I’ve had some water leaks on my van, and it was like I’d get one fixed and another one would start. A few days ago it seemed like everything was good, then the temp pegged out hot and I made it home and called my mechanic. He did the dye test to see if the bubbles coming out of my radiator were exhaust fumes, and they were. Cracked block or blown head gasket. So I bought some Blue Devil Head Gasket Sealer and I’m wondering why the directions say to remove the thermostat before adding it to the radiator? And will it work ok if I leave it in while adding the sealer?
And the reason I’m asking is because one of the leaks was caused by one bolt on the thermostat housing not tightening up properly, and washers had to be added to it. Also another leak was caused by the thermostat adapter that connects to the engine block had a blown gasket behind it, so bought a new alum adapter, but also one of the bolts was rusted in solid and had to torched and chiseled to remove, and then rethreaded to accept the new bolt to mount the adapter. Also the blown adapter gasket caused the engine block behind it to wear away metal and had to be built back up with epoxy and a new home made adapter gasket made for a better seal. It was a job. So I really don’t want to mess with the thermostat right now if it’s not totally necessary. But the directions for this Blue Devil Sealer do say to remove it until after all the sealer is poured in and the engine ran for 50 min. Does anyone know what I should do? Thanks for your help.
No experience w/that product, but I’m guessing it works sort of like a glue. The glue component sticks to the gasket-gaps and cures over time. This hopefully prevent the gasket-gap from leaking . The problem is the glue might also glue the thermostat stuck in one position. A thermostat is in the coolant flow path, but has parts that have to be able to move freely w/respect to each other to work correctly. the water pump has moving parts too, and in the coolant path, but those parts move very fast, so the glue won’t cause the water pump parts to stick together and lock up (presumably).
FYI, I think these miracle chemical head gasket cures, while they might work temporarily, are not a very good solution. They can gunk up the cooling-system & make the process of doing the proper repair (replacing head gasket) later more difficult.
Suggest you abandon the miracle cure idea, and instead schedule your car into the shop for a cooling system clean-up and head-gasket replacement. If that’s too expensive, consider selling your car to someone (teenager, a mechanic etc) who’s willing to take it on as a diy’er project, and you buy another car.
they do have a couple of head gasket sealers that you don’t need to remove the thermostat. I just do not remember which ones.
these pour in gasket sealers are basically for very small leaks and are a guess if they will work or not, and for how long. if money is really tight, I guess it is worth a try for a short-term fix. I would do some research online and see which ones you can leave in the thermostat.
I have tried it on my son’s old car years ago and it did seal it for a while. at least long enough until his new car came, and then we sent it to the big scrap yard in the sky. 