It Sounds Crazy: Fixing a Leaking Radiator with Eggs—Tried and True

You’re on a road trip when your coolant level suddenly starts dropping. Then you notice telltale drips on the radiator. There’s no auto parts store in sight—and even if there were, who knows if they’d have a replacement radiator in stock?

Marker’s advice: head to the nearest supermarket—you’re almost guaranteed to find one. Pick up some coolant to top off your system and a carton of eggs. Here’s what to do next:

1. Let the engine cool completely.

2. Crack one to three eggs and pour the contents into the coolant reservoir.

3. Start the engine and let it warm up to operating temperature.

4. The leak should gradually seal itself.

A Farmer’s Hack

Marker grew up in rural Ohio farm country, where farmers have plenty of homespun tricks for reviving broken-down tractors in the middle of a field. “When your hens are eyeing you hungrily and you need that busted tractor running again, you get creative,” he jokes. The egg trick is something he learned as a kid.

Three Conditions for Success

First, this is only a temporary fix. As soon as you can, drain the egg-and-coolant mixture, repair the radiator properly, and thoroughly flush the entire cooling system.

Second, it works only for small leaks—don’t expect eggs to save a radiator with a gaping hole.

Third, there’s no guarantee this method will work on today’s more sensitive, high-tech engines. “The last time I tried it was on my 1990 Dodge Daytona,” Marker admits.

And there’s a fourth, more practical issue: a dozen eggs these days can cost more than a liter of coolant—especially right before Easter. If the leak is tiny—and that’s the only case where this hack works—you might be better off just topping up the coolant periodically instead of dealing with a messy system flush later.