Need Opinions On Stop Leak

[keesue]

After reading this, I decided to give the product a try. Problem: a very small leak/drip from my cam gear seal which I intend to change at the cam belt interval. I ordered the product from my car specialist retailer, IPD for Volvos, who are rather picky about such things, and poured it in with an oil change. I'm about 400 miles into it and I now have virtually no leak. It has reduced to a sheen on the water pump, whereas before it puddled. A que-tip wipe now comes up with about a drop whereas before it was fives times as much. I suspect within this next tank, it should stop altogether. This was with a 50/50 mix of city and highway miles.

Seems to be a good product to delay an expensive repair.

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Originally Posted By: keesue
After reading this, I decided to give the product a try. Problem: a very small leak/drip from my cam gear seal which I intend to change at the cam belt interval. I ordered the product from my car specialist retailer, IPD for Volvos, who are rather picky about such things, and poured it in with an oil change. I'm about 400 miles into it and I now have virtually no leak. It has reduced to a sheen on the water pump, whereas before it puddled. A que-tip wipe now comes up with about a drop whereas before it was fives times as much. I suspect within this next tank, it should stop altogether. This was with a 50/50 mix of city and highway miles.

Seems to be a good product to delay an expensive repair.

Which product are you referring to?

 

[keesue]

The lubro Moly stop leak product: Motor Oil Saver. The one you used.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Ok, let me say 1st that I know miracle in a can products seldom work or work like/as well as advertised. I also know the best course of action is to ID the problem and actually fix it. Ok, now that we have that out of the way...

My Sister has a 2005 Chevy Impala w/ the 3.4L( 130K )that is consuming oil and also appears to be leaking some( not on ground but you smell it burning after driving it ). It isn't super bad but I would like to try and see if one of these mircale in a can formulas will help( not fix = help ).

I have her using MaxLife in it now and that helped some with the consumption but the leak started after using it so I think it ate away some crud that was blocking a leak. Before it gets worse I would like to see if a pour in product might help slow the progression.

This is a car she helped her daughter buy who then decided she didn't want it anymore after running the miles through the roof and just dumped it on my Sister, refusing to pay any longer

. My neice abused the snot out of it and really neglected it. I got it cleaned up and did the work it needed so it has been dependable for my Sister over these last 2 years but I want to get ahead of this oil issue if I can cheap and easy.

When my no good rotten neice did this it forced my Sister to sell her low miles, immaculate, 06 Impala as she couldn't afford both. She needs to keep this car for approx another year as she is disabled and on a very limited income. It has to last a year before she can afford a new car and preferably without her having to do any major work. I really don't want to get into the expense of replaing gaskets if it can be avoided.

What product would you all suggest to see if they will help with this? Lucas, M0S2, STP, etc...

Thanks.


Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
UPDATE:

Just got around to having the oil changed in my Sister's car yesterday. I ordered the Motor Oil Saver and added it to the oil after the OC. I am curious to see if it will eliminate or reduce the oil burning smell? Have to get some miles on so it has time to work...

EDIT - FWIW I am running Kendall HM in her car this go round. Had been running Maxlife.


Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
UPDATE:

Ok, it has been a couple days now and about 200 miles. The burning oil smell is not gone but it is drastically reduced. Either it is still leaking a little or it is still burning off what had leaked previously. The smell is definitely a lot less severe though. It has made some difference at least. Hopefully when it gets up near the 500 miles the mfg says it takes to work completely it will stop the leak altogether.


Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
Seeing as this was MY thread(

)I guess I should update how my Sister's car is doing with the Auto-RX...

2 bottles of ARX has been in now for a couple weeks and about 600+ miles. The oil smell in the exhaust has diminished quite a bit. You have to be outside now to smell it or sitting for a long time idling for any smell to come inside. It is definitely better and not anywhere near as bad outside.

The engine hasn't run rough or anything and no CEL's like they said may happen. I do hear a "little" engine noise now( clattering at idle )as they talked of but I am doing my best to ignore it( not easy )as it is a normal possibility. If it gets much worse I am changing the filter early otherwise I will change the oil filter at 1000 miles p/ directions then do an OC at 2000( from original OC ).

In full disclosure. Right around the same time we did the OC the fuel pressure regulator was replaced. It was leaking fuel onto the engine. It was the cause of the fuel smell it had and may have contributed to the strong chemical/oil smell( dissolving crud on the block ). Now that it is fixed and not leaking onto the block it may be part of why the oil/chemical smell is so much less?

All in all so far the ARX does not seem to have hurt and may have helped. It definitely doesn't smell as bad anymore that is for 100% sure. Oil level has dropped less than normal as well to this point.


Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
UPDATE:

Finally reached 1000 miles and had the filter changed today and then topped off with more GTX. I didn't get to check the filter to see if it felt extra heavy or not? No CEL's or engine noise though so all seems to be going ok.

There is no question the oil burning smell has dramatically been reduced. The ARX does seem to be working at least to a degree. Now another 1000 miles and then I need to do an OC and we will see from there if it starts using oil again and/or smelling badly?


Figured I would update this thread seeing as I am the OP. It sort of was taken over by others(

)but I wanted to bring it back to the original topic and update how things went. All the quotes above are given to show what I have done so there is no need go back and look for it all...

I just finished up the rinse phase of the Auto-RX in my Sister's Impala so we are done with the treatment. Initially after changing the oil after the cleaning phase the oil smell all but vanished and I was thinking it did the job. I was disappointed though when over the last few hundred miles it started to stink again( ie; burning oil ). It wasn't as bad as it had been but it was noticeable once more. However, after changing the oil the smell is gone once again.

