Bar's Leaks

[mechanicx]

I was wondering what anyone thinks of Bar's Leaks products. The use I had in mind is to stop a very slight leak of coolant into the oil probably from a seeping headgasket. I'm not much for leak repair additives, but sometimes it's just not really worth doing a standard repair if the stop leak will work without causing other problems. Also apparently some OEMs use
this stuff.

Bar's Leak has a good website. I was wondering what others' thoughts and experience was on using the product for the purposes I mentioned. Here are some links and some of the additives I had in mind.

Bars products

Bars product tech sheets

I wasconsidering the C16, PLT11, HDC, J100, 1111, or HG-3. Tehre's so many different ones but their website explains most of them.

 

[Spector]

I have used it for a heagasket leak that occured only when the temp dropped below 30 degrees, it solved the problem and it has now been over 3 years

 

[CharBaby]

I used BAR's Leaks in two car as maintenance from the time they were new til I sold them. Here's my experience:

1984 Plymouth 2.2L 4cyl. Fluched and filled the cooling system every 2 years and added proper amount of BarsLeaks at that time. Replaced 2 head gaskets in the 1st 100,000 miles. These 2.2's were known for head gasket leaks(and a ton of other things too!), kinda like the GM V6's.

1988 Honda Accord 2.0L 4cyl. Flushed and filled the cooling system every 2 years also and added BarsLeaks at that time. Replaced the radiator @ 15 years due to exterior rot down low(this Honda was a bottom breather) due to road salt. Never a gasket issue with this engine in 340,000 miles. Not much of anything went wrong with this car.

 

[eoghan]

I've used it on two different occasions and it does work it will stop the leak you want; however in both the times I used it I also had to replace my heater cores as well since it plugged them up too!!!!

I now use silver seal instead and I do not have the heater core plugging problem anymore. I put a tube of Silver seal in every time I change antifreeze as a preventive.

 

[onion]

Mechanicx- what vehicle/engine are we talking about here? I seem to remember that you own a GM v6, either a 3100 or a 3400. If that's the case, then I'm sure you're well aware of the intake gasket problem- and that's likely your culprit.

In my experience, the GM stopleak pellets work very well- though the repair is only temporary and they WILL introduce a fair amount of crud into the cooling system. I'd much prefer a proper repair.

 

[Kruse]

Originally Posted By: onion
I'd much prefer a proper repair.


My daily driver is a GM with the 3.1 engine. The previous owner thought he could fix the intake gaskets with Bars Leak. Not only did it crud up the recovery tank, but the "Low Coolant" sensor that is attached to the radiator had to be taken off a few times to get the crud off the anode before it would work properly. I will admit to using it on some older vehicles as a band-aid, but I wouldn't do it on a newer vehicle. JMO.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: onion
Mechanicx- what vehicle/engine are we talking about here? I seem to remember that you own a GM v6, either a 3100 or a 3400. If that's the case, then I'm sure you're well aware of the intake gasket problem- and that's likely your culprit.

In my experience, the GM stopleak pellets work very well- though the repair is only temporary and they WILL introduce a fair amount of crud into the cooling system. I'd much prefer a proper repair.


This car is a 97 Malibu 3100. I replaced the IMG with a Felpro Perma Dry about 9k miles ago. I don't think it's leaking there, I've done a few of them. Here's the story. After putting it off, I replaced IMG and that ended all signs of external leaks from the manifold and coolant in the oil. At the time I ran a compression tests and compression seemed to be good but low 10-15 psi on one cylinder if I recall (where I think the headgasket might be seeping externally now) but I chalked it up to piston slap clearance. There was no way of telling the seepage was running out from the front head near the trans because the IMG masked it. I should've done a coolant analysis but didn't. I didn't change the HG also because it's my older car and you know how it is that you have to stop at some point with replacing stuff.

Now I recently did an UOA and I think there are some very minor signs of coolant in the oil. I think it is probably at the head gasket.

Back to Bar's, good info so far but it'd be helpful if you can mention which Bar's product it was since there's so many. I think they mostly fall into pellets like GM was throwing in and a liquid form of that sealer, and then there's the head gasket sealers. I kind of doubt the first type would seal a HG, but I wanted to try the simpler, cheaper GM style pellets first before jumping to the HG sealers for a minor leak.

Someone mentioned Bar's clogged a heater core. I definitely don't want that to happen. I'd much rather take the engine apart again than to tangle with the heater core in 97-03 Malibu

.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Originally Posted By: onion
I'd much prefer a proper repair.


My daily driver is a GM with the 3.1 engine. The previous owner thought he could fix the intake gaskets with Bars Leak. Not only did it crud up the recovery tank, but the "Low Coolant" sensor that is attached to the radiator had to be taken off a few times to get the crud off the anode before it would work properly. I will admit to using it on some older vehicles as a band-aid, but I wouldn't do it on a newer vehicle. JMO.


I was going to unhook the top radiator hose and pitch the stuff in as it directs. I thought it would be safe since OEMS used it but if it cruds up the cooling system then I'll not use it and run the car as is. Really it's only a matter of ~23 ppm sodium and potassium in the oil, a little minor external seepage, and what seems to me a tad of steamy exhaust when cold.

 

[andyd]

I have used BarsLeak to slow down a weepy heater core. I used a 1/2 bottle at a time and had no problems. I once used the silver stuff and clogged the htr core. I swapped the inlet and outlet hoses to reverse the flow to clean it out.

