noticed a small puddle under the drivers side of my truck. Further inspection revealed a pin-hole in my radiator (facing the engine, not the grill). dealer said the radiator is not under warranty, does this sound right? if so where can I purchase a new radiator? Can I put some pepper, an egg, or radiator stop leak in the radiator so I can drive the truck until the new radiator arrives?

 

How many miles on it? What kind of mods. Are you the original owner?

 

Yes, I am the original owner. The truck has 46K miles, but I did not get the extended warranty because I thought most of the engine components were covered until 100K miles. Other than a max mileage module the truck is stock.

 

Does it look like a rock may have hit the radiator? Did you have the serp belt changed recently or water pump? If rock damage maybe auto insurance will cover cost. Very seldom see radiator leaks on Diesel Ram trucks and I work on them for a living. Try Bar's stop leak http://www.barsproducts.com/barsleaks_products.htm

 

The pin hole is at the very bottom of the radiator, facing the cooling fan. I had to move the plastic shroud out of the way to find leak. It's hard to get a good look at it, but the leak appears to be coming from between a couple of cooling fins. Not sure how it happened, I haven't replaced the serpentine belt or performed any other maintenance recently.

I always heard it was a bad idea to put stop leak in a radiator, but was considering it until I get this problem fixed. What are the pros/cons?

Dealer wants close to $1000 for parts/labor, and I found a few online for $400 or less. Can a radiator shop repair the original or should I order a replacement? How difficult is the install?

 

They can pinch off and seal the tube that is leaking but you have to pull the radiator out. Radiator isn't that difficult to remove. You may want to purchase tool for removing hose clamps since they are difficult to get off sometimes with pliers. Remove air filter housing to gain access to lower hose and 10mm bolt at top support, one on each side of radiator. Drain coolant into bucket so it can be reused. When refilling radiator first remove plug on top of cylinder head in front 1/4 allen head. Fill radiator untill coolant comes out this hole. Then reinstall plug fill radiator to top then start engine run untill top hose is warm and tstat has opened. Then reinstall cap and fill recovery bottle to full mark hot. Red coolant is good for 100k miles or 5 years. Good Luck

 

Hard for me to believe that you work on rigs for a living and you ar telling him to put Bars leak in. Yeah it will stop the leak and more then likely plug the heater core up. That stuff is junk.

 

Add some pepper to it.Have seen techs use it on their own vehicles and a year later still thinking about getting radiator fixed.

 

I did not use the bars leak, decided to patiently wait for the new radiator. Found one online for $400. I appreciate the install/removal tips, will let you know how the job turns out.

 

I've never had any kind of problems using alum-a-seal and other stop leak products, and they have gotten me out of more jams than I care to remember.