temporary fix for antifreeze leak?

Whatever you decide to do, DO NOT use that "stop leak" junk! That "stuff" causes more problems than it solves! What normally happens is, yes it will stop the leak, but it also has a tendency to stop the flow to other more important parts of your cooling system.

There are small ports in your cylinder head that need cooling. Putting that material in your cooling system can clog those areas, then those spots in your cylinder head(s) will over heat and crack, (worst case situation). More likely what will happen is this material will clog your heater core then you won't have heat in your car to defrost your windshield, and or heat up the interior when its cold. This material can also clog up your thermostat and cause it not to open properly. It will also clog the bypass ports in the the thermostat which allows some coolant to flow while the engine is cold. Again causing your thermostat to not open properly.

I do understand your situation, but you need to get this issue addressed as soon as possible. Plus if your husband works on cars, (as I used to), compact or not don't underestimate him. My guess is it is something fairly simple, and he can take care of it over a weekend. Even if it is a water pump, these are normally a pretty basic item and can be addressed fairly quickly.

And... in this case, the "stop leak" will do you no good, as when water pumps fail, they normally do so internally with a seal that has gone away, so the "stop leak" will just pour out of the failed seal.

Lastly, as with regular coolant, (the green stuff), Dex-Cool, (the red or orange stuff), needs to be mixed 50/50 with DISTILLED WATER not tap water! One gallon of coolant to one gallon of distilled water will give you two gallons of coolant. Also keep in mind, the two different coolants are NOT compatible. You cannot mix them under any circumstances. If you do, you will be in for a really big repair bill.

The reason for the distilled water is to prevent the mineral build-up in your cooling system. Tap water encourages rust, lime and calcium, (elements in our drinking water), to build up in your water jacket, and radiator. That said, tap water is OK in an emergency until you can get home and get the cooling system serviced. But not long term usage.

Good Luck and Happy Driving!

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It could be the water pump, and those tend to leak progressively more over a period of a few months. If you can pin it down to the water pump you are fairly safe in waiting three weeks if you keep a close eye on the coolant in the radiator. Neither engine (6 or 8 cylinder) used in the Envoy has a timing belt so seizure of the pump is not a catastrophe. You really should determine if it is coming from the pump or a hose, though. Hoses tend to progress to a large hole very suddenly. If it is a hose, in my poorer years I would sometimes cut the hose where it has failed (at one end, usually the one with more heat) and put the cut end on until I could scrape up money for a hose. However, 6 years is awfully young for a hose to be failing. The reservoir will stay full when the radiator does not anytime there is a leak in the cooling system. If the cooling system can't develop a vacuum it can't suck coolant back out of the reservoir.

If it's leaking from the water pump's gasket then the usual leak repair additives that garages sell might stop it from leaking, even the traditional remedy of cracking an egg or two into the radiator water works. (yes, that really does work, this has got me out of trouble before now, I stopped my army truck from leaking badly this way and it never leaked again)(the principle is the same as with the stuff you can buy, it flows around with the water, gets into the crack and sets solid). If you can't afford the radiator additive and decide to opt for the egg remedy then you obviously must do this when the engine and water are cold, if you crack an egg into it whilst hot then rather than it getting into the crack and setting you'll just end up with a poached egg floating around in the top tank of the radiator! However, if the water pump is leaking from its spindle then no radiator additive is going to seal it because this is a moving part. If you're going to drive it whilst it's losing water then stop regularly, allow it to cool so that you don't get scalded when you open it up and then top it up. Driving it without water can cause serious damage to the engine such as a blown cylinder head gasket or cracked cylinder head.

Until you get it fixed just use water with no antifreeze if you're using radiator leak sealant/egg/pepper/etc to block the leak because antifreeze often washes this sort of stuff out and starts it leaking again. As you live in Florida I doubt that you're at risk of the water in your car freezing overnight.

One thing you must know now is that no matter what you put into the cooling system, it is NOT going to really stop a leak, and there is a possibility of whatever gooping up the complete system and causing other problems.

You'll hear about pepper, sawdust, oatmeal, egg and all sorts of stuff including stuff you buy at the parts store but you should do yourself a favor and not try any of them.

If it is the water pump leaking, that means the bearing seal is gone, and you have to keep an eye on it, you don't want the water pump to stop working.

Good luck.

Coolant Leak Fix

If you can't swing $35.00 for a re-manufactured water-pump park the car or you will ruin the engine. There is no such thing a safe water-pump repair patch. All of your suggestions this far will plug up the radiator and heater core. You will cause more expensive damage than fixing the problem forever.

Make darn sure you're NOT dumping discount store antifreeze in the cooling system. Anything other than the factory recommended Dexcool will plug the *snot out of the cooling system.

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temporary fix for antifreeze leak?

Ok I have a 2007 GMC Acadia that has started overheating. We thought at first it was a thermostat problem, but we opened radiator cap and realized that there was nothing in the radiator. There was fluid in the reservoir but nothing in the radiator so we added coolant to the radiator and noticed a...

there is this stuff that looks like rat poop in honey , i've used that before and it worked OK . there are other " stop leak " brands . i've even heard of people using pepper or oatmeal to stop a leak . with fall coming and freezing temps right around the corner plain water is risky . more than likely the water pump seal is shot but it could be just a hose leak ( which would be a LOT cheaper to fix ) . good luck .

i will tell you what i used once in a car because the heater core was leaking ! i used ( bars leak ) and it did not cause it to overheat but it did stop the leak ! i drove that car for over a year after that and it still was not leaking when i sold it ! if it,s just a small leak get a small bottle of bars leak and pour it into the radiator and fill it up ! put the cap back on and start it up ! it worked for me at the time when i was almost out of money !

do not pour any saw dust into your radiator. Saw dust will swell and precipitate and it might clog your radiator core. Its pretty cheap to buy a bottle of radiator leak fix. I used metallix seal radiator fix and it works for me. But metallix seal is Australia product only available in australia. You can try bars leak or other brand.