I have a 1982 Ford Granada. I added a small bottle of Barr’s leak stopper to stop a pinhole leak in the radiator where the trans fluid line enters the radiator. About two weeks later I took the car out for a short drive. When I arrived home I shut the engine and a few minutes later there was a major leak from a “T” connector along the top heater hose. I assume it was put there for flushing purposes. The plastic cap on the connector was corroded. Could the problem have been caused by the additive? Or, is the incident unrelated?
It’s unrelated. You have a 40+ yr old cooling system. It’s not surprising that things are leaking. Your note of corrosion should be enough to tell you that your stuff is just old.
Of course, you didn’t say nary a thing about how old the cooling system components are, or how often the coolant has been changed over the last 40 years. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if you just had to replace it all - radiator, all hoses and associated fittings, and the heater core.
But in short, no - the additive didn’t cause a leak. Time did. Barr’s is meant to clog things (which is why it’s best not to use it). It won’t “clean” things to make something marginal leak.
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Well, the additive plugged the leak, which may have let the system pressure up, causing other leaks to happen. I’d get the system pressure tested, repaired, flushed and filled. Might be time for all hoses to be replaced.
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According to his other post, he may have a blown head gasket, if so it is making this thread irrelevant basically…
EDIT: Oops, different vehicle, my bad, missed it somehow…
His other post is for a different vehicle, a 2006 Hyundai Sonata with the 3.3L engine. That has nothing to do with this thread, which is discussing a 1982 Ford Granada.
Oops, missed that some how… thanks for clearing that up for me…
My condolences. Sorry that’s all I got.
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Two different people with similar avatars .
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What for? This is a classic car now, and no worse than anything else from the early 1980s. I remember when these were common, and always thought it was a pretty car. Especially in silver, or light blue.
A Granada was and is NOT a classic car. Period. So I guess you and I are going to need to agree to disagree.
Me thinks you have the Classic part wrong . It is just an old Ford Granada . I have never seen one at a Classic car show .
A classic car is one that’s older than 25 years
Just because a car is a classic doesn’t make it a collectible car.
Tester
At least the '82 Granada was an upgraded version of the Fairmont, not the last gasp of the 1960 Falcon, which was the first version of the Granada.
Which engine does yours have?
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You can get classic tags in TN for any vehicle 25 years or older… Most insurance company’s call any car 20 years or older a classic…
But being a classic doesn’t make it a hot rod, muscle car etc etc etc or any other kind of collectible, or worth anything…
Agreed, at this time, neither the Granada, Lincoln Versailles, nor Mercury Monarch can be considered a classic in terms of collectible. But given enough time nearly any vehicle might become one.
When I was in my teens and 20s, no one in my age group wanted a 4dr sedan or station wagon, 4dr hardtops were fine. No one wanted a 10-20 yr old sedan, now those are selling for bigger, sometime many bigger, bucks. Fin cars were out, not uncommon for a 59 Caddy going for less than $300.00. Orphan marques were at give away prices, think Studebaker or Hudson.
Given enough time the above FoMoCo vehicles may be true classics.
The pinhole leak might have been partly the result of a cooling system cleaning additive. But the ancient-looking nature of the T’s plastic cap suggests that job was apparently done years ago, so there no way to know with any certainty.
In the 60’s and 70’s I used to use a product designed to clean & flush my cars’ cooling system every time I replaced the coolant , involved installing a T fitting in a heater hose as I recall. I stopped doing that when soon afterward my truck’s water pump started making a racket, and later failed. Don’t know if the incident was related though. I did notice that after using the flushing product, calcium deposits on the inside of the radiator were greatly reduced, and my thinking was those deposits had moved to the water pump, causing the racket.
When I flushed my cooling systems I’d drain all the old coolant out, fill the system w/plain water, add the flushing product, and drive the car that way for a day or two (summer obviously) , then drain and thoroughly flush it all out, then add the new coolant.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone-Total-Cooling-System-Cleaner-22-oz/35764365
I’ll let the certified experts reply, but I’m trying to remember if I ever had a cooling system sludge or rust problem. I’m sure in the old days I might have dumped stuff like tha in once or twice but only for a few minutes and not leaving an acid in for several days. I’m sure the stuff knows the difference between cast iron, plastic, and aluminum. Now days, just changing coolant and a water flush seems to work fine.
I watched a pro at the radiator shop once, just using short burst of high water pressure to clear out a heater core. After that I made a multi diameter hose nozzle to do the same but it has been in the tool box for years unused.
I believe in Europe, a car like the 1982 Ford Granada would be considered a “youngtimer” . . . a car that’s definitely old(er), but not really considered a true classic, such as a Jaguar E-Type, for example