The merits or otherwise of cooling system leak stop products
Discussion
BigNige said:
Any particular reason why?
Some of these things place themselves as quasi permanent fixes.
Depends how big the hole is, tbh. If it manages to seal the hole properly, it can be semi-permanent. Back when I was a teenager I had a Rover 620. The only part of that car's engine which was Rover was the cooling system, and it was properly sSome of these things place themselves as quasi permanent fixes.
t. The radiator is not particularly well protected by the front grille, and is easily damaged from road debris. By the time I got it, the radiator was like a sieve. It got to the stage where the coolant was about 50% Radweld, and it still sprayed water out when it felt like it. Good shed though.BigNige said:
Any particular reason why?
Some of these things place themselves as quasi permanent fixes.
Just through my own experience really.Some of these things place themselves as quasi permanent fixes.
I've sealed leaking radiators with them when attending broken down vehicles and always advise it to be only a temporary repair.
If the customer doesn't replace the leaking component straight away they start leaking again soon after, normally within 3 months (and I don't think it's advisable to put more than one rad seal in a cooling system)
I used it in an emergency about 3 weeks ago. Ordered a new rad and fitted it and had horrendous trouble bleeding it afterwards. Turns out it has bunged up my heater control valve and now I have no heating. Will probably end up more expensive than the radiator in the end.
I used K-seal, if it makes any difference.
I used K-seal, if it makes any difference.
BigNige said:
Like Bars or Radweld?
What is the swarms opinion on them in modern engines?
Any truth in the rumour that one big manufacturer ( was it Jag? ) used to put a similar product in their cooling systems from new?What is the swarms opinion on them in modern engines?
ETA ( it was Jag )
Jag handbook refuted said:
Do not, under any circumstances, add Barrs Leaks with a coolant change as the owner's manual instructs you. This stuff is also known as 'Stuck Heads' and will make the removal of the head much more difficult (and costly). In addition, it is known to clog the radiator and thermostat in the XJ6, causing it to lose much of it's desperately needed cooling capacity. It is thought by some that this stuff can also contribute to the above-mentioned stud corrosion. While Barrs Leaks may work fine in other engine designs, it really isn't compatible with the XJ. The factory simply made a mistake. If it has been added to your XJ, the maker of Barrs Leaks also makes a flush to remove the stuff from the system.
Edited by s m on Monday 21st May 08:34
s m said:
Any truth in the rumour that one big manufacturer ( was it Jag? ) used to put a similar product in their cooling systems from new?
...and also some manufacturers (who by self confession make the best cars in the world) used to put resistors on the back of temperature gauges so they didn't read so high, and 'alarm' owners!
Back on topic...
Dr Interceptor said:
s m said:
Any truth in the rumour that one big manufacturer ( was it Jag? ) used to put a similar product in their cooling systems from new?
...and also some manufacturers (who by self confession make the best cars in the world) used to put resistors on the back of temperature gauges so they didn't read so high, and 'alarm' owners!
Back on topic...
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