Sealant pills

[edwardh1]

What is the story on these.
They are mentioned in old GM Havoline Dexcool pluggage problems web writeups.


Sounds like something Gm used.

Is it a GM thing or does Toyota for example use Sealant pills

 

[VaderSS]

They are the BarsLeaks pellet type block sealant. They seem to cause more problems than they are worth. Even after flushing the sealant out though, I still had heater core clog from the Dex alone.

 

[edwardh1]

what problem was GM trying to stop?
They are mentioned on some web pages as having been put in at factory

 

[XS650]

quote:

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Originally posted by edwardh1:
what problem was GM trying to stop?
They are mentioned on some web pages as having been put in at factory

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The Genuine factory Helms manual for my 96 Corvette sez to use 6 ea cooling system sealer pellets, P/N 3634621 when filling an empty system.

I have heard later service bulletins say to not use the pellets and have heard of problems blamed on the pellets. Usually heater core plugging. Not using the pellets in some GM cars is mentioned here.
http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/arcv_pdf/7_00_e.pdf

For a variety of opinions:
http://impalaclub.com/naisso/forum2002/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=9834

As with most things on the inernet, if it is stated as a fact, it indeed may have happened.

****

 

[Chris142]

Cadillac uses them. Your lookin for trouble if you flush a cad and don't replace the sealant.

Another one of GM's great ideas.

 

[JohnnyO]

Yes, on Caddys my understanding is the pills are to coat the inside of the block and prevent internal coolant leaks.

 

[Shannow]

Holden Commodores with the V-6 must use the sealant, while the V-8s don't.

I asked the spare parts guy what the pellets were one day, and was told "water pump lubricant".

 

[VaderSS]

quote:

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asked the spare parts guy what the pellets were one day, and was told "water pump lubricant".

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Guess dealership people in Australia are as clueless as the ones here.

 

[Neil Womack]

When picking up a new drain plug at my not so local Saturn dealer. I broke the original plug. The parts guy gave me a couple of sealant pills. He said it was made of crushed walnut shells. Go figure.

 

[VaderSS]

I've heard it's amge of ginger and walnut shells. Don't really know.

 

[Tremo]

So is there any definitive answer regarding these sealer pills? I just drained, flushed and refilled 2 cooling systems on my old Camaro and my Mom's T-Bird. Both were refilled with the green Prestone ethelyne glycol antifreeze and water mix. Should I throw in a couple sealer pills? Yes or no?

Are the sealer pills basically the same stuff as Bars Leak?

Thanks.

 

[DavoNF]

I think Bars Products makes both a sealant pill and the normal liquid Bars Leaks with the stuff that looks like shot pellets.

I have used the Bars Leaks liquid often, with no problems. The main thing is to have a clean radiator, any clogging problems with this product probably have been caused by dirty half clogged radiators that should have been cleaned out before the Bars Leaks was added.

I think you should be OK to add the pellets or the liquid, the liquid claims to be a water pump lubricant as well.

Dave

 

[gtm245]

These sealant pellets are usually used for aluminium blocks, radiators, ect... All Cadillacs with aluminium engine or cooling system parts use the GM type sealant pellets. They are made by the Bars Leaks company and are essentially the same material. I would suggest not using them unless you have an aluminium block or radiator. If your manual or the sticker on top of your radiator cover says to use sealant pellets, you should definetly use them. If not, I wouldn't use any type of sealing supplement unless your looking for a quick fix for a big $$$ problem. If you want to use the sealant but don't want to get the GM type use the Bars Leaks product but only the powder tubes. The liquid bottles are not the same as the powdered tubes.

The GM sealant pellets contain crushed walnut shells and ginger put into little pellets. The ground walnut shells expand when circulated through your cooling system thereby plugging small imperfections, cracks, holes, you get the picture.

Anyway if your vehicle didn't come with it from the factory and doesn't recommend it, just flush your system, refill with 50/50 distilled water and antifreeze, and bleed the system. On the other hand if you own a Cadillac with the 4.5, 4.9, Northstar, or the infamous HT4100 (4.1) you better do a complete cooling system flush and refill with the sealant at least every two years otherwise you can bet your gonna have some problems later. (I've seen the HT4100's blow head gaskets at less than 60,000 miles)