If you're trying to remedy what you think is a blown head gasket, according to my engine building experience and 2 years of similar posts in here, you're SOL.

The GM recommended Bar's tablets or #12 powder are for assembly nuisance drips and block porosity sealing. Not gasket repair.

 

Mechanic in a bottle will not fix a bad head gasket. Do a search and read Rfishings lengthy post.

 

Hey I Tried Themagasket Today And It Seems To Be Working. No Leaking Coolant No Hi Temps Check Engine Light Went Off. The Stuff Looks Like It Works For Now

 

How much do you want to bet that it'll last?

 

I really hate to say this, but don't get your hopes too high. It's only temporary.

 

I used it on September 23, 2010 and have driven thousands of miles already and not one time has it overheated on me. I was also skeptical, and so was my mechanic.. He actually LAUGHED at me.. Well, guess what... He just used it on a customers truck and was completely impressed. Especially after he and his employee's all laughed because I was going to use it. AWESOME PRODUCT!

And even if it only is a temporary fix, it sure has lasted quite a while, and if it happens again.. I will use the other half that I got.. BUY IT!

Email me if you have any questions. I am located in Kansas City..
My email is my username at gmail

 

All statements are true so now since you have some time on your hands(no car to fix) it will help you to do as Ranger instructed on reading Rfishings lengthy post. It might help you incase of future issues.:thumbsup:

 

itll work for maybe a weak
snake oil only clogs a lifted head for so long before it does more damage to the rest of the cooling system then you bargained for...

 

It WORKS like a charm!!!!

 

Give it some time. You've only used it for a month and a half. That stuff cannot fix pulled threads. Glad it is buying you some time, but it IS temporary. Please keep us updated even if/when it fails. It will be interesting to know how long it lasts.

 

This always seems to happen w/ thermagasket... they come back immediately (or in a month or two) and say 'it worked!' then don't ever come back to say 'it's still working 9 months later!' (because they either sold the car or got it fixed and are ashamed to report back that we were right)

 

You know, I'm just gonna add to this phenomenon as well.

I don't believe in this crap any more than most of you. I mean, how can some liquid in a bottle fill a leak and retain 200psi compression? Not very logical.

Anyway, earlier this summer (July) my girlfriends brother's 160k mile 1998 Ford F150 4.6 was diagnosed with a bad headgasket. Typical frequent unexplained coolant loss, running warm. The mechanic gave him his options, including physically repairing the headgasket or trying Thermaseal, which the mechanic told him may or may not buy him time but customers have had success in the past.

Since he really doesn't care about the truck and doesn't find it to be worth shelling out the money for the HG replacement (she's getting rusty/OHC engine so labor is higher), he gave the Thermaseal a shot.

Lo and behold, similar to the claims in this thread, it worked. It's his DD transportation to work and hunting vehicle on the weekends. It's still chugging along just fine. When (not if) it fails again, he'll deal with it then. But for now, he's pretty happy with what he got out of it.

:shrug: I can't explain it. It still really doesn't make sense to me but you can't argue results. The stuff actually does well for what it is.

 

I don't believe in this crap any more than most of you. I mean, how can some liquid in a bottle fill a leak and retain 200psi compression? Not very logical.

Here is the theory behind it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate

Why pay Thermosgasket $300 for it?
http://secure.sciencecompany.com/Sodium-Silicate-Solution-500ml-P6375C670.aspx

OR you can buy it at the pharmacy.

 

it does 'work' for other cars but for N*s with head bolts pulling there is no amount of magic potion that will fix the problem

 

There you go, again. You are NOT supposed to explain black magic and wizardry.

.........the stuff is dirt cheap at Walgreen - we use it to seal woven silicate insulation tape on dry marine exhaust pipe.

 

$1000 is too much to ask for a northstar with blown head gaskets unless it's really low miles and perfect condition
$500 is better but you'd probably get that much taking it to a scrap yard

----------

especially with all that junk in the cooling system those parts will also have to be replaced (probably)

 

There is no chemical on earth that will remove sodium silicate once it reacts and sets hard. The entire engine (block, cylinder heads, any part of the cooling system) is now unrepairable and is pure junk.

