What cooling system sealer do you recommend?

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Motsiball

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Louisville KY
My cooling system is going through about a half gallon of anti-freeze every week. I thought it might be the head gasket but I had a guy do the Napa Block tester on my coolant reservoir and it did not turn colors. What additive would you suggest I add to the antifreeze to seal it? I am just wanting to try a couple quick fixes before I pull the heads. The same guy also told me that he thinks the gaskets that seal the intake are bad and that is how its probably leaking and burning off the coolant. None is ever on my garage floor and the catalytic converter is throwing a code. Click the link below to learn more about Napa Block tester.

https://www.napaonline.com/napa/en/p/BK_7001006/
 
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Put a coolant system pressure tester on it with a stethoscope. You can rent the tester from an auto parts store for free, and I bought my stethoscope from walmart for $8.

That will give you a more definite answer than dye. If the leak isn't obvious and spewing from somewhere, put the stethoscope on the intake manifold or head and listen for a leak.

The amount of damage you do to the engine, radiator, water pump, heater core with sealer is a total mess and hassle. It's literally cheaper (much cheaper) to keep putting coolant in the engine until you get around to fixing it correctly.
 
^^^^What DemoFly said. I have a radiator pressure tester....Most parts stores will loan you one. As for the stethoscope, do this later in the evening when it is quieter...A flashlight helps too.

Need more info. What kind of vehicle/engine?

An opinion..You need to do a used oil analysis and see what you have for potassium/sodium content.

What does your oil look like?

What kind of antifreeze do you have?

Use a black light in a darkened garage after the sun goes down. Prestone green glows green under blacklight....Dexcool glows orange...Power wash your engine before starting to look for leaks...

I don't recommend any "cooling system sealer." Find the leak and fix it. And why do you want to pull the heads when the block tester was negative?
 
Conklin's Dike. It will seal the leak while it's in the system, but once you drain & refill the cooling system, it's gone. IOW, it is truly a temporary sealer that won't clog things up.
 
Originally Posted By: Motsiball
I have a 2003 ford explorer 4.6L. I had a mechanic check my car out because I am burning a quart of oil every week. He looked into the valve cover showed me all the sludge that has built up in it.
 
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Put a coolant system pressure tester on it with a stethoscope. You can rent the tester from an auto parts store for free, and I bought my stethoscope from walmart for $8.

That will give you a more definite answer than dye. If the leak isn't obvious and spewing from somewhere, put the stethoscope on the intake manifold or head and listen for a leak.

The amount of damage you do to the engine, radiator, water pump, heater core with sealer is a total mess and hassle. It's literally cheaper (much cheaper) to keep putting coolant in the engine until you get around to fixing it correctly.
Agreed OR Just carry a couple gallons of water and top off as necessary. Its summertime, you can go a few months before risk of a freeze. The seal on the water pump let go. I did my 30 mile commute all week while I waited on a pump. Then, It was the wrong pump. Data base error. 2 weeks in the summer I commuted without incident. I just topped it off before driving with water. It used a 1/2 gallon each way. I would recommend the Bars Leaks fiber in brown sealer for a radiator or a heater core. It is water soluble until it gets air. Then it dries and sticks.Just like what happens when you cut yourself and the blood clots. I managed a heater core leak for several yrs using a 1/2 bottle every 6 months. You mostly don't want coolant in the oil. Until then, it is just a matter of keeping ahead of the leak.
grin2.gif
 
I like the idea of looking for the leak and fixing it. Be careful and persistent. You'll be surprised at how good you are with a stethoscope, some dye, rags and cleaning solution. Surprised is not the word your wife or mother will use for what you do to the clothes you're wearing.
 
Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Put a coolant system pressure tester on it with a stethoscope. You can rent the tester from an auto parts store for free, and I bought my stethoscope from walmart for $8.

That will give you a more definite answer than dye. If the leak isn't obvious and spewing from somewhere, put the stethoscope on the intake manifold or head and listen for a leak.

