I changed my antifreeze, thermostat, and oil today and now I have a leak coming out of the bottom of my radiator. It is leaking about 1 inch from the drain plug. How tight should the drain plug be. I don't think it is too loose.
Please help. I just put some radiator sealer in and it hasn't stopped leaking.

 

The leak stops after it drains about 2 inches. Obviously there is a hole somewhere in the uper 2 inches of the radiator. How can this be fixed. Can I take it somewhere and they fix it. Is there a way of fixing it yourself. Or do I need to buy a new radiator?

 

Are you sure it is not coming from the over flow tube that is located at the cap and runs down the side of the radiator? Could be the the system surging after changing the thermostat.
Neil in Tenn

 

You know whats funny? Sometime those small radiator leaks have a way of going away all by thierselves. Unless yur workin on a POS, which I doubt you are, I wouldnt put stopleak in it. Hears a trick ive learned in the past to quell small leaks. On you rad cap there is two gaskets. One seals the the top of the cap to keep water from spilling out the top. The other seals between the rad and the overflow tank. If you remove the rubber gasket that seals the overflow, then screw the cap all the way back on, this will keep the pressure in the system down, while not allowing it to leak from the top of the cap. When pressure builds, the expanded fluid flows directly to the overflow tank. If your leak gets worse, the fact that you still have the top of the rad sealed, will cause the needed water to be drawn back in from the overflow tank. I have an old pontiac with a cracked block. This trick has kept this car running for two years on the cracked block. I never even remove the cap to check the water. When the fluid in the tank gets low, I just fill it up. This trick will also pretty much cancel out those unexpected hose blowouts too. You know the ones that always seemto happen when yur far far from home. Its a bubba tactic but it works. :D