Thermagasket

rfishing · #1 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 01:37 PM

Survey

Post if you used Bars Leak Head Gasket Repair, your engine type, and your results.

Example:

94 Seville Norstar engine, worked still holding or not worked

Company claims this will work on Norstar engines, I have yet to try it.

sjwoodruff · #2 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 03:44 PM

Good question - I'm sure many would be curious.

Other products as well:
K&W Permanent Metallic block seal www.crcindustries.com
Heal-a-Seal coolant system sealer www.heal-a-seal.com
Steelseal head and block sealer www.stealseal.com
Thermagasket www.rxauto.com/ - there is an interesting account of success on a '96 Northstar on this page.

I've recently developed a slight head gasket leak and I'm reluctant to spend $3K or more to repair. If I can spend $30 or $40, drive the car easy and get another 40K miles or more out of it, I'll be content.

I'll be taking the plunge on one of these products soon, unless someone can direct me otherwise with definitive facts (not opinions). I figure I don't have much to lose since I didn't spend much on the car in the first place and I've already gotten my money's worth. I just wish the first owner had changed the coolant - obviously I wouldn't have this issue if he did.

iametarq · #3 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 04:09 PM

how does this stuff work? pour it in somewhere?

sjwoodruff · #4 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 04:58 PM

Most of them require removal of all coolant as this will prevent the catalyst from taking effect or turning the chemical into sludge - either way, not good. Once you have pure water in the system, you add the chemicals. All vary slightly here, but generally you run the car at normal operating temps to initiate the chemical reaction that bonds the material in the leaking area. Once car cools down, drain again and refill with coolant mix.

The Steelseal is the only product that mixes with coolant, and it cannot be Dexcool. You thus have to drain and refill with the green stuff, perform repair, etc.

iametarq · #5 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjwoodruff

Most of them require removal of all coolant as this will prevent the catalyst from taking effect or turning the chemical into sludge - either way, not good. Once you have pure water in the system, you add the chemicals. All vary slightly here, but generally you run the car at normal operating temps to initiate the chemical reaction that bonds the material in the leaking area. Once car cools down, drain again and refill with coolant mix.

The Steelseal is the only product that mixes with coolant, and it cannot be Dexcool. You thus have to drain and refill with the green stuff, perform repair, etc.

that is interesting. also sounds like a lot of work.

sjwoodruff · #6 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 05:57 PM

Not really that bad - about the time for two coolant changes. Definitely less time and money than head gasket replacement

I've actually ordered the thermagasket. Cost with shipping is about $115. The K&W is intriguing because it is so inexpensive, but the fact that there were some Northstar testimonials on thermagasket's site swayed me. We'll see if I'm being taken or not...Once I get it and send it through the coolant system, I'll let everyone know my results. I'm now the board's official guinea pig on this one!

rfishing · #7 (**permalink**) 10-12-05, 06:38 PM

Im still working with manufacturer to see about the warranty on last head gasket repair. Waiting for them to decide if they will rework this or not. Hopefully they are not slow.

It will be great of you "sjwoodruff" to post your findings. Hopefully others will come forward with results as well.

Update:

Already got GM to say no help from us today. Interesting enough engine shop locally seems to think GM coolant tabs might help cure my problem alone. First going to verify gas is in coolant. Doing that friday. Keep ya posted.

peteski · #8 (**permalink**) 10-13-05, 05:52 AM

if you have a leak in the headgasket between the combustion chamber and a coolant passage no sealant will fix that. Only way is to replace the headgasket. The pressures and temperatures at the site of the leak are way too great for any sealant to seal it. Stop dreaming.

Peteski

rfishing · #9 (**permalink**) 10-13-05, 06:26 AM

We are looking for people to post about actual case senerios. If you have one then please share it with us, no speculation please.

rfishing · #10 (**permalink**) 10-14-05, 01:01 AM

Curious what condition is your engine in right now? How bad are you losing coolant? I will be getting my cooling system rechecked tomorrow morning. Keep posting.

rfishing · #11 (**permalink**) 10-14-05, 04:37 PM

Had coolant system rechecked this morning by local mechanic. He found gas in coolant as well. I am going to try these Bars Leak coolant supplement tabs first. See if they stop the leak, before trying anything else. Also, mechanic can hear a missing cylinder. Personally, I cannot tell and dealer never mentioned that either. I guess that is the cylinder where it is leaking coolant due to blow head gasket?

Keep posting.

**Ranger** · #12 (**permalink**) 10-14-05, 11:06 PM

The suppliment tabs WILL NOT seal a head gasket leak.

rfishing · #13 (**permalink**) 10-15-05, 01:00 AM

Ranger,

From everything I read online, I would be inclined to agree with you. Only thing, this mechanic claims to have success with using the tabs, then adding more tabs after a few days. I dont have anything to loose but time and 10 bucks for all those tabs. He did not charge me to add the tabs, only charged 34 bucks for coolant system check which I needed to verify gas is getting in coolant. Still waiting for his estimate to do gaskets.

Good luck with your new purchase, I read about it on the other post.

91TexasSeville · #14 (**permalink**) 10-15-05, 04:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfishing

Ranger,

From everything I read online, I would be inclined to agree with you. Only thing, this mechanic claims to have success with using the tabs, then adding more tabs after a few days. I dont have anything to loose but time and 10 bucks for all those tabs. He did not charge me to add the tabs, only charged 34 bucks for coolant system check which I needed to verify gas is getting in coolant. Still waiting for his estimate to do gaskets.

Good luck with your new purchase, I read about it on the other post.

Wait a minute!

There are coolant leaks that supplement tabs or Bars Leak will arrest. Coolant leaks resulting from a cracked, raised, or blown head gasket are NEVER simply stopped by using a sealer of any type until the cause of the gasket rupture is addressed. I don't care how good the mechanic is or thinks he/she is, sealer NEVER did work before, now, or ever, on a coolant leak resulting from a ruptured head gasket.

Ginger root will expand to seal the exposed surface of a leak from a "porous" type excursion, it will never bridge a gap where high compression is a factor, because that is physically impossible.

Coolant leaks that could be classified as "gushers" are not candidates for any kind of sealant, period! A coolant leak resulting from a ruptured head gasket is classified as a "gusher" leak.

This post is not a flame ....it is intended to discourage ANYONE from trying a sealer to arrest a coolant leak resulting from a failed head gasket. Save the supplement for AFTER the repair process, adding it only then will help the cooling system.

danbuc · #15 (**permalink**) 10-15-05, 12:24 PM

Bars Leak (or GM coolant Suppliment) is only designed to prevent seepage that may occur over time. After a while, gasket start to brake down and can leak small amounts of coolant. A good example of this would be on of the gaskets for my crossover. It was leaking a tiny bit of coolant on the engine. I threw two tubes of Bars Leak powder in the system and topped it off, and it hasn't leaked anymore. Keep in mind though, it was a very small leak, and was not causing any damage to begin with.

Fixing a head gasket (or any failed gasket for that matter) using a sealer like Bars Leak is pretty much impossible. By the time a gast gets to the point where it is leaking profusely (like that of the average failed headgasket) it is well beyond what a sealant can handle. Bars Leak can only seal very small holes that might cause a little seepage. Anything more and the hole is too big to patch with a sealant (or at least a seelant that won't clog up you coolant passages). That is why the success rate of fixing head gaskets with sealers is so low. It's pure luck if it works. Most of the time, the gasket was just within the capability of the sealant, where the hole was small enough to be filled.

If a car has a bad head gasket, the only real fix is to replace it. If a car has some slight seepage form a gasket that simply a nuisance, than a seelant will probably work.