When Parts Fall off and things happen on the road..... The Saga Continues

[bobofthenorth]

Hey relax guys - my Prevost is 25 years old.  Its got a screamin' GM in it.  I've poured guck in more radiators than most people will ever own.  And I'm here to tell you that - most of the time - its a complete waste of time and money and just makes things worse.  Whatever you pour in the top just has to be cleaned out a few days later when you fix it right.

Bottom line - pouring guck in the rad may --- repeat MAY --- get you home but it won't fix the problem.

[Hartley]

Sorry if I  / we came across that way.  I do like to get things done the right way if I can, its less hassle and expense in the long run.  I admire peoople that can do a roadside fix and git er going to make it back to civilization.

I bet my fuel is better than yours though, I think I paid $3.25 a gal for what's in my tank  )

Ouch!

 I just filled my diesel van tank...@ 2.79 a gallon, Whew there's another $95 that I can't eat....
( I haven't rigged up the PowerStroke 7.3 to run it yet. ) Soon though...

I am still running most of the $3.05 a gallon stuff in the bus, But I diluted it with 90 gallons of filtered
veggie oil @ .12 a gallon (cost) so my 400 mile trip actually cost me about $50 in fuel.

My old Isuzu and Detroit doesn't care as long as it fires and makes it go... Granted it's not for everyone
but I have been running an Isuzu NPR 4-cyl turbo diesel on 100% used filtered veggie for over 6 months.

Hey, I hope that I didn't offend anyone, I would not make a good standup comedian so I am told...

I got cornered at the Hoboken Rally this past weekend to talk about veggie in front of about 50 people
without any warning... That was a tough crowd...

Now If I can afford to buy some aluminum sheeting and some paint to slop on the old MCI
that is my next plan after the Fall and Winter rallies.. If things go as usual, something else
will upset my plans... Murphy is a Jokester....

[HighTechRedneck]

It doesn't work. For the one time that pepper or stop leak or bars leak or whatever gets someone going again there are countless times that it does nothing other than gum up the rad. If you have a leaky rad get it fixed. Pouring stuff in the top won't fix it.

Sometimes stop leak products do last long term (although I'm doubtful pepper, oatmeal or egg white would hold long term).  When my Toyota pickup was a lot younger, something punctured the radiator while I was on the road.  I had a bottle of stop leak and a couple gallons of water in the back.  I put in the stop leak and added water.  Being of limited means at the time I let it go and just watched for the leak to renew itself.  15 years, a couple 100,000 miles and several cooling system flushes later that leak is still patched.  As for concerns I have heard over the years that stop leak formulas will damage various parts of the system, I can only say that my Toyota pickup still has the original radiator, waterpump, heater core and engine and runs good and reliable.  A few months ago I took it on a 4000 mile adventure including crossing NM, AZ and CA on I-10 during the summer without a breakdown.

I am not saying that it will always work.  More than anything else I think it depends on the size and shape of the hole.  The potential for it cloging something else up depends on how clean and clear the system is of corrosion or deposits.

All that said, if it were on my bus, I would try a stop leak (commercial or improvised) to get it home or to a good repair location and get it taken care of.  The engines in these beasts are just too much money to risk causing a premature rebuild to be needed.

[DrivingMissLazy]

I strongly suspect that the ones who preach that stop gap measures should not be tried have never been stuck on the side of Route 66 in the middle of summer in New Mexico. Back in the 50's there were not many places to get a radiator fixed and I used something in my ole 50 Mercury radiator to stop the leak until I got to California.
Richard

[Hartley]

Does this mean mines BIGGER?  see the picture... Magic.....

Sometimes if you don't try the strange and unusual you will be nagged by that little voice saying, Why didn't you try...

I have a 48 year old forklift with a Continental Flathead 6 cylinder. The head was cracked visibly almost all the way
across the top. A couple of cans or Bars Leak block sealer and it stopped leaking 4 years ago and hasn't leaked since.
The tires are so old and abused that the rubber is falling off of them in chunks but they still hold air and the 12,000 lbs
of cast iron off the ground. I call it the Pork Lift since it's so big and nasty to work on, But it runs. (sometimes!)

[HighTechRedneck]

Regarding the photo:

Ah yes!  That model would be the MCI Hummer special edition. 

Regarding the forklift:

I love it when a reliable piece of equipment defies common wisdom and just keeps on working.