I am assuming here that the oil sheared down or something similar over time which let it leak past seals/rings/etc... easier which is why the burning oil smell returned. It isn't fuel or coolant leaking into it that is thinning it as I keep an eye on that. Now that fresh oil is in there and it is thicker it doesn't consume as much and thus it doesn't smell. I also bumped it from 5W30 to 10W30( Havoline )to help on startup as the smell always seemed worse after starting.

I do believe the Auto-RX did a good job cleaning the engine. The mechanic said the oil was absolutely pitch black and disgusting plus looking inside the fill hole it looks much cleaner in there( what I can see ). I had also noticed the engine was running a little rough, and was clattering just a little, as the mfg said it might as we neared the change point. So I do think it cleaned out a lot of crud in this neglected engine.

Following the oil change the engine is running better than it has since my Sister got stuck with the car. It is much improved. Maybe it cleaned out the ring area and compression has been improved or something? Whatever it did it appears to be all positive.

I actually drove my Sister to a wedding last Friday. Filled up before we left, added a bottle of Techron Plus, then hit the higwhay for the 90 mile trip. Got 36.6 MPG average for the round trip which is outstanding for this vehicle!! 187 miles / 5.1 gallons = 36.6 MPG

.

The car ran absolutely great on the trip. Smooth, quiet, and responsive. Far better than I would expect for such a neglected vehicle with 130K on it. There was practically no oil smell at all either and not even after 90 miles on the highway and then getting out when parked. Just a normal hot smell any car would have. Just a faint oil smell whiff now and then and that is it.

So, so far so good. It appears the Auto-RX did help. I will probably go with short OCI's on this vehicle of about 1500 miles just to be safe. Seeing as I am using cheap conventional and cheap filters( AC Delco = $3.99 )it isn't very expensive.

I will be curious to see if the smell comes back again after the oil has been in there a while? 2X's now where it has basically vanished with an OC and then come back 700-800 miles later. Time will tell.

FWIW

 

[BlueOvalFitter]

Back in the day when AutoRX was the hottest thing on BITOG I was banned/suspended for posting negative replies about it.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: BlueOvalFitter
Back in the day when AutoRX was the hottest thing on BITOG I was banned/suspended for posting negative replies about it.

I remember how controversial it was here a few years ago. I ignore that infantile stuff though and use a product myself to see if it works or not vs listening to the sheeple. This is the 1st use of it by me and it appears to have worked as advertised.

 

[Trav]

What happened Frank the leak came back or what?

 

[MolaKule]

I can tell you what I used and that did not work.

BAR'S LEAKS.

1999 S-10 4.3L V6.

Leak was coming from the timing chain cover near the crankshaft sensor, so we can call the sealing material a Gasket instead of a Seal.

However, here are the claims:

Quote:
* Keeps engine seals Soft and Pliable (doesn't apply here).
* Helps stop leaks due to drying, hardening, or shrinkage of engine oil seals and "gaskets."


I removed the old oil with the BAR'S LEAKS, cleaned with brake cleaner and dried off the area surrounding the Gasket.

I then applied a Black RTV sealant around the whole gasket.

No Leak.

Being another great idea from GM

, they used a composite timing chain cover with an integral gasket system, instead of a steel timing chain cover with a proper gasket.

GM's fix is a removal of the Timing Chain Cover with a replacement unit at a total cost of $1,000.00, which includes labor.

My fix cost me $8.97.

Could it have conditioned a valve stem seal or shaft seal?

Quite possibly, but it did not work in this application.

 

[babbittd]

Originally Posted By: cheesepuffs
I didn't even bother reading through this whole thread, but I wanna say that I used my first stop leak product ever - Bar's Leaks Transmission Stop Leak Concentrate - about three weeks ago because the front seal of my transmission appeared to be seeping and I could literally watch the oil slowly drip onto my driveway like a leaky faucet. Having it fixed would have costed too much money for my old truck, so I paid about five dollars for the stop leak and gave it a shot.

Fluid level wasn't as low as I thought it would be so I only got about half the recommended amount in the tranny. Because of that (plus my existing skepticism about "snake oil" as it is) I thought it would do absolutely nothing. With the recommended amount the back of the bottle said it'd work in 300 miles or three days. To my amazement I looked under my driveway after half a week and there were NO fresh oil spots. Rain has washed away much of the previous spots and the fresh spots used to stand out like a sore thumb. I've even check under my truck in parking lots after I'm done shopping and there's nothing. It actually worked and stopped my transmission leak. I'm genuinely shocked but very happy about it.

My advice? Try a stop leak product. I'd use a Bar's Leaks product again in a heartbeat because I've had a great experience with them. It might not do a thing, but it also might turn out to be that magic five dollar fix like it did for me. I'm extremely glad that I gave it a shot and stop leak products are no longer just [censored] to me.


There appears to be a slow leak from the transmission pan in my Taurus. It's not leaking enough that I've had to add fluid yet, but it's enough to noticeably stain the driveway (and I rent). So I poured a bottle of Bar's Transmission Stop Leak Concentrate in today and will report back.

Now as for AT-205, I hesitated to post this, but I ordered a bottle from SummitRacing (lower cost shipping than Amazon) and poured it in my Taurus' crankcase on 8/9. However, we also replaced the PCV valve a couple of days later, so I'm not sure which of these actions played a larger role or if one had no role at all, but the slow drip that appeared to be coming out out of the oil pan (maybe it was the PCV hose) has stopped for now.