whats the opinion on the 'seal conditioners?'

[nick3501]

well i had a small leak on my VW, it was getting on the clutch. Most car forums are absolutly packed with people who will instincivly tell you to avoid additives, without any real experience or knowledge of what they do. I added half a bottle of "no leak" by golden eagle found at wal mart. Golden Eagle No Leak Its a seal conditioner/sweller but not a thick 'no smoke' kind of additive, its about the same viscosity as 5w30. My plan was to put it in, drive a few weeks and change the oil because most people seem to think it will damage the seals and cause all kinds of headaches down the road. This got me thinking, if its so bad then what's the difference with high mileage oil? its just regular oil with seal conditioners/swellers in it. How can people be so against oil additives but regularly use high mileage oil? What do you guys think, OK to leave this oil in the engine for a few months or should i get it out ASAP? its fresh synthetic penzoil platinum and i hate to drain it after a few weeks, but I don't want any damage done to the engine.

 

[Familyguy]

Bar's main seal repair worked on my MK3 Jetta's weeping rear main seal. Dry as a bone after a couple of days and still dry today. In about 1000 miles I'm going to dump the oil and switch over to Rotella 5W-40 synthetic.

 

[getnpsi]

People are against oil additives from an economic standpoint more than the "they are harmful" logic. Some are also on a high horse and will just say pull the engine and fix your seal. It's worth the 10 bucks to at least try. Time is still money even when you have free parts the tools and the space to DIY.

I'd leave it in a while. The members who say that additives are evil foreign bodies should realize there is still going to be a little left lingering even after one oil change.

 

[nick3501]

yes and these days extra money is hard to come by for most people. It just seems unlikely that a seal conditioner will 'attack and destroy all seals' in short order like so many of the 'car forum guru's' claim...when they literally are just talking blind, and have no evidence for the argument. Ill leave the oil in for a few months, and report back if i run into any problems.

 

[bepperb]

I'm pretty anti-additive, but keep in mind you have an actual problem you are trying to solve. The world (and internet) are full of people using Lucas or MMO in their gas or oil, and have no clue what they are trying to accomplish and their only basis for continuing to spend their money is that it hasn't caused a problem yet.

So, did you replace your clutch? If it were mine, i'd use whatever works until you need to replace that (assuming it's life was shortened by the slippage that alterted you to this condition in the first place) and replace the seal then.

Best of luck.