Stop leak

[BattlingMaxo]

I think my leak is in the radiator itself not the hoses. If i have to replace it will cost a lot, what about using stop leak? I know the new radiators are not metal but i think stop leak or other products work for newer radiators. Anyone have experience with those products?

BM

[rickr84]

I think my leak is in the radiator itself not the hoses. If i have to replace it will cost a lot, what about using stop leak? I know the new radiators are not metal but i think stop leak or other products work for newer radiators. Anyone have experience with those products?

BM

A die hard mechanic will tell you not to use the stuff, which in reality is the right answer.

However, I personally in 12 years of working on cars first hand, going on trips offroad, roadtrips, and buying random cars with problems thus using a bandaid to get them home, have used the stuff a few times.

And actually, as a kid my dad had an 88 Nissan Sentra that blew a headgasket, no question. Water getting into the oil. We were new to cars, and pretty poor. My dad put in a head gasket sealer, and I kid you not we drove that car for another 100k miles.

If its a small leak, the stuff will actually work. A big leak, where there is actual fluid flow that never stops your odds go down the bigger it is.

Another thing is to actually follow the directions well. Most of them include draining the system once or twice, and letting it dry in a system without fluid. Often times the people that buy the stuff are the ones that cant even drain the system due to no mechanical ability, and that makes it even less likely for it to work.

Once I had a heater core in the dash that leaked enough to make my carpet wet.. added the stuff.. and a year later realized I forgot to 'fix it right' because the problem literally went away.

Hell, to be honest, in one car I added the product, fixed the leak 75%, so I added MORE and fixed it 100%.

I wouldnt advise using more than 1 unit of whatever it is though, the potential horror story of these products is you clog actual cooling channels inside your head and actually crack/overheat more important things than a $150 radiator.

[petrified.rabbit]

I can agree with ricks assessment.

keep in mind though as well, that "pressure" products like bars leak, just clog the hole because of the pressure in the system. kind of like putting a rubber ball in the drain of the tub. the pressure of the water system holds the ball tight. keeping the water in the tub, ((which it would normally float)). But if you open the system to top it off. the leak will restart until the product finds that hole a second time.

As long as the hole is a pin hole. and not a crack.. these products will work. Though the use of them might shorten the lifespan of the water pump.

[avguy]

A lot of good info posted already, but I'll give you one more opinion (and it's JMHO). Case 1 would be a vehicle that was way past prime, and had multiple things going on, especially lots of rust. If you don't think it's worth all the required repairs, and just want to get whatever you can before scraping it, then why not try Bars, pepper, or whatever else you prefer. Like the guys said, it's sometimes surprising how long this can "fix" the problem. But OTOH if the vehicle is somehting you want to get multiple years from, then scrape up the required $$ ($ if you DIY), and make the proper repair. And for the ones in the grey area in between these 2 cases, just go with you best call.

[Thymeclock]

Do you smell the sweet odor of antifreeze when you have the heater on in the car? If you do, then the leak is in the heater core.

Since removal of the heater core is a PITA on most cars, using a stop leak product is worth a try. I've had cases where Bars Leaks will work, but it makes your coolant look brown and ugly.

As mentioned, another old standby is to add ground pepper to the radiator, same as you use in the kitchen. Believe it or not, it can build up around a small leak and seal it.

[rickr84]

keep in mind though as well, that "pressure" products like bars leak, just clog the hole because of the pressure in the system. kind of like putting a rubber ball in the drain of the tub. the pressure of the water system holds the ball tight. keeping the water in the tub, ((which it would normally float)). But if you open the system to top it off. the leak will restart until the product finds that hole a second time.

As long as the hole is a pin hole. and not a crack.. these products will work. Though the use of them might shorten the lifespan of the water pump.

A few of the products I used seem to be actual 'sealers' that get stuff into the crack by the pressure, and then if you follow directions you drain the coolant, and allow them to cure. The 'ball stuffed into the hole' analogy is still valid, except that I honestly dont think the leak will restart by just removing pressure. If I was shopping at the store today, Id look for one that seams to dry and cure in the crack, instead of stuffing the crack with fibers. I know both exist.

[NYChevoo]

You know I have to say I've used Bars Leaks a few times and it worked great. My wife developed a slight leak between the block and the head of her 4.0L 6cyl Jeep Grand Cherokee around 100K miles and I used the Bars Leak silver seal and it held up until 178K when we sold the Jeep. The leak was slightly dripping down on the outside of the block. Have to say no complaints here with Bars Leak products. Again not the proper way to handle the situation but did not have the money at the time to do a complete head job.