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Post by wd40 on Nov 22, 2010 8:42:09 GMT -5
Is Bar's Leak pretty good? I'm wondering if I'm losing coolant as my heat sometimes don't work. Could be the thermostat too but I'm kinda wanting to try Bar's Leak first. Any tips?
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Post by long on Nov 22, 2010 16:51:18 GMT -5
I have not used Bar's Leak but two guy's at work say its very good. Worth giving it a try.
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Post by wd40 on Nov 22, 2010 17:04:06 GMT -5
I bought a bottle of it today. It says to only pour have a bottle if driving a 4-cylinder.
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Post by MugRB on Nov 22, 2010 18:53:56 GMT -5
I was told by several mechanics NOT to use it in my car as it has a slight leak in the radiator. The pellets bond to everything in the coolant system, including thermostats and temp sensors making them operate improperly. And it is known to cause the thermostat ti stick close making the engine overheat.
My car does have an extremely tiny leak as I can see steam billow up from the driver's side of the radiator. Probably best just to have the radiator welded.
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Post by wd40 on Nov 22, 2010 20:28:51 GMT -5
I got the one without the beads.
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Post by MugRB on Nov 23, 2010 18:56:41 GMT -5
OK, I have a bottle with the beads.
Give it a try. Check the thermostat first. Putting that stuff in your coolant isn't going to give you heat. You may have a thermostat stuck open not allowing the engine to warm up to proper temp. Or you could have a plugged heater core. That stuff will make that worse. Maybe the car needs it's cooling system drain, flushed and filled with fresh coolant.
Is there any air coming out of the vents?
I had that problem last winter. Mice built a nest right up against the heater core. With the blower on high, hardly any air came out of the vents. Eventually the nest got up against the blower resistor wires causing a small fire. Smoke poured out of the vents while I was driving to the store. Filled the car up with smoke.
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Post by red on Nov 29, 2010 19:04:25 GMT -5
You may need a new water pump. Check the weep holes on the pump. Would be allot less headaches by fixing the leak versus using that stuff in the coolant. It worked on an old Jeep Renegade I had, but caused the thermostat to stay wide open taking forever to warm up the engine in the winter. Also check the coolant recovery tank, is there any coolant in that tank? If there is, you probably don't have a leak. Most likely the heater core is plugged by way of coolant restriction in the tubes or there is blockage of air blowing across the heater core. Might be best to just have the coolant system drain, flushed and refilled with new coolant. Typically that cost about 35 to 45 dollars. Also have the thermostat replaced.
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