Coolant Conditioner

[Fastride95]

I was browsing a few forums (looking for a cheap solution to delaying repair on a cracked head/blown gasket) as well as Barr's Leaks website and found many references to using that specific product as a conditioning additive when replacing coolant or to maintain coolant in a vehicle.

My question: is anyone using this or another product in such a manner? I know some GM vehicles (or all?) come with a modified version of Barr's Leaks from the factory and the company (Barr's) claims that it's effective as a protective coolant additive as well as for repairing minor gasket and system leaks. I've also heard the horror stories that it will clog up radiators, blow hoses, clog heater cores, etc..

I'm just hoping for some unopinionated advice from experienced users of the product and not more hearsay.

Thanks guys!

Tom

 

[acewiza]

I've also been wondering about coolant contitioners / additive / anti-rust, whatever. Been adding that with new coolant every change/flush. Just wondering if it's necessary with new anti-freeze? I use the Prestone 5yr. stuff and would think it has some formulation in it to begin with. Maybe only need the additive as a maintenance dose after the first year or two? Dunno...

 

[Fastride95]

No one has any experience with this?

Well for what it's worth I scrapped the idea of using Barr's or any other product as a conditioning or preventive additive in coolant. I've decided that annual or bi-annual coolant changes are still the best solution.

A little background history on what prompted this post:

My 95 Aerostar had a bad enough leak from a cracked head/blown gasket that it would cause pressure buildup and overflow (and resulting leaks) in the radiator within two city miles.

Radiator shop offered to put in some Blue Devil sealant free of charge since they neglected to test for head problems prior to rebuilding the rest of the cooling system and charging me a healthy sum for it (though admittedly much much less than replacing a head gasket would cost).

They flushed the system and ran it with straight water and the sealant for an hour then again flushed the block and filled with pre-mixed coolant. The van has run just fine over the last few hundred miles with smooth idle, full power and zero coolant loss. Will it last? I have no idea but it certaintly works now. Changed the oil after fixing the cooling system also just in case.

Around 60 bucks for the stuff. Zero problems with clogging up anything that I didn't want sealed. Worth a shot for anyone else in a similiar bind in my opinion.

Tom

 

[1040 WreckerMan]

The only additive I've ever used is the DDC/Motorcraft/Napa Cool additive for diesel cooling systems. I run "conventional" green for 2-4 years in my diesel trucks and then drain the system. Gas engines I drain every year or every other year depending on whether they have green or some form of extended life coolant. Easy and inexpensive enough I like to change it frequently.

Patrick

 

[wiswind]

I use Bar's Stop leak to keep a couple of very slight leaks under control. I flushed my system last year, and 4 months later, I was back to the slow drop in the overflow bottle. So my policy is now to add the Stop Leak in the proper amount to treat the capacity of my cooling system when I flush and drain my cooling system.
I have just over 158K miles on my engine.....I have kept the slight leaks at bay since 135K miles. My car is a '96 windstar.

I drain my cooling system.....add distilled water...run the engine for a while....cool, drain.....and do that a couple of times. Then I add the correct amount of concentrated coolant to have a 50/50 mix in my total rated cooling system capacity, then I add the Bar's Stop Leak.

The Stop Leak makes the stuff in the overflow bottle look nasty....but I changed my thermostat and the radiator hoses this past year...and all was very clean inside the cooling system. The Temp. stays where it belongs...and no slow drop in the coolant bottle. I change once a year.
Still have the original water pump.

 

[Jim Allen]

I also use the Motorcraft anti-cavitation stuff in my Ford diesel. I've put the "Water Wetter" stuff in to aid in forstalling overheating on an inadequately engineered big engine swap (the owner didn't see any real benefit, though) I used to put in a Wynn's water pump lubricant stuff years ago (a habit from my '60s high school days in a gas station) but when I realized I didn't know anything about it and couldn't prove if it was benefiicial, I quit. What other additives are there, besides some stuff to bolster old, weak coolant?

 

[Fastride95]

Having looked around at various products, Jim, I can't say that there is a whole lot out there outside of a couple of "claimed" bolstering agents for gas engines. Until recently (after joining BITOG)I didn't realize that diesel's practically require an additive to prevent things like cavitation.

There is no shortage of products that claim to fix everything from minor head gasket leaks to cracked blocks along with additives to improve cooling and save water pumps, make the grass greener and solve the smog problem in major metropolitan areas (kidding).

I'm as interested in things that can potentially improve the performance of the cooling system similiar to how everyone is interested in additives for the crankcase and fuel for the purpose of improving performance and the level of protection. As with the oil/fuel additives the coolant additives have their share of snake oils that may actually have negative effects, opposite of what we're looking for.

No cooling system is perfect. All head gaskets have a minute amount of seepage regardless of material and water pumps are subject to destruction from pitting. Seals can fail and cavitation of the impellers is always possible. An oversight or a lazy mechanic can leave air in the system causing overheating a couple hundred miles down the road.

So far it's evident that Barr's products do work to some extent along with the GM cooling tabs. I know the Blue Devil sealant works well but like the other products, it's permanent "fix" means having to add it to the coolant every time the fluid is changed. However, these are more along the lines of temporary solutions rather than prevention. Recently, on this board, the value of using a chemical flush has come under fire as well.

Like I said earlier, the best bet may be to simply drain, flush (perhaps not even this) and refill the coolant every 1 - 2 years or 30 - 50k miles in a properly functioning system plus change out the water pump with timing belt changes to preserve it as well as possible. Then again a lot of cars are moving back to the timing chain. In that case water pumps will become more expensive to replace due to labor cost unless you're a DIY'er.

Gah, long post... sorry.