 

[Drew99GT]

Originally Posted By: eoghan
I've used it on two different occasions and it does work it will stop the leak you want; however in both the times I used it I also had to replace my heater cores as well since it plugged them up too!!!!




That's odd. I used Bars leaks to seal a heater core leak in our Blazer 5 years ago. It sealed it perfectly and the coolant level still doesn't drop at all.

I also use it in ANY known GM intake gasket leaker.

I've found that to properly install it and prevent problems, you must install it to a drained radiator, then top off the system with coolant. If you add it when the radiator is full, it just sits on the top part of the rad and gums up the rad cap and overflow bottle. When you install it, turn the heat on high and drive around for a minimum of a half hour to disperse the product through the cooling system. I've done it this way on several engines and never had a problem.

 

[mechtech2]

The BarsLeak stands a good chance at fixing the problem or making it better.
Also consider a radiator cap with less pressure.
Or, if the leak is really bad, run the car with the cap off, and a lower fluid level. [This takes the reservoir puke tank out of the system.]

 

[mechanicx]

Yeah I got a new stupid ACDelco 18 psi cap on there now. I don't think I want to run under 15 psi or run the reservoir at a lower level though, because then I risk cavitation erosion or whatever else might go wrong with Dexcool. I will probably put a 15 lb cap on and not fill the reservoir all the way. I'm not a Dexcool hater but I might change it out to something else.

So the consensus is Bar's leak will fix a leak without gumming up the system? It's hard to make the decision when some are saying it worked with no problems and some are saying it gummed up things. Although I'm not sure if the regularly pellets will seal a HG, might need the HG formula.

 

[Stu_Rock]

I think the problems that people have with Bar's often come from using too much of it. The package recommendation is a bit overkill. Here's what GM has to say in their TechConnect newsletter:
Originally Posted By: GM TechConnect
When seal tabs are used in the prescribed amounts, they will not cause restrictions or plugging in an otherwise properly operating cooling system. But, if a little is good, a lot must be better, right? Wrong! Overuse can lead to plugging, especially in the relatively small tubes used in heater cores.


For the HDC tablets, the GM recommendation is 1 tablet per 7 qt of coolant (for vehicles that need them). In my old 3100s, I used two tabs, following the service manual recommendation.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: Stu_Rock
I think the problems that people have with Bar's often come from using too much of it. The package recommendation is a bit overkill. Here's what GM has to say in their TechConnect newsletter:
Originally Posted By: GM TechConnect
When seal tabs are used in the prescribed amounts, they will not cause restrictions or plugging in an otherwise properly operating cooling system. But, if a little is good, a lot must be better, right? Wrong! Overuse can lead to plugging, especially in the relatively small tubes used in heater cores.


For the HDC tablets, the GM recommendation is 1 tablet per 7 qt of coolant (for vehicles that need them). In my old 3100s, I used two tabs, following the service manual recommendation.


Yeah, plus you don't know which Bar's product they used HDC or something else. Yeah the GM recommendation is about 1/4 what bars recommends but is about 1/2 Bar's maintenance dose. I don't think using 2 tabs/gal will necessarily clog things up, I'm just not sure what these pellets would do to seal a seeping head gasket though.

HDC

What was your experience with using it on your old 3100?

 

[Stu_Rock]

It is in fact the HDC product that GM uses. Bar's is their supplier.

I have no idea if Bar's will help you. Both of my 3100s didn't have head gasket leaks (they were pre-Dexcool), so the two tabs were purely preventative.

Once I put three tabs in turbo K-car with a blown head gasket. It already had two tabs from a prior flush. It didn't help at all.

(note) In case people were wondering about how I figure 1 tab per 7 qt: The official GM dosage is 1.5 grams per liter of coolant, which is 0.05 oz/qt. At 0.35 oz/tab, that leads to 1/7 tab/qt.

 

[another Todd]

I used it to stop a manifold coolant leak on my silverado 4 years ago, hasn't leaked a drop since. I also use it for PM with every coolant change on all my vehicles (silverado hadn't had a coolant change before the leak. It has never clogged anything and never failed to stop a leak I was targeting. Been using it for 25+ years.

 

[Seguino]

I had a head gasket leak on my F250 with the 4.9 inline 6 and it plugged it for three years without plugging up the heater. This was the Bars Leaks in the bottle that has the pellets in a liquid carrier.

 

[mechanicx]

Thanks. I might try it. I wonder though if there is any real difference between the tabs or the liquid or are they the same thing basically.

 

[Drew99GT]

After using all 3 versions of the product, I find the liquid the best - disperses in the system better. But like I posted above, drain the radiator and then add the product. GM even stats in some shop manuals that their seal tabs should be installed in the lower radiator hose after the radiator so the product gets evenly dispersed. And like someone else posted, maybe install 3/4 of the bottle, especially on engines with a smaller cooling system.

 

[mechanicx]

Yeah sound like good advice. I know Bar's says to put it directly in the radiator, but with a GM pressurized radiator I'd think that would require at least putting it in through the upper radiator hose.

I'm ny case I don't think I have blown headgasket, but just some very minor external (and probaly some internal)seepage from the headgasket around the coolant passages. So sort of like have a leaky IMG. And might be from Dexcool deterioating the hheadgasket slowwly. The regular Bar's leak might do the trick.