Used Bars Stop Leak Pellets, Leak Gone AF Brown

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Before I start, I had a BAD coolant leak (replacing 1 gallon of Antifreeze every week). So I used the bars stop leak product in this link: http://www.barsproducts.com/PLT11.htm and the leak is completely gone, but, I have been running my car very little in the past few weeks due to other issues. My antifreeze is BROWN, like rust/dirt/sewage BROWN! It was green before this treatment. Should I flush out my cooling system and put in a 50/50 mixture of the good old green stuff and distilled water, or just keep running the car like it is? The history of this car is on the bottom (all maintanence done by me personally).

'93 ES300
I replaced the radiatior 4 months ago with a brand new one
I drained/filled my cooling system with the green stuff (Walmart Supertech All Makes All Models) and Distilled Water (50/50 mixture of coolant/water)
The leak developed a few weeks ago. I dealt with it, but decided to try Bars Stop Leak pellets as it was recommended to me by an O'Reily's employee (He said that when customers buy that they don't come back with a radiator leak, also said it was VERY popular)
Now the leak is gone, but my antifreeze is NASTY!
From what I've read up, this should go away after awhile. It's been a few weeks and it STILL looks NASTY! What I'm thinking is maybe I should flush the system and add some of the Bars Tablets as PM. What are your suggestions?
 
The coolant in my '94 Grand Am with the 3.1L has been brown ever since I learned of the pellets several years ago. It has never cleared up. The leak dried up, and I don't worry about the color. I had a coolant analysis done a while back (uploaded to the Coolant Analysis subforum) and everything was good except the turbidity was out of whack (due to the pellets).
 
I've used Bar's stop leak on a couple of occasions in the fine powdered metallic formula and it's saved me from some expensive repairs. Once it was for a heater core leak and once for a oil/coolant cooler leak. I haven't noticed any problems down the road the two times I've used the product.
 
Originally Posted By: Rtstrider
So in other words...Deal with it?


Yep...don't let the color bother you. I've used it for years in many applications. If you flush the system and add fresh coolant, just add another bottle of the pellets. You would think that the pellets would 'gum up' the entire cooling system, but they don't. Its always worked for me.
 
Originally Posted By: NCGuy68
Originally Posted By: Rtstrider
So in other words...Deal with it?


Yep...don't let the color bother you. I've used it for years in many applications. If you flush the system and add fresh coolant, just add another bottle of the pellets. You would think that the pellets would 'gum up' the entire cooling system, but they don't. Its always worked for me.


I used some several years ago because of a coolant smell in the cab of my truck (it fixed it). I didn't replaces the pellets when I flushed the system and changed the fluid a couple of years later and no leak. I was impressed.

That's only a statistical sample of 1, but no harm in someone else trying.
 
Yup, have had great success using the golden powder type of Bar's found at Walmart (except for the metallic style, I think the ingredients are all the same in the others - the pellets - the golden powder - the liquid kind). And yup, the coolant is a nasty brown crud looking stuff, but the inside of the rad and interior of the cooling system still looks squeaky clean.
 
I'm trying the Prestone Super Radiator Stop leak for my Ranger with a slight interior coolant leak (along with Low Tox). The stuff looks like someone's lost lunch
LOL.gif
, but I hope it works.
 
HMMMM... I've used the powder in the past (1995 Chevy PU... even specifically says to add the GM version during a drain and fill in the owners manual), and have yet to see it turn coolant any other color. The WM all makes and models (a dex clone BTW) and conventional green stayed their original colors. Perhaps there is oxidation going on from the leak in the above cases?
 
I have also had very good success with Bar's Stop leak products.
Sometimes this stuff can have particles float, and the "floaties" will tend to rise to the top, and come out the radiator cap neck.....into the overflow bottle and float in there.
Looks nasty when you look down into it, but the coolant is fine.
 
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