Stop Leak Question

[adsm08]

Thanks all, I think I'll try Bar's Leak for now. Should I get the bottle stuff or the tablets?

(FWIW, my parents both drive Cadillac Northstars and GM says to put Bar's Leak tablets or their own in the radiator when you change the coolant as standard procedure.)

FWIW GM also says to use that stuff when you do the head gaskets.

Oh, and if you don't, coolant pisses out down the side of the block. Not even kidding. Seen it with my own two eyes. Called our Chevy store, asked them, and they said "Did you put the stop leak tabs in?"

 

[MountainMike]

I recommend Wynn's stop leak. It's a liquid that works awesome.

 

[JohnnyO]

FWIW GM also says to use that stuff when you do the head gaskets.

Oh, and if you don't, coolant pisses out down the side of the block. Not even kidding. Seen it with my own two eyes. Called our Chevy store, asked them, and they said "Did you put the stop leak tabs in?"

And some people wonder why GM went bankrupt. [/OT]

 

[Hahnsb2]

I used this once before in my Mustang and it was absolute crap. It all settled in my water pump and was blocking the water from flowing as it should. Like I said above, I talked to several people, Ford dealer included, who said Bars is used from the factory. I used it and it worked great.

And I've heard the same bullshit about bars leak too. It isn't clogging shit except the leak, it's been in there for 20000 miles.

 

[adsm08]

The people that have problems with stop leak are, as with everything else, usually the ones who use it wrong.

Putting the stuff for orange coolant in green coolant will gum up the whole system.

Putting anything it with the engine cold and off will gum stuff up too because it settles instead of mixing. Engine hot and running, coolant gets topped off right after adding the stuff, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Johnny, in your case since its the heater core, I'd also have the heat running full blast when you do this. Some newer cars won't circulate hot water through the core unless the heater is turned on.

 

[Psychopete]

Engine hot and running, coolant gets topped off right after adding the stuff, and you shouldn't have any problems.

Are you starting it up empty then adding coolant as the engine is warming or something? Opening the cap when the engine is hot and running doesn't seem like such a great idea to me...

 

[MountainMike]

Are you starting it up empty then adding coolant as the engine is warming or something? Opening the cap when the engine is hot and running doesn't seem like such a great idea to me...

Nope, just run it from cold with the rad cap open. Not the most efficient for cooling but it's the best way to do it to avoid air bubbles.

 

[adsm08]

Are you starting it up empty then adding coolant as the engine is warming or something? Opening the cap when the engine is hot and running doesn't seem like such a great idea to me...

Nope, just run it from cold with the rad cap open. Not the most efficient for cooling but it's the best way to do it to avoid air bubbles.

^This^ is generally how I do it.

I have however almost perfected (ish) a method of popping the rad cap open with the engine hot and not getting hot coolant all over myself.

I call it "being careful".

 

[JohnnyO]

Got a bottle of Bar's Leak today. Directions say to put it in cold then run the engine for 15 to 30 minutes, which I will do with the heater on.
I asked on the Jeep board too, everyone is telling me not to use it and put in a new heater core, but damn, every thread on that shows the entire dash and the steering column out.
Screw that. I'm planning on putting A/C in it next year anyway (www.jeepair.com) so I'll have my bud put a heater core in when it's at his shop for the A/C instead of taking it apart twice.

 

[Bar's Tech Support]

JohnnyO,

Hey this is Bar's Tech Support. We manufacture Bar's Leaks & Rislone in the USA. Saw this thread and wanted to chime in. For the daughters Jeep heater core leak you can certainly use the Bar's Leaks Radiator Stop Leak liquid form. It is basically the same as the Tablets PN HDC, the same ones used on the assembly lines of the major OE's for many years that some of the guys have mentioned in this forum. Let us know if all worked out and if you have any other questions you can always reach us on our website www.barsleaks.com . We'll be pleased to answer all questions / concerns.

 

[JohnnyO]

Thank you for weighing in. I put a bottle of liquid Bar's Leak in last week. You can still smell antifreeze a little bit but it is much better than it was. Only put in a half bottle according to the directions since it is a 4 cylinder.

 

[Ranger Dave (B25)]

Thank you for weighing in. I put a bottle of liquid Bar's Leak in last week. You can still smell antifreeze a little bit but it is much better than it was.

Johnny, you might be smelling what leaked into the housing and condensed. Might take a while for it to finally dry out and stop giving off an odor.

 

[JohnnyO]

Johnny, you might be smelling what leaked into the housing and condensed. Might take a while for it to finally dry out and stop giving off an odor.

Oh okay, thanks. I didn't think of that.

 

[Mark_88]

I used the same stuff and it worked great...but I used a whole bottle and my anti-freeze was white for about two weeks...until I had to top it up with some green antifreeze...

Which reminds me...I better get another tester and check what it's rated for...already dipping below freezing...so I can't keep my beer in my truck any more...

 

[MountainMike]

That's a thing people overlook is what their coolant is set for. Mine was down at -35 but smelled something fierce so I put in some 50/50 when I got my block heater done. Should be down to -40ish now.