Bar's Leak? looking for a possible solution.

[houstonh]

Any opinions here. Any good/bad stories?
Some claim it can work miracles.. some claim it does nothing.

Story:
I am slowly chewing up some coolant with no signs of a leak and a slightly sweet smelling exhaust.

I pulled plugs and they all look the same. Did a compression check and saw no dead give aways.

Oil looks clean.. coolant looks to be clean.

I am thinking a small crack in the head or something else very slight.

the car easily has 170K on the ticker, and the previous owner(s) were apparently idiots.

I really don't feel like pulling the head and the car drives fairly well as is.

[jlevie]

A stop-leak product might provide temporary relief from a head or head gasket problem at the expense of throughly gunking up the rest of the cooling system. The cure for the damage a stop-leak product does is worse than the disease. So it is a bad idea.

The two most common causes of leaks that aren't easy to spot are the water pump and heater core. might be a good idea to check those.

[houstonh]

thanks.. I have checked both. and sad to say no dice. Although it would have been likely as they were both replaced recently. I don't see any leaks.


Would the white smoke in the exhaust be terribly obvious? I really dont see any I just smell "something" and it "seems" humid.

[StereoInstaller1]

If you are gonna use "head gasket in a can", get the stuff from your local GM dealer.

[rThor432]

I'm sure everyone else has said this, but I didnt read through the thread. Bar's Stop Leak is terrible for your cooling system. I recently had to repair the cooling system on an '01 E46 that had the gunk all through the system. It had hardened in the heater core and the car had no heat at all. I was using compressed air and brake cleaner for a couple hours to blow chunks out of the system. The radiator and several of the smaller hoses (that run by the block) were completely stopped up.

[houstonh]

seriously? To me it sounds like someone put the "non antifreeze friendly" stuff in with some antifreeze.

Anyone had any good experiences? I am really hoping to not have to pull the head :(

[StereoInstaller1]

Seriously, I have used the GM "Block Sealant" on my cars for years, M20s included, with absolutely no issues.

Great stuff, will not clog anything is used properly.

[BeamerDreamer]

i had the same experience recently.
i could see where was some 'old' seeping around some of the hoses but there was nothing wet.
but when i heated up the car, to get the system pressurized, then shut it off i could see some fresh green antifreeze on the radiator.
[in the old days, on old american cars, i would just pressure test the cooling system at high psi. if there was a leak the guage would drop and also you could see a leak.
a bad head gasket could also be diagnosed by using a pressure tester.]
it was more of only a slight discoloration when it was cold but it wasnt wet.
i guess it evaporated on the hot radiator during the cool down and wasnt showing any wetness.
i would have a strong anti freeze smell, i guess, because it was getting sucked into the cooling fan and sent airborne.
i think i need a new radiator and i am wondering if a non oem hi flow one is better, i live in las vegas where it is hot....but thats another issue off topic.
just a thought, hope it helps.