Stop-Leak like chemical?
Posted by Tonkatte@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 10 comments
A friend of mine once solved a coolant leak with a chemical he used in place of the coolant.
I don’t recall the chemical name, but I do remember he said the coolant system had to be repeatedly flushed with water until there was absolutely no trace of coolant in the system, because it would permanently harden on contact with the glycol and wreck the engine if any coolant was left in it.
I saw him use this to solve a coolant leak on an engine that was exhausting huge clouds of white smoke.
Anyone know what this chemical is?
Siege9929@reddit
When I worked at a parts store, all the heavy equipment companies used Blue Devil even just as a precaution.
tthompson225@reddit
I used stop leak on my truck with a cracked head, dont remember what brand but it was pretty expensive. Followed the directions and it actually worked great, drove the truck for like 2 years afterwards with no issues. Swapped the motor after it eventually developed a bad rear main leak at 305k miles.
Ghost17088@reddit
I used copper stop on my old Dakota. But I did that with a coolant leak that would have required pulling the engine to fix, and at the age and mileage, the truck wasn’t worth that much of my time. So I figured either it would fix the leak, or it would still be fucked and I would scrap it anyway. In other words, the only time you use a stop leak product is if the alternative is scrapping the truck.
SelfEjectingImposter@reddit
I bought a truck that someone had used stopleak in. It stopped the leak.
So well, that no coolant at all could pass through the radiator hose.
I ended up replacing everything the coolant touched. Not exaggerating, radiator, hoses, heater core, thermostat... engine... (yeah I could have cleaned it but among the other issues it had it made a better core return)
BurpVomit@reddit
Probably Bar's. I do not recommend it. It's a temporary fix that causes more troubles in the future.
https://barsleaks.com/product/liquid-aluminum-1186/
Tonkatte@reddit (OP)
Thanks for trying, but definitely not Bar’s. Bar’s gets mixed in with the coolant. Whatever my friend used, it can’t come into contact with coolant without hardening.
He emphasized this quite hard. Said someone he told about it mixed it with the coolant and the entire cooling system became one solid mass.
He was an old school Louisiana wrencher. I may have to try to track down his son. Not that I’m planning on using it, but I am damn curious. Never seen anything like it, and I’m no spring chicken either.
Ben_lurking@reddit
We've used chewing tobacco on the trail before.
Fearlessleader85@reddit
The only stopleak stuff that doesn't cause that much issue is the rat turds or sawdust pellets. They don't fully stop leaks, but drastically slow them down.
The Liquid Silver or whatever stopleak stuff will line your radiator and drastically reduce its efficiency.
Poil336@reddit
Snake oil
EarthOk2418@reddit
Agreed. The damaged caused by that stuff will almost certainly be more costly to fix than the original problem.