Black Pepper stops Radiator Leaks? (exhaust, head, cylinder, Saab)
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I've probably poured everything in my radiators at one time or another back in my younger days. Anyhow, as mentioned above, its a temp fix, I think the longest I got was a couple months using black pepper.
Those of you that are even considering doing such ridiculous "witchdoctor, voodoo" temporary fixes should have your heads examined because your heads are hollow between your ears.
Properly repair the radiator, or install a brand new one, or a cleaned and tested used one.
You cannot afford to monkey with something as vital to your car's operation as the thing that cools your engine. Be a dumbass and maybe luck will be with you as they say dumb fools get all the luck don't they....... Seriously, if you own and drive a car, you need to be prepared to keep said vehicle in operational condition. If you own a beater or possibly a POS, you need to keep substantial reserve funds at the ready because there will be necessary items like this. Call around and find a shop that will repair or replace your radiator at a fair price. Do it yourself if you think you are capable of doing so. New and/or rebuilt radiators can be sourced from many sources, on-line, NAPA, AUTO ZONE, ADVANCE, ROCK-AUTO, JC WHITNEY, O'REILLYS, and hundreds of other sources.
Depending on the make and model, the radiator part cost might possibly be as low as $100 new and possibly around $400 for some models. Typically one can expect to find many for between $100 and $300.
Be sure to replace all rubber cooling hoses, and get a brand new radiator cap, or at least have your existing radiator cap pressure tested to make sure it is still functional.
It is your choice but Black Pepper will only seal very small pinhole type leaks and you will be living on borrowed time as you will always wonder about the integrity of the fix.
Those of you that are even considering doing such ridiculous "witchdoctor, voodoo" temporary fixes should have your heads examined because your heads are hollow between your ears.
You are aware, are you not, that some products such as AlumaSeal and SilverSeal actually do work wonderfully for some leaks? I'm sure you do know that, because I'm sure you are in a position of knowledge that qualifies you to make comments such as the one above...
I am acquainted with a chap who used an egg to plug a leak and drove his vehicle for four years thereafter without having permanent repairs. I suspect his result was the exception rather than typical.
Personally I woudl not know. My vehicles are inspected with some frequency. Any kind of a failure in a pinch would cost far more than a regular inspection and occasional repair. Thus, I have not had a failure where I would need such a fix since I was a youth.
I am acquainted with a chap who used an egg to plug a leak and drove his vehicle for four years thereafter without having permanent repairs. I suspect his result was the exception rather than typical.
Personally I woudl not know. My vehicles are inspected with some frequency. Any kind of a failure in a pinch would cost far more than a regular inspection and occasional repair. Thus, I have not had a failure where I would need such a fix since I was a youth.
His case is very much the exception rather than the norm.
There are several things for which no amount of any kind of "sealer" is going to work - or work properly: A worn water pump that is starting to lose water through the seep hole (this is a design that allows you to know the water pump is "on its way out" rather than just having a sudden failure), leaking radiator or heater hoses, head gasket failure, cracked head, and/or large holes in the radiator.
Also, the reason products like AlumaSeal and SilverSeal used to be more effective than they are today, is because radiators used to be metal. Now they're plastic.
In addition, if you dump some of the "black clumpy" products into your coolant system, you run a high risk of plugging up the radiator and/or the heater core.
The bottom line, however, is that some products work - and in some applications, work permanently.
I had a leak and when it was looked at by a mechanic it turned out to be an intake valve leak. Apparently antifreeze was leaking out and also leaking into the engine causing the fluid level to get low and also make the car run bad as antifreeze leaking into the intake. Since it is a van and nothing, i mean nothing is easy to get at, the cost would have been over $900. I remembered this easy fix of Black pepper from years ago. I have to admit I used alot more than a few tablespoons of Black pepper, but 2 and a half years later, I still have my $900 and no leak.
For emergency situations.. I might try the black pepper solution.. That shouldn't be big enough to plug anything up, provided you don't use a horrifying amount.
Egg.. Not so sold on that one. I think you'd be taking alot more risk with that.
But, any of these products.. Commercial or otherwise.. They're not 'smart' products.. I mean, it's not like there's nanites in the crap that is going to tell them "Only block up the hole that leaks to the outside".. So, you run the risk of blocking up the holes that are meant to be there on the inside.
Risk/Reward. If you're on the interstate, 50 miles from home at 2:30am.. Go for it..
If you're noticing dripping on your driveway, and it's going to cost you $200 to get the problem fixed right and you have the $200 (Or can't afford the possibly much higher bill if it doesn't work).. Pay the money.
I had a head gasket leaking water at a bolt a few years back.. The bad part was that it was leaking right into a spark plug hole, which would then cause the plug to misfire. We used some of GM's "Head Gasket Sealant" (Which was a craptastic product they put out to help with leaking.. manifolds, perhaps, on one of their mid to late 90's Caddy engines. I dont' recall the details).. It did good enough to stop that small leak.
Does it also seal an oil leak? Some guy told me that. He saw me putting oil in.... He also told me to watch out when i took the cap off, sad it was going to shoot out if hot. Sounds like he confused the two??!?!! Got me confused plz help!! Thanks
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Those of you that are even considering doing such ridiculous "witchdoctor, voodoo" temporary fixes should have your heads examined because your heads are hollow between your ears.
Yes it works
