Small Coolant Leak

[Rearanger]

Did the front cover several thousand miles ago and now it's developed a weep leak on the passenger side of the cover. I can go many miles with little drop in reservoir level so for now just topping up once in a while. I tried a little added torque to the two bolts on that side but it did not make a difference. I suspect a failed gasket or maybe a bolt thread seal.

It may be best option to just live with it, but I was wondering if anyone here has experience with a coolant system leak seal product that won't lead to other problems.

 

[Dirtman]

The issue would be if its also leaking internally, aka into the oil...

 

[Rearanger]

There's no indication of coolant getting into the oil.

 

[Rearanger]

Going to try the Bars Leaks tablets after contacting them.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Going to try the Bars Leaks tablets after contacting them.

Id recommend buying another engine in advance, youre going to need it after using the stuff.

 

[Dirtman]

Going to try the Bars Leaks tablets after contacting them.

Might as well just set the engine on fire...

 

[Rearanger]

Id recommend buying another engine in advance, youre going to need it after using the stuff.

Is that what you had to do, or is this the non mechanic advice worth what I paid.

 

[Rearanger]

Might as well just set the engine on fire...

Is that from personal experience?

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

Is that what you had to do, or is this the non mechanic advice worth what I paid.

Go right ahead, use all the bars you can find. Just one less 3.0 on the road, so I'm happier for it.

 

[Dirtman]

A leak is a small external hole in the system. Ask yourself how you can pour something into the cooling system to plug that hole, without also plugging all the million other necessary internal holes in the system, and gumming up the bearings in the water pump, jamming up the thermostat, and destroying the ect sensor while it's at it.

And after all that, it's assuming some tablets can actually fix what it was intended to anyway which is a system full of 220 degree liquid held under pressure.

That crap was made for used car dealers to get junk off their lot. It will screw your cooling system. That's not opinion, it's science.

 

[Rearanger]

I've done some more research of actual use. Seems GM has used these tablets and found more was not better. They recommend 1 tablet per 7 quarts of coolant. It also says tablets should be used in a clean system, or one that's been flushed. If the system has crud in it that is already blocking/inhibiting passages then it stands to reason the stop leak will have a better chance to restrict those passages as well as the target leak. My system is kept pristine.

Today I again inspected how much has leaked and found after a run yesterday NO wet seepage was detected at the previous spot, even on a cold engine, which has been the observation. I filled to my marked line, which took very little coolant. For now I'm going to hold off the stop leak and document how much and how long for coolant loss. Stop leak is not my desired solve, but the amount of work required to fix a small seepage leak does not justify major overhaul.

That's not opinion, it's science.

Scientific proof involves evidence - not seen any yet.

 

[PetroleumJunkie412]

You asked for advice. We gave advice.

You asked if there was a system leak seal that worked. The only one that truly works is fixing the leak, i.e. removing your front cover and re-sealing, or replacing a warped cover, etc.

Barrs is a bandaid not designed to be used as a permanent fix. A permanent fix is fixing the problem. Barrs is an additive designed to clot within coolant passages. Your call if you want to use it, but the consensus here is that youre playing with fire that will eventually burn you.

Its your choice. We can't stop you.






My choice is to discontinue helping you.

I'm usually nice to people and try my best to help others, even going as far as to respond to the occasional 3am text from others on here chasing the dream with their vehicles.

I'm no longer nice to you, im not willing to help you

Maybe you should examine why that has happened.

 

[Rearanger]

You asked for advice. We gave advice.

Actually I asked for "experience" with system leak seal.

 

[Guanfy]

Question. Have you tried to wrap the bolts you torqued in teflon tape? Some of those bolts do also seal so if they are not wrapped or covered in pipe dope they can cause a leak.

 

[Rearanger]

Question. Have you tried to wrap the bolts you torqued in teflon tape? Some of those bolts do also seal so if they are not wrapped or covered in pipe dope they can cause a leak.

When I did the cover/WP I used Permatex High Performance Thread sealant as per the FSM, even doing more bolts than it spec's as it was hard to tell which breached the water passage.. I have used Permatex many times before with unfailing results. I did not consider T tape. You may be right that it is a bolt thread leaking and not a gasket - so maybe removing a couple bolts in the area of the leak and redoing them with T tape. That I will seriously consider. Thanks.

I did a tractor WP several years ago and had a couple bolt holes coated with Permatex leak just after re-install - I re-torqued a little and over a short time the leak quit, it's still not leaking. I figured the pressure compressed the sealant and also the sealant cured more over time.