The amount of damage you do to the engine, radiator, water pump, heater core with sealer is a total mess and hassle. It's literally cheaper (much cheaper) to keep putting coolant in the engine until you get around to fixing it correctly.
We did the coolant system pressure tester but we didn't use a stethoscope.
 
Originally Posted By: Ihatetochangeoil
^^^^What DemoFly said. I have a radiator pressure tester....Most parts stores will loan you one. As for the stethoscope, do this later in the evening when it is quieter...A flashlight helps too.

Need more info. What kind of vehicle/engine?

An opinion..You need to do a used oil analysis and see what you have for potassium/sodium content.

What does your oil look like?

What kind of antifreeze do you have?

Use a black light in a darkened garage after the sun goes down. Prestone green glows green under blacklight....Dexcool glows orange...Power wash your engine before starting to look for leaks...

I don't recommend any "cooling system sealer." Find the leak and fix it. And why do you want to pull the heads when the block tester was negative?

As I noted above, we did the coolant system pressure tester but we didn't use a stethoscope and its a 2003 Ford Explorer 4x4 V8 4.6 liter. The oil looks normal. Its does not have that milky look to it like is was mixing with anti-freeze so that another reason why we don't think the head gasket is blown. I am using the traditional green anti-freeze.

I am only thinking of replacing the head gaskets as a last resort after I have exhausted all my options. The guy who did the Napa Block tester suggested that I just keep driving it until the problem gets worse and that way we will hopefully be able to find out exactly what the problem is. He said he thinks the problem is twofold. One the intake manifold gaskets are bad or the intake manifold is cracked. Secondly he thinks the oil burning might be PCV related since the engine is full of sludge. That is one reason why I replaced the PCV valve but think that maybe the PCV system is clogged since in addition to it burning a half gallon of anti-freeze each week its also burning a quart of oil each week, and we only drive it about 150 miles per week. The guy said he would be glad to take the intake off and replace the gaskets but said he didn't like the idea of wasting my money when that might not be the problem.
 
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Update: We finally found the coolant leak. My freeze plug is leaking. The problem is that its on the back side of the engine down by the rear main seal. That means we have to take out the transmission and fly wheel to replace it. I'm looking at over $1,000 for replacing a freeze plug that costs less than $10. So what would you do? See if a coolant system sealer such as K-seal, Conklins Dike or Bars Leaks stop leak concentrate will seal it or would you just bite the bullet and drop a thousand bucks by replacing the freeze plug?
 
Sorry to hear that! That's a tough one. I'm inclined to say that if you drive it any distance from home, and need to rely on the vehicle, you'd better fix it right. The problem is going to get worse, and who knows when and how fast? But then, easy for me to say, not my $1000.
 
Personally I would try the Bars Leak. Especially the pellets, or the powder that is the same as the pellets only ground up according to the company, and only cost under $2 at wall mart. Supposedly won't plug up anything it isn"t suppose to. But then that is just me and I am just thrifty ( read that as cheap)
 
I did some more research before we go through the huge expense of dropping the transmission to replace the freeze plug in front of the fly wheel. I found that many assumed the freeze plug at the back of the engine was leaking when they saw coolant by the rear main seal.

However, some noted they have seen coolant leak down from intake manifold due to the gaskets being bad or the intake manifold being cracked or because the coolant pipe that runs below the intake which connects the heater core to the water pump was leaking thus causing coolant to leak out the back of the engine and made it look like it was coming from the back freeze plug when in fact it was not.

The check engine light went out and it quit burning oil after I replaced the PCV valve. However, when I sprayed Seafoam into the hoses that lead to the intake manifold the check engine light came back on. Below is what I am thinking of trying next.

I plan to add coolant sealer to the coolant system. To make sure we don't clog everything up I would like to flush it, then temporarily by pass the heater core and take out the thermostat. Then add the coolant sealer and let it stay in there for a couple weeks. Then we can drain the cooling system, hook back up the heater core and thermostat. Then we can fill it back up with fresh coolant.

If it still leaks then the next thing to do would be for us to pull off the intake manifold and see if the gaskets are leaking or the intake manifold is cracked or the coolant pipe below the intake is leaking.
 
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