Ray Magliozzi
Dear Car Talk:
This story is 50 years old. But it’s been bothering me almost that long.
My first car was a ‘65 Chevelle Malibu handed down by my older brother. Being a teenager, I wrecked the front end in a crash within my first three months of ownership. The radiator was busted in the wreck and had a leak. I left the car parked over the winter and the block cracked.
I left home for a year for a job, and when I got back, my dad was driving the car. I asked him how he fixed it, and he said a mechanic told him to pour a jar of mustard in the radiator, which he did. He said it plugged the crack in the block, and he had been driving it for several months.
Ray, do you think this is possible?
— Jim
Is it possible that your dad poured mustard into your Chevelle’s radiator? Sure, that’s possible. Could it have fixed a cracked block? No. Not even Grey Poupon can fix a cracked block.
The radiator is operating at 15 or 18 psi. That’s going to blow any dried mustard all over the closest apron. There are additives that can — at least temporarily — seal up small cracks in engines or radiators. Products like Bar’s Leaks and Porter Seal work by mixing with your coolant. Then, when they leak out through the crack and get exposed to air, they harden and will sometimes seal up the leak. Sometimes for quite a while.
I think it was more likely that your dad was just driving the car very gently, and that’s what prevented it from overheating completely. He probably didn’t take highway trips. Maybe all of his trips were short distances. And I’m pretty sure he didn’t drive like a knucklehead, like you did, Jim.
Had you driven it after the mustard fix, Jim, you would have seized it. Gulden’s, French’s, or Coleman’s notwithstanding.
So, I think it was more luck and driving choices than mustard. But if the story is now part of family lore, and you want to preserve it, just pretend you never read this, Jim.
Got a question about cars? Write to Ray in care of King Features, 628 Virginia Drive, Orlando, FL 32803, or email by visiting the Car Talk website at www.cartalk.com.
