I've never used any on any thing but does it work, last and plug other things up that don't need/want plugged up? What, if any, is the best to use? Leaks where the fins connect to the tank, very slowly? Not on car pictured, standard cooling system on a everyday car.
I'd never use that stuff on anything that was not already on its last legs. it fills up the cooling system with crap, hoping that some of the crap stops the leak. if your leak is on the radiator use something else. don't they make some sort of stuff in a tube you can put on your radiator to stop leaks?
I've heard of guys using pepper, eggs and even soap. I would imagine those would be a little easier to "flush" out your system.
I'd stay away from bars leak. I would try some "iron-tite". Shouldn't plug up anything. Follow directions on bottle.
That's what I use.^^^ But it won't stop niagra falls. If its the right kind of radiator a good 2 part epoxy cement will cure it.
49ratfink X2. I wouldn't use any stop leak. It gets behind freeze plugs, heater cores and into other places you don't want it. My Grandpa said in the old days they used horse shit to stop leaks as the oats expanded. Gary
Just pull it out and take it to a good radiator shop. Last time I did this about 6 years ago it cost me less than 50 bucks to have cleaned, repaired, tested and the even painted it!
Only used the stop leak products as a last ditch effort to get home,I have also used black pepper in my old 40 sedan many years ago. If you have a leak take it to a radiator shop,these snake oil fixes are just temporary .HRP
Taking it in for repairs is the best, but when I was wrenchin on trucks way back when we used AlumASeal all the time. The trick to using this stuff is to mix it in about a quart of warm water, stir well and pour into radiator once well mixed...don't just dump in straight out of package. Used this stuff on many car radiators as well with no issues what so ever.
I have had good luck with the powdered aluminum stuff. Don't dump it in the radiator in one glob, shake it in like you are shaking pepper on a steak, so it mixes with the water in the radiator.
yep the little peat tablets that Gm sells that seal up any small leak . stop leak sells them too , follow the directions as most people drop them in whole your supposed to crush them up , but its a temp fix on a rad , if its leaking at the tank the joint is corroded and needs to be resoldered or the tubes are gone .
DIKE. I can't remember who makes it, but comes in a pint or so jug. Approved by Cat, Cummins, and Detroit. It doesn't junk up your engine like Bars Leak or stop leak of that type. I have used it for years in truck diesels without any problems.
Stop leak is a get you home so you can fix it right, thing. Then it would be the AlumASeal. Using the stuff on an actual rad leak is a temporary fix at best. Pull the rad and have it fixed. Gene
all depends on how desperate you are. I've used Alumaseal with good results and it lasted for years. I've found a pin hole in a tube and pinched it off with needle nose, completely removed a bad tube and soldered up the holes in the tank and even used body filler. Filler didn't last long but long enough to get a better fix.
I agree. The bulk of the Bars goop winds up in the heater core. If you're ever taken one out after that, it is quite heavy. The silver stuff I now see in little plastic bags, it used to be in small cardboard tubes.
The Bars Leak plant is just a couple of miles from my house. Friends work there. They produce about 90% of the radiator products sold in the US. Sold under many different brands, but produced at this facility. GM is their largest customer.. Bought an old, rust free, Dodge pickup that someone brought up from S Carolina. Not enuff antifreeze in the system and Michigan cold cracked the block and pushed out two soft plugs.. Got the truck dirt cheap. Installed two rubber soft plugs and two cans of Bars Leak.. Been driving it for years.. Had to reverse flush the heater core the first winter.. No problems since tho.
There are a couple of different styles of leak stopper stuff. One style is made from particles of something and you can see it floating around in the coolant...which makes me weary of it plugging up heater cores etc. The other style is a liquid that stays liquid until it is exposed to air at a leak point. It jells and hardens then apparently. My T big block rad was weeping when I bought the car. When the car was driven you could notice the top of the rad dancing back and forth a bit while the bottom was solid...so obviously this "dance" was killing the tube joints and creating the weeps. Not wanting to spend over a $1,000.00 plus shipping on a new BB rad I decided to stop the dancing with an angle iron rad brace I made to fit...diagonally braced with 1/2" strap behind the radiator itself. Hardly noticeable, and with some rubber sandwiched between the rad and the brace there is no movement of the upper tank at all. Rad still weeped of course... I used one bottle (bought 2) of the liquid style leak stopper and within a 1/2 hour the weep was just a bit of wetness on either side of the rad. After 4 good runs even that was gone. That was 2 years ago and not so much as a bit of dampness has returned. I thought that $$$ rad was toast but gave this a last ditch try and it blew me away. I think the reason it worked well was I cured the underlying problem before using the leak stopper stuff. Obviously, if the rad was still working back and forth the issue with leaks would just get worse and worse. Leak stopper isn't structural after all... Pretty impressed with that liquid stuff!
The Jalopy Journal
