A few days ago I noticed a leak on the car. I poured some water inside the radiator and noticed it was leaking out of the buttom side on the driver side. I noticed the screw was loose and wouldn't tighten when twisting it. The question I have is when this happens do I need to buy a new radiator or should that piece just



screw back in? Here is a picture I took. Also, I have the diesel engine.

 

I would replace the drain **** first, its pennies on the dollar compared to a new radiator.

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/fi...or-drain-plugs

 

I think the female part of that pet-**** is molded into the (left) end-tank of the radiator, so there's no replacing of the complete pet-****. If it's a matter of damaged threads, the male screw-in piece could be replaced. But if the end-tank female threads are damaged, I don't think there's any easy way to repair.

 

One of them in the picture looks like mines. I forgot to post a picture of mines. Here is a picture. The one that looks like mines have a piece and the middle where you see threads on mines. I'm not sure if that's the reason mines is leaking? All advance autoparts closed in my area about 4-6 months ago.

 

Ughh, I hope I never see the day when these type of stores cease to exist. As the do it yourself type car is being phased out ...

Mail order via internet if you can. I've done it with Autozone and it works very well ! In my case they protected small items like this in sturdy shipping boxes. And allow you to fully track the delivery. Yes I have one close to me but if its in another location sometimes not in the mood to drive.

Unfortunately I do not see one like yours in Autozone. But then I asked google for "1981 oldsmobile toronado diesel oem drain **** AC Delco" and this came up.

https://parts.gmparts.com/product/ac...H4xYzIatePI2TD

However when I went to confirm fitment the listing only goes back to 1982... of course

 

Based on recent 2 pictures, I guess I was wrong about petcock partially being part of the radiator tank. Apparently, it is a separate part that can be replaced.

 

Not necessarily Torotoyguy, that part AC Delco showed does not confirm to anything yet.

And a generic search for a supposed match does not look like the GM parts pic...

Nor does the Dorman supposed exact fit look like original...

 

You could take that petcock to the local hardware store and probably find a replacement. Hopefully the female threads in the radiator aren't damaged.

 

I would like to thank everyone for their input. I took the radiator to a local radiator shop. Luckily, they had the exact same one. Napa, Autozone, etc none carried the correct drain plug. Instead of paying $100's for a new radiator it only cost me $10. 😆

 

This happened to my radiator and I replaced the cracked peacock. Also bought an extra and keep it in the glovebox.

 

What do you feed it?

 

Aaaarrrrg, damn iphone!