Radiator leak opinion wanted

Okay so this is on my family rig - 2005 Toyota Sienna. It's got a small leak at the top of the radiator that I cleaned a week ago. The goo that you see in the image is about the same as it was before I discovered/cleaned it up gently with a wire brush and water. It would appear based on the photo that the leak is near the area that is the most "colorful". It's a full aluminum rad so I'm going to pull it in the middle of June to have it repaired at a shop. One last thing to note - it never leaves a puddle anywhere and only leaves a small amount of dry pink residue in the nearby area under the hood. The coolant level hasn't moved in a week either.

Question: It's been running great, not losing water and not overheating the last two weeks since discovery and perhaps longer - my wife needs the van to drive 300 miles north to Seattle. Based on the description and the photo do you guys think this is safe to take up to 700 miles round trip before I pull it out for repair?

potshotscott said:

do you guys think this is safe to take up to 700 miles round trip before I pull it out for repair?

Click to expand...

In that case, you might want to try some stop leak. Keeping in mind that what you see might be the tip of an iceberg...

Me...I wouldn't send her out like that tho.

Yeah - I'm thinking not. She'd take my '94 LX but has to pickup four friends at the airport. eBay has some decent looking aluminum rad's for this car for under $100.00 - I just can't get it here fast enough.

I would not send her out with the rad like that. We sell those specific all aluminum radiators for that application all the time, it's a common failure part on those vehicles.

Definitely don't send her on a 700 mile drive like that. It may be fine, but a 300 mile tow if it fails will cost way more than just picking up a new rad at the local auto parts store and swapping it in before she leaves.

Radiator on the way - replacing Wednesday. Thanks for the opinions guys.