Welcome back, readers and video watchers!

I have a simple question for you: What are friends for? Giving you good advice for one thing, but if your friends suggest using Radiator sealant, run the other way! This is a very short (and angry) video but if you’ve ever thought about using a radiator sealant, you should pay attention to it. Seeing what sealant did to this radiator should stop you dead in your tracks. Why would you consider using this kind of product when the dangers of using a radiator sealant far outweigh the benefits?

I suppose that a sealant could sound appealing if you have a radiator, block or cylinder head leak and you want to delay a radiator repair, or buying a used radiator or a new radiator to handle the problem. At a time like this, a sealant has just the kind of properties that you think you need. When you apply a sealant, it changes state and becomes hard, plugging up the nasty little crack or leak that is making your life miserable.

In other words, it closes that small opening and stops the radiator coolant leak, which meets your immediate goal. The problem comes when the sealant does more than you bargained for and works its ways through your radiator, resulting in the kind of completely clogged radiator that you see in this video. Sealant can even make its way to your heater core and ruin your auto’s heating system. Yes, it seals that leak, but it can do a lot of other damage, too, as this video graphically illustrates.

The bottom line? Unless you want your radiator clogged for good, pull out that leaky radiator and get it replaced or repaired the right way. With the lowest cost radiators on the market and a lifetime guarantee, a visit to radiator.com can prove to be far more cost effective than this foolish, temporary solution.

- Susie

Goodness gracious auto repair lovers! Here’s a radiator video that you can do without. Its only redeeming factor is that it sends a clear message that some people just shouldn’t own cars – even clunkers like this car. The two guys in the video don’t have half a brain between them. I’m not sure who they are, but someone should take away their video camera along with their wreck of a car. As a viewer, you already have a suspicion that the car is in the shape it is in thanks to their idiocy. They certainly aren’t doing a radiator repair. I doubt that they could even find the radiator under the hood.

It starts out with the driver (a loose description of the guy sitting at the steering wheel) gunning the engine so hard, it stops turning over at all. Then, we have to watch him repeatedly jam the key in the ignition as the whole frame convulses in its death-throes. He has no idea what he is doing to his auto car radiator but the next things we see is the passenger who has the hood open. He is banging at the radiator with some kind of pliers, hopping back at each swing from the radiator smoking. If it isn’t clear already, he ought to know by now that he needs a new radiator. He succeeds in knocking off the radiator cap without burning himself which is pretty amazing with the engine smoking at this point. Boiling water spurts out and he jumps back, laughing like a maniac.

So there it is – everything not to do when you have car trouble. And besides that, if you ever see one of these guys walking down the street (they couldn’t possibly be driving) move to the other side of the street because they could be dangerous!

- Susie

Hello again, auto repair lovers and those of you who are just plain curious about what’s under the hood.  If you need a pat on the back before you begin a do it yourself radiator replacement project, this video is a great place to start.  You won’t learn anything to help you with the actual task, but it can help to psych you up as you get ready to tackle the job.

The gentleman in this video – Chris – is about to pull out an old radiator and put a new one into his 1998 Honda Civic.  For someone who doesn’t know what he is doing, he has a lot more confidence than I would have.  I have no idea where his cavalier attitude comes from because he freely admits that he isn’t a mechanic and that he is going to rely on his auto repair book to guide him through the process.  This is certainly not the way I would go about it for the first time, but I have to admire his enthusiasm.  I were being filmed for this radiator video about an installation, I’d want someone by my side to point here and there and give me some direction.   Faced with a leaky radiator under his hood and a new Honda Civic Radiator replacement by his side, Chris experiences none of my qualms as he prepares to launch forth following the install radiator chapter, which I hope comes equipped with a few good photos.

I can only wish Chris the best of luck.  I think I’d rather learn live from a friend – or anyone else willing to guide me through removing a leaky and on-its-way-out radiator, let alone installing a new radiator.  But as I said in the beginning, the attitude that Chris has might be contagious so check this out before you get started – particularly if you are a radiator novice.

- Susie