Engine: Block sealer - Any suggestions?

[christophe]

Hi folks,
Unfortunately, I recently had the confirmation that some coolant found a way to the bottom of my engine (63S). My engine oil got a brownish color in 1000 miles or so and some droplets or coolant are visible when letting the oil it sit for a few days. I know the bad reputation of the OHV6 cylinder heads but mine was checked for cracks before the rebuild and there is no smoke at the exhaust when the engine is warm. So before dismantling the engine, I thought I would give a try to a block sealer. I had fairly good results with these in the past but it was mostly with aluminium engines so I'd like to get your thoughts or advices about your favourite products, if any.
Nice day to all.

[DieselJim]

Have you re-torque the head