Didn't your father tell you that? Mine did.

Oh, and I almost forgot....

 

Tammy must get tired of not being able to defend her shit without all the purple knights scurrying around
....

 

I am kinda partial to old fashioned white knights who let me know it's time to replace my batteries! Ah.... the good ole' days of getting burned at the stake.

 

Back to radiator leaks.

I was told that the possible leak issue is due to the change in the coolant. something in the new 10 year coolant which I believe is supposed to be more environmentally friendly is causing some sort of erosion to those aluminum cores. I believe, correct me if I am wrong. (like I need to tell anyone that. LOL!) the leak issue didn't start until the coolant change.

 

Back to radiator leaks.

I was told that the possible leak issue is due to the change in the coolant. something in the new 10 year coolant which I believe is supposed to be more environmentally friendly is causing some sort of erosion to those aluminum cores. I believe, correct me if I am wrong. (like I need to tell anyone that. LOL!) the leak issue didn't start until the coolant change.

That could possibly exacerbate the issue. Leaking at the seam between the plastic tank and the aluminum radiator is common on all brands and pre-dates 10-year coolant. Its not the aluminum that goes bad. It's the seal between the aluminum and the plastic from what I have seen.

In the bad old days with the old fashioned coolant, if it wasn't changed often enough, the coolant would turn acidic and eat away at the old fashioned head gaskets and cause them to leak. I've replaced plenty of head gaskets because of this. The service interval back then was 15k-30k miles. A lot of the cars that came in for a 60k service that had never been serviced before would have blown headgaskets. The coolant would become so acidic that you could connect the negative lead of a volt meter to ground and dip the positive lead into the radiator water and measure a voltage. This was with cast iron blocks and aluminum heads.

 

Ahem... excuse me for the diversion from farting to coolants, I find it really hard to believe a major manufacturer would use a coolant that corrodes alumin(i)um. Given that many, if not most metal parts in a modern engine are that... imagine the havoc 😳

 

What!?! Fart talk is fun!

Well... A Jeep mechanic of mine from the East Coast (not my ex CO mechanic - for those following my life) shared his, along with some other mechanic friends, theory.

I should of said, corrodes seam points or "welds" of the aluminum core radiator not the actual aluminum itself.

He had seen several Jeeps in his shop with the same leak I had. All the Jeeps were newer than 2013. That's the year they switched coolant from the 5 year to the 10 year.

If you find it hard that a major manufacturer would continue to use something that causes major damage to an engine you live in lala land. The oil filter adapter housing is ONE good example.

Just my personal opinion.

 

Weld seams failing seems somewhat plausible, but for the coolant to corrode Al, not so much.

I'm not familiar with the oil filter adapter housing problem, how does that cause major damage to engines?

Opinions are like... well, you know 😂

 

Opinions are like... well, you know 😂

around here, they’re like cold sores.

 

I'm running a Mitsmoto myself. The stocker was leaking in the same area. I replaced the hoses with silicone ones and put in a new TStat housing. I live in AZ and the last thing I wanted to do is lose cooling. I would run a flush through the system before you dismantle it. I was lucky and didn't have the sludge/casting crap in my system.

 

Hello, I am literally on my 4th radiator replacement due to a small leak on my 2013 JKU. The casting sand would make sense except for the fact I keep having the entire system flushed each time the radiator is replaced. I am considering going with the coolant filter kit but getting frustrated. Also being told to specify a KOYO brand replacement. Any additional advice? Thanks!
i

 

Two in a row could be bad luck, but four 🤯

What coolant do you use?

 

Crazy, I know! I have been using the OEM brand of OAT that the manual recommends. (See below) You bring up a good point though as I heard Jeep changed mid year to this from the HOAT so I wonder if the shop is refilling with the wrong stuff.

 

I still have the original 2013 OEM Radiator in mine. never had a leak or issues with it. Do yours all leak in the same area?

 

They tend to seperate at the plastic "weld" to the metal on the majority of the failures. I blew one up running too straight a water mixture. The pressure from the steam just took out the whole upper left corner-[emoji849][emoji16]

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There is thread somewhere and a post from goodysgotcudda who installed some isoltaors on the radiator mounts to reduce the vibration the stock plastic welds dont seem to enjoy[emoji482][emoji106]

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