my '97 camaro has acracked cylinder. (or something like that; the water keeps getting “consumed” by the engine). my mechanic put something in it that temporarily “sealed” the crack. it bought me more time but now it’s not holding on to any water. my question is, can i do this again and is it something i can do myself? i just need a little mor time before i’m off to carmax!
If the cylinder head is cracked, it must be replaced. As you learned, magic sealers will get you home, but there is no fix when the head is cracked except a replacement head.
Same deal if the block is cracked. You need a new short block. Ask your mechanic exactly what is cracked.
Maybe it’s ‘just’ the head gasket, and not a cracked head or block. That would be less expensive, still not cheap.
Tester had a method for a last ditch effort to save an engine with product available at the drug store. Do a search for Tester and head gaskets and you should find it from about a year ago or so.
Probably you have a blown head gasket, and your mechanic has bought you some time by adding a sealant to clog up the leak temporarily. You would be best served by finding out via your mechanic what exactly is wrong with the car, what was done to temporarily prevent coolant loss, and whether or not you can expect the same results twice.
Let’s assume you have a blown head gasket. Actually, it doesn’t matter much where you are losing coolant, but it is almost certainly leaking from a head gasket. But anywhere coolant is leaking, you can’t expect a sealant to work anywhere very well twice. The reason why is that the sealant accumulates where the pressure in the system is weakest. So maybe the first time, you have a leak and the sealant bunches up and seals that leak. But eventually, the leak finds a way, and begins to leak again. Meanwhile, the rest of the sealant has found ways to stick to other, healthier parts of your cooling system. Which shrinks as a result, leaving less area for air cooling for your coolant mixture, and which will quickly mean overheating and the end of your engine.
The bottom line is you need to deal with the root problem right away or be prepared to buy a new or “new to you” car very soon. You will kill this car very soon if you continue on the path you are going. That’s a fact, not an opinion.
Sodium silicate. Here’s one of those threads: http://community.cartalk.com/posts/list/2118112.page
Note that it isn’t a proper repair no matter how you slice it. Its only a cross your fingers that you can limp along for a car that you don’t intend to keep.