You’re Kidding Right? Pepper!?!

No I am not. Imagine yourself sitting in traffic on a hot summer afternoon, getting home from work. Your gas is almost on empty, traffic looks like a moving parking lot, and to make things worse your AC just stopped working. You just stop behind a trailer and you hear this hissing sound. Hot white steam rushes from your hood and you are stuck with a radiator leak.

Pull over immediately. There are countless stories from mechanics saying that a $200 radiator job turns into a $2000 engine replacement job because the driver tried to drive with the engine over heating. Your engine will run over two to three hundred degrees if you have no coolant keeping it at nominal temperature. This will cause distortion, melting, and breaking of internal and external areas of your engine.

You can avoid all those costly repairs by following these tips.

If you have a radiator leak, it will either be a big one where you can see a split radiator hose or a small one. If you have a big leak you can use an emergency patch up kit or even duct tape for a temporary fix. Now if you have a small pinhole leak, which usually occurs inside the radiator, all you need to do is pull out some pepper.

Ok, before I tell you how you can fix your pinhole leak you must understand that this is NOT a permanent solution but only a temporary fix.

Now if you’re stuck on the highway, pull over to the shoulder. Wait about 15 to 20 minutes for the coolant to cool down before making any type of repair to the radiator hose because the coolant will cause SEVERE BURNS if it comes in contact with your skin.

When you have waited 20 minutes pop open the coolant filler cap and pour as much pepper as you possibly can. You must pour at least one to two full shakers for this to work. When you’re done pouring the pepper, get back into the car and start it up. Let the pepper circulate through the coolant system.

The action that’s suppose to happen is that the little pepper particles should get clogged up in your little pinhole leak and give you the necessary amount of time to get to a shop for a proper fix.

Remember again that this is a temporary fix for your radiator leak. This fix may not last too long and on top of that you must get all the pepper out of your system sooner or later. It’s a foreign material that is not compatible with your coolant system. It might not damage your engine but is not good for your sensor or valves as they might clog them up as well.

Here is a cool website I found where you can purchase high quality tools for less than store prices. Check out SurfToSave.com.

Need Automotive Tools?

Need some tools for your car? Go to CDM Tool Sales for ShopPro socket and ratchet sets, wrenches, and more!

CDM Tool sales- for all your hardware needs!

<<Back Car Maintenance Articles