Do I need a new radiator or can it be patched?

[Koosh]

So I was driving my car yesterday and noticed that it was getting pretty well overheated. I stopped, picked up some more coolant only to find a small hole in the radiator. I can't actually see the hole (fan shroud is in the way), but I see where the coolant has leaked down from nearly the top of the radiator to the ground.

It leaks fairly regurally, overnight there was probably a 4-6 inch spot on the ground, but it didn't take any more coolant, and today at work it was about the same...

Can the radiators be patched at all, or do I need an entire new one?

My car is a 1983 Toyota Supra, so a new one is probably necessary, but I don't want to throw a few hundred at it if I don't have to.

[dj89]

Put an egg in there................................ :D

[Tunaman]

If its not too old, most radiator shops can fix it provided it doesnt have plastic tanks. If just the core is leaking most can be soldered. Radiators used to be expensive but are very cheap now. Try a place like R+S or Pep Boys. Go buy a 7lb cap and stick it on there if you need to drive it. It should get you there.;)

[kevdupuis]

If it's the core and it's not heavily corroded it can be soldered. As Tuna said new rads aren't really expensive, or you could try for a good used one from a wreckers.

[MarkM]

Walmart and I'm sure other places sell a product called stop-a-leak a sort of brown powder in a plastic tube. We used to have that here in the UK but now the only version we can buy is made by the same company but it is a brown fluid in a tin.
A friend of mine in the states had a leak on his truck when we were driving and I said about this stop-a-leak stuff he had never heard of it...we found it, used it and less than 30 secs later the leak was gone...the fliud stuff I can get is awful it takes a least two tins of the stuff to work if it even will. When we could get the powder (well ours was more like a crumbling cake mix) I patched a large truck radiator with it and when you consider it was a hole made by a stone and looked like someone taking a leak so not a little pinhole it still stopped the radiator leak. I have a couple of tubes of the american brown powder in my vehicle now, just in case and will buy a couple more for good measure next time I am over. ours is made by Bars it may be the same for the US as mine is outside and it's cold and raining right now I ain't going to look to check ;)

[Lohman446]

Use Stop-leak very sparingly, remember if it can plug a hole in a radiator it can also plug a coolant passage - a half container is normally plenty.

GM makes teh best one I have found, it comes in a tablet form, of course its made by GM and available at the dealers but it should work in most anything (I've used it in the past on other things).

[Koosh]

Yeah, thats my plan at the moment...

Take it to a shop, if they can repair it, good times. If they can't, I'll try the "stop leak" or what have you...