I have a 98 Eclipse (non-turbo) with 221,000 miles. Head gasket blew out on me this morning. Lost water, but stopped before temp went too high. Bought water to put in to make it to work. Question: What are your opinions on the “Quick Fix” head gasket repair liquids I see advertized? Two that come to mind are Blue Devil and Steel Seal. I am cash strapped and several hundred dollars are not in my future. Does anyone have experience with these types of products? Since they offer money back gaurantees, is there any harm?
I think additives such as these are perfect for someone in your situation. They’re not a permanent fix, but if you cannot afford a proper fix and it’s an old high-mileage buggy, they’re worth a try. Doing nothing will only allow the probelm to get worse as the breech path erodes and as coolant gets into the chambers. If it mixes with the oil, and/or if the problem continues unabated until overheating becomes a problem, the motor will be toast.
If it does NOT work, you’ll need to repair the headgasket or the engine will quickly be history.
I’ve never used one, so I have no opinion on which might be best.
I have heard Blue Devil does a good job, but it all depends on the type/location of the blow out.
Are you SURE it’s a blown head gasket?? Has your cooling system been pressure tested?
For a car with the kind of mileage yours has I’d say go for it. As Caddy said make sure it is a head gasket.
Instead of using a product such as Steel Seal for about $60.00, contact a local pharmacy and order a bottle of sodium silicate for about $25.00. This is the primary ingredient in those high priced stop-leak products. You can read how soduim silicate stops head gasket leaks here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_silicate#Automotive_repair
Tester
I’ve used “Bars Leak” before for a heater core leak and it worked well. Drove the car for several years after that with no problems. Supposed to work for head gaskets too, but I have never used it for that.
Isn’t sodium silicate what they used to seize engines for the car crusher law? What did they do, pour it in the oil?
Yep! They would pour the sodium silicate into the oil, start the engine and let it idle at 2,000 RPM’s. It could take up to ten minutes before the engine would seize.
Tester
Tester’s right, but if you do that be careful. Below the listing that says “Automotive repair” you’ll see another that says “car disablement”. Sodium silicate was required by the Cash For Clunkers program to destroy the engines of cars that were traded in under the CFC program. Don’t make a mistake and use it incorrectly.
My understanding of sodium silicate is that it is completely incompatible with coolants. If you use it I believe you’re supposed to thoroughly flush all traces of coolant from the system first. And then do the same in reverse after the treatment.
Bar’s does have a formula now that they say is fully compatible for antifreeze. You basically just dump it in.
An additive may buy some time on a coolant leak that is not a breach into a combustion chamber or oil passage but I’m always skeptical about any it curing a CC breach due to the high pressures. It will also do nothing for a breach between cylinders.