Bars Leak - Which one and Does it work?

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I did a search and was surprised this was not asked earlier.

Have an older 4 banger Accord. Runs well but has a minor coolant leak. Not from the radiator, water pump, or any visible hose. Probably a small bypass hose hard to access at rear under intake manifold. Not serious but annoying.

Never thought highly of Bars Leak but so many swear by it with no ill effects if used as directed.

Issue is: Which one?? Pellets, powder, liquid??
 
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Radiator stop leak tablets. If those don't work, time to fix it. The Bar's are the same as the GM tablets, but you get more for your money buying the Bar's.

Never used it, but reading good things about the Subaru cooling system conditioner. It's the same thing as Holt's Radweld made in England if I remember right. I may one day give it a shot if the need ever arises.
 
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I wacked the radiator in one of our old trucks with a wrench about 10 years ago and it started leaking. Put in a bottle of bar's leak and its been doing fine ever since..
 
Originally Posted By: BigD1
Radiator stop leak tablets. If those don't work, time to fix it. The Bar's are the same as the GM tablets, but you get more for your money buying the Bar's.

Never used it, but reading good things about the Subaru cooling system conditioner. It's the same thing as Holt's Radweld made in England if I remember right. I may one day give it a shot if the need ever arises.


I looked hard for those Bar's tablets but none of my parts places I go to had them. I called a GM Dealer, $5 for 6 tablets 10 grams each. Used them on a vehicle I know that has a slight drop in pressure. It fixed it.
 
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Yes they work good especially for annoying weeps. NAPA and O'Reilly's are the only shops that stock them in my area.

A hose could be problematic though because they are flexible.
 
It works just like the way a cut clots when blood hits air. I have managed small leaks with the liquid and pellets version. At worst it will slow down a leak.It remains in solution, so if you ever fix the leak, you just drain the coolant and flush till clear
 
The one in the bottle (pellets) may be nasty but it works. That stuff has been around forever and I can attest that it is effective in stopping everything from radiator leaks, porous castings, to head gasket leaks. I'm 67 and remember my uncle who ran a service station using it and I have used it, although not recently.
 
I always heard bad things about bars leak. I heard it had the tendency to plug up radiators...this came from a radiator repair shop. What was always recommended to me was silver seal. I seen farmers use it before they trade equipment in and when I used it. It always worked for me and never plugged up a radiator.
 
Go to harbor freight get the radiator pressure tester. Hook it up to your radiator and put 16 ish psi on it. With a flashlight find said leak
 
I have used Barsleaks in a number of vehicles with never a problem. No radiator or heater core problems at all. I like the tablets best but it is just my preference. I have twice seen where the competitor aluminum powder products have plugged heater cores.
I use a half dose of the tablets in my HHR as recommended by Bars and in my previous Mustang for maintenance.
I believe many perceived product problems are a result of poorly maintained coolant systems or holes too large to repair.
 
Originally Posted By: bullwinkle
The orangish-brown ginger root pellets, they seem to work the best. GM also sells them.


I don't know if GM still does it, but they used to pre fill new cars with the pellets to prevent leaks. It would freak out owners who thought their Dexcool was sludging.
 
Cadillac used Bars leaks for years. Works great and doesn't plug anything because it needs air to harden. Its just ground up ginger root or something like that. The Aluminum powder is junk and plugged up the radiator part way in my old Toyota. Enough so the fan clutch would never engage and it would get hot.
 
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