Saw dust in the Radiator, What the #### ??

[Nvs-Vs-s]

So today i went too drive my car and as per usual my battery is being a dog and is flat, so pulled the battery out and put it on charge. While im waiting for that i did a general tidy up but in the process i checked my radiator, then too my suprise noticed a sawdust like substance ?? From a quick search it pretty much sounds like im well and truly ####ed Why do people do this shit ??

[ari666]

um... what? someone put saw dust in your radiator?

[Nvs-Vs-s]

Only bought the car a few weeks ago, as far as i can work out people put sawdust in because the fibers in the wood swell up and plug the radiator for a while too stop any leaks ?? So im guessing my radiators ####ed ? Im not sure ? My main concern is do people do it too hide bigger issues ? Ive heard about people putting pepper and eggs in the radiator aswell in order too stop them leaking ?

Should i be worrying about it or not ?

[Tim Smtih]

The only thing in your radiator should be a 50/50 mixture of coolant and distilled water. Yes i would be concerned. Maybe use this opportunity to install an alloy performance radiator. Do it.

[gossie]

Pepper is another good trick to stop a radiator leaking.

Just use the car at this stage and see how it goes, but check that coolant OFTEN.......like every morning and night. Good luck.

[HoldensBestVehicle]

wow, who would think sawdust would stop leaks

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Drain it, flush it and refill it with the correct coolant and see how it goes.

Oh, and the word is "to", not "too".

[GRPABT1]

Yeah old school trick for big leaks. Egg works well for little ones and so does pepper lol. Probably up for a new radiator my friend if they have done that to stop it leaking.

[ari666]

only way to ever trust that engine is to drain it all out thoroughly, replace with proper coolant and see why it was put in there.

otherwise itll break down on you when you need it most