Done by one and only ChrisFix.
Head gasket sealer 2yr/10k mile test, with disassembly.
- Thread starter Graham Piccinini
- Start date
My father-in-law had a 01 F-150 with a 4.6 headgasket leaking coolant externally. He bought a new truck and decided to dump in a bottle of the blue devil stuff and keep the 01 as a 'yard truck' that was nearly a year ago and no leaks. He drives it to work most of the time.
hahahaaha
I'll go back in time and tell myself the bars stop leak in my water jacket was a myth. I was wrong for experiencing that. I'll do better next time.
In this case the HG wasn't even blown, the block was warped. I think they're worth a shot if your engine is on its last legs and you know full well it's a bandaid until you can get a new engine/car.
One question I have about this video is how did the block warp like that to begin with? Yes, the coolant lost was causing the engine to overheat, but the lost coolant was due to the warped block not sealing the HG to begin with. At some point it had to have been severely overheated to get that way.
One question I have about this video is how did the block warp like that to begin with? Yes, the coolant lost was causing the engine to overheat, but the lost coolant was due to the warped block not sealing the HG to begin with. At some point it had to have been severely overheated to get that way.
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2021
- Messages
- 845
He used the Bars. It worked for 10,000 miles over 2 years. It did not clog the radiator or heater core. Then at the end he found out the cause of the coolant loss was a warped head, not a blown head gasket. But how the head got warped in the first place wasn’t answered. Also the Jaguar that this was tested on had approx 187k miles at the start of the test.
That's pretty cool that Chrisfix spends this much time with his videos. Even if I don't agree with or care about everything he does or the way he does them, I like his channel very much. 
People usually only notice a bad water pump or a coolant leak after the first overheating event.
In the video, it lasted him 2 years and at least 10,000 miles. If you can get a car with a head gasket leak to last that much longer on less than $10 it's a win. I think he could have poured in another bottle of the stuff and ran the car longer. The point is to be able to cheaply fix the car until it gets wrecked or transmission goes (or something else catastrophic) and then junk the vehicle. You don't use a product like this on a nice vehicle. I would have used this fix in a bottle solution on a beater 2 years ago, but didn't because I pulled the valve cover and found loose head bolts and assumed that a fix in the bottle wasn't going to work (maybe ChrisFix should have checked that???). But lets say that I had tried the fix in a bottle and it actually did work, it would have only needed to work for 8 months when the transmission went and I junked it.
Chris almost always does a good, detailed video. In this example he shows me something I didn't know...that the new sealants contain silicate to affect the seal with the reaction of high heat. Would I use something like this? not likely, but nice to know that they can be used by people who need a bit more time on the car before the scrap heap.
I agree that Chris Fix does a good job with his video. Lots of good info and easy to follow, with out all the Scotty-like fluff. Besides, his coupon code (CHRISFIX25) gets you 25% off at Advance Auto!
True but 99% of the time damage can be prevented if you just shut the dang thing off and park it until you get it fixed when you start noticing the temperature gauge rising above normal.
Had a bad heater core in my cadillac cimarron. Young and broke I put bar's leak in it because the rumors at the time indicated it clogged heater cores.
It worked! Previously, it added humidity to my defrosting action. But after the fix it removed fog from the windshield. Win.
This stuff and probably most like it work better if you drain a quart of coolant, mix it with the product, and pour it in the radiator so it goes down into the hoses and gets circulated. Dump bars leak on top of your rad tank and it'll just float there not doing much.
It worked! Previously, it added humidity to my defrosting action. But after the fix it removed fog from the windshield. Win.
This stuff and probably most like it work better if you drain a quart of coolant, mix it with the product, and pour it in the radiator so it goes down into the hoses and gets circulated. Dump bars leak on top of your rad tank and it'll just float there not doing much.
Thanks for sharing, OP.
I found the video quite interesting, I rarely watch ChrisFix but he seems to be miles ahead of Scotty…
I’ve never used a HG product, but it did seem to work as advertised. As others have stated, could be a good way to limp a car along until a proper fix is performed.
I found the video quite interesting, I rarely watch ChrisFix but he seems to be miles ahead of Scotty…
I’ve never used a HG product, but it did seem to work as advertised. As others have stated, could be a good way to limp a car along until a proper fix is performed.