That's why the stuff was used in the "Cash for Clunkers" program - once in an engine for 1 day or 1 year - whether the crankcase or cooling system - the engine is trash.

 

At least Mindy reported back with length of time it lasted. Guess got lucky lasting that long huh?

 

head bolts can take a long time to pull out
i've heard of someone lasting over a year from when they found exhaust gases in the coolant until it was not drive-able

 

YOU post YOUR e-mail address and ask for feedback.

Remember the old adage, Be careful what you ask for ....................

 

I have a 1998 Cadillac Eldorado and the head gasket went as you know this is prone to northstar engines. I did a lot of research and decided on Therma Gasket. I followed the instructions to a T step by step. They give you enough for 2 applications. The 1st application lasted 1 year I suspect that it would have lasted longer but I think when I had my oil changed they sometimes top off your fluids and as you know GM recommends Dex-Coolant and it was topped off with Dex-Collant and destroyed the Therma Gasket. So since I had the other half of the bottle I did the whole procedure over again and it has been fine for 5 months now. It does work.

 

The 1st application lasted 1 year

That's why they give you enough for 2 applications. They know you're gonna need it.

it was topped off with Dex-Collant and destroyed the Therma Gasket.

Dex-Cool had no effect on it. It will fail again. Stand-by.

 

........"it does work".......... for some period of time.

BandAids are inexpensive. Real repair is not.

DEX-COOL had nothing to do with "destroying" the magic goop. More head bolts are losing their torque/clamping pressure due to cylinder block head bolt hole thread failure and the head(s) are lifting more. The original slug of magic goop is probably solidified throughout the cooling system so the second shot is trying, once again, to seal the SanAndreas fault... but it's gonna blow again.

 

Does it not tell you something when there are threads about this from who remembers when and yet there is no single verified success story? :nono:

 

It worked for my deville. Gasket was blown and I couldn't go around the block before it overheated. Use the product and solved the problem for years. Went from NJ to Georgia full load of folks with ac blasting. No problems. Follow directions exactly. Hope this helps and Good Luck!

 

Good morning and welcome to CF !!! The member you replied to posted almost 12 years ago and has not logged in for almost the same period. This thread has been dead for just over 3 years itself.........

Some Northstar owners with failed head bolt threads have had some success with magic sealants; others have not.

 

Glad you got it back on the road. Keep us cut in.

 

... it's been a few months with the thrermogasket. It's still working although this car is NOT a daily driver. I haven't yet blown it out on the highway either. Just a couple notes. A chemical smell does linger around after use. I can still smell it. My check emission came on but not concerned with it yet. One day, after using thermogasket, I went to turn off the ignition and the car kept running ... kinda freaked me out, I went to disconnect the battery but it finally stopped on it's own ... hasn't happened since. Car is running great on moderate trips so far. I am pleased with the bought time I am getting. Will continue to update. I believe the level of head gasket breech is important and I still think ... it has to be possible ... that in some cases this can actually be a "normal" head gasket breech WITHOUT it being the head bolts right? It has to be one possibiltiy ...

 

99.999% of the time the problem is slowly failing head bolt threads in the block so it's a moving target. Even the GM/Cadillac service manuals say to insert and replace all 20 bolts/holes if the heads are ever removed. You CAN NOT reuse the old head bolts because they're torque-to-yield. Once you have problems it's back to Square One.

You may have bought some time but, unfortunately, the entire block, heads, and cooling system is now unfit for further repair or overhaul. The sodium silicate in the magic potion is forever and you cannot flush it out or remove the glass-like coating throughout the entire system. Remember - sodium silicate was the stuff used to totally destroy engines during the ill-advised Cash For Cars "clunker" purge.

One of the overlooked caveats in this snake oil's advertisements and fine print is that, when you use the product, the underlying cause for the product use must be repaired before such use. Read the website fine print. Then perform the GM recommended block insert procedure. Then you don't need the snake oil. It's a Catch 22.

My analogy is that the kludge is like plugging the San Andreas Fault with cement - it may hold for a while - but when it goes it will go big time.