Hello All,

The machinist I took my engine to mentioned picking up something called "bar stop leak" that is supposed to be solid and break off in segments that he suggested I put in my engine to ensure there would be no leaks (i am assuming coolant leaks). The problem is, I can't find it anywhere. Anyone know about this stuff and where I can get some?

Thanks!

Bryon

 

I have seen it at every auto parts store I have been to. I would wait until there is a verified leak prior to using it. Most times a leak can be repaired correctly without adding a stop leak product.

 

Bar's Leak has been around forever and most any auto parts store should have it. I used some a few years ago in a 99 Expedition and it worked. I don't know why you would have any leaks in a new engine though.

 

Bar's Leaks



I wouldn't put any foreign gunk in a perfectly good new engine, though.

If there's a problem, you need to fix it.

And if your machinist thinks he screwed up your block and needs you to patch it with voodoo crap, I'd get a new machinist.

- Eric

 

I hate to agree with MD, but why would any competent machinist say something like that?

 

Bars Stop leak has been around for a long time and is a good product for "stopping leaks". But if you don't have a leak it's shouldn't be used. That would be like taking big dose of
"Ex Lax" if you didn't have a need for it, and that's a "No-No". Larry

 

I would recommend finding the leak and fixing it from the source instead of adding mixtures into your engine, just my two cents.

 

I agree with others, I would not use it. Especially the Bars expandable pellet type. It will plug up your heater core along with other small passages. The machinist telling you this is an idiot.
I would put a good pressure tester on the coolant system keep it at 18lbs- 20lbs max and figure out where the leak is before adding anything other than the copper stop leak.
Test the rad cap as well.
I would hesitate to use even the copper stop leak.
I hope this helps,
Eric

 

I agree with this statement 100%.

 

You could McGyver it and pour pepper in your radiator - but like everyone else said, it's better to correctly fix the leak

 

Turns out, if you pour the liquid/ pelletized Bar's Leaks down the carb while the engine is runnning, it maks vast amounts of smoke. Ah, so I hear.

Why would they put Engine Flush and Bar's Leak in nearly-identical containers anyhow?

 

Just a band-aid fix to get you home in an emergency, something to get you in trouble down the road as a long term fix.

If you have your engine built as it was new (and it should be) there is no need for that product, the factory didn't why should you... Tedd

 

It will plug up your rad and coat the cooling passages and make your cooling system less efficient and more prone to overheating. I hope your machinist is better at machining than he is at being a mechanic.

 

The Gold Eagle stop leak is pretty much that .. a bottle of pre-swollen cracked pepper.

 

All these comments are right on -- Bar's Leaks is an excellent radiator
sealer --- but dopey engine rebuilder if needed within first 50,000 of a
new rebuild !?!?!?!?


For the person who commented, "I hate to agree with MDchanic" -- you
should be ------ HAPPY ------ to agree with MDchanic ---
he is unquestionably the smartest person on this Classic Oldsmobile
website..... what he says is gospel !!!!!!!!!!

 

If I had a minor radiator leak, I'd go get the Delco stuff they put in the LS Cadillacs.

 

I would almost bet that is made by Bar's Leak. GM doesn't have a plant where they make that stuff. They buy it from somebody. It looks just like the Bar's leak.

 

Interestingly, at least in 'the '97 manual, Chebby advised putting one of those into the cooling system with every coolant change and flush - always seemed a little fishy to me.

- Eric

 

That's funny considering most radiators made in '97 where plastic tanks with aluminium cores.
That's as funny as putting a rebuilt Olds engine on the pill after install.

 

I think that was the rationale, now that you mention it - I think they weren't sure that the radiator to tank seals wouldn't spring tiny leaks, and wanted to avoid having to warranty them - with a 40,0000 mile warranty, a slow radiator leak in the first 39,000 miles will cost them a bit, while a clogged radiator or heater core at 60,000 miles won't cost them anything.

- Eric

 

Thanks everyone! I don't want to use it, but the machinist said I should. He said every new car engine today recommends the usage. I don't know if he was admitting he made a mistake without admitting it, but he came highly recommended by someone I trust immensely so I'd imagine he usually does good work. The block looks great, everything looks like brand new, but I'm a novice so it may have a problem I cannot see. I don't know. I'll put it together and let her rip and if there are any leaks, I'll address it then. Hopefully she'll just run like a champ and this whole discussion will be moot.

 

I think it was probably the guy at O'Reillys but somebody actually told me that GM put Bar's Leak in every new car at the factory. Maybe there is some truth to that.

 

I think it's the same rationale in both cases - minor leaks cause warranty calls. If you can prevent them, regardless of their origin, your life is easier and your wallet is thicker.

- Eric

 

Why not -- the factory did. Seriously. Look at your assembly manual.

Everyone's being way too harsh on this stuff. Products like Bars Leak basically add a little sediment to the cooling system. The sediment finds it's way into any crevice which wants to leak, and it doesn't hurt anything else (there's so little of it, and most of it stays suspended). Not every gasket is perfect, and not every mating surface is perfect. Why not give it a little help before you've got a problem? The old-school mechanic who taught me how to care for cars put some pellets in at every coolant change, sometimes more often.

 

Ya throw some in why not haha,
Throw and extra couple litres of oil in it just in case it burns a little, heck if it don't run like a raped ape once installed switch over to alcohol.

 

Yes, I too have immense respect for MDC, but have you met Joe P.?

 

Blackgold is right, it is in both my Buick + Olds assembly manuals to put it in EVERY car on the assembly line or at the dealer. The stuff GM used definitely looks like Bars.

 

Have any of you read the story (true) about Bars Leaks and the submarine "Nautilus". The story goes that the sub had a leak in the reactor cooling system so the Captain had some of the sailors scavenge a port town to buy all of the Bars Leaks they could get. It held until they got back to New London for repairs. Bars Leaks dealers used to have the brochure that referenced this bit of info.

 

Their are many different types, such as the pellet, tablet, copper, and the old days "Powder.
My uncle owned a radiator shop years ago, I remember when he would dump some of the powder into the old tractor rads after repairing them. The would run very low pressures but with the older honeycomb style cores, they would leak often. At that time a recore was costly. So the powder helped many.
Its the rubber pellet stop leak that creates all the problems in heater cores and small tube diameters cores that create flow problems .

 

Damn, that sounds like the kind of compliment I'd get from my wife!

- Eric

 

Better than the ones I get from my wife!

 

Save the money and crack an egg open and put it in the radiator. Same results with free leak detection.

 

Your wife knows Joe?

 

This won't end well.

 

I think she knows Joe's ex-wife(ves).

- Eric

 

Ouch.

 

Rubber? Haven't heard of it. Bars Leak in pellet form dissolves promptly.

 

I also read recently of manufactures adding the stop leak to new cars to stop minor nuisance leaks at a seam or hose. These supposedly would be very small leaks that only people who pay very close attention to their cars would detect then go back to the dealer.

Earlier Cadillac was adding the stuff to their cars that had the piece of junk HT4100 engine that would develop cooling leaks at the head and intake manifold gaskets.