Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 11:18:05 -0800
Reply-To: jon <jon@KENNEKE.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: jon <jon@KENNEKE.COM>
Subject: Re: Bar's Leak (Was: My 2 cents on head leaks and rubber studs)
In-Reply-To: <vanagon%2007021613002157@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
Disclaimer: Bar's leak is not the "proper" way to fix your car.
However....
I have used it (meaning the radiator stop leak product aka ginger root)
several (many?) times, and it has always worked. Ok, no flames, but here
are my embarassing stories that show how lazy I am: ;)
1) In my '83 diesel Vanagon with original radiator, I notice a small leak.
So, in goes Bars Leak, and the leak goes away. Two years later, as I
pulled into the driveway, the radiator pucked it's entire load of coolant
through an amazing large hole. I had forgot about "fixing" the leak. The
radiator was amazingly rotted. When I replaced it, I could pretty much
poke my finger right through it.
2) My wife's 86 waterleaker was blowing a small amount of coolant out the
exhaust when it was real cold (here, that means 32 F). Added bar's leak,
and problem stopped. It got real real cold (25 F), and no coolant leak.
That engine does not have too many good mile left on it (compression is
110 on one cylinder), so we are going to drive it until either it dies,
and start leaking too much. It leaks nothing right now (no oil, no water),
and runs like a top.
So, there ya go.
Jon
On Fri, 16 Feb 2007, Geza Polony wrote:
> OK, purists: read no further.
>
> Bar's Leak either (a) does nothing or (b) clogs up your radiator, heater
> core, etc.
>
> However, I've had good luck with Bar's Leak over many years, and am
> considering running it in my 1.9. All right, jump all over me, but here's my
> reasoning. It costs ten bucks and, in my experience, works.
>
> What I'm planning to do, when I finally get around to replacing my water
> pump, is run the Bar's Leak Head Gasket repair in the system without the
> radiator connected, ie. pinch off the hoses after putting the BL in. You
> have to drain out all the coolant to use this stuff, otherwise muchos
> problemos. It's supposed to sit in there a while, then you drain and refill
> with antifreeze.
>
> Intuitively, you would think that BL clogs up "those tiny little passages"
> here and there, as if you're pouring in tile adhesive. However, intuition
> also tells us the earth is flat. If it really clogged up the pores, BL would
> have been out of business years ago, and the major automakers would not be
> putting it, or versions of it, in all their new cars.
>
> Anybody tried what I'm talking about--and dare to come out of the closet
> about it?
>
> I'm saying this because these leaking heads are such a prevalent problem on
> the WBX's, and feel that if it's just a seal, who cares what the seal is
> made of, as long as it--well, it seals.
>
> Nicht?
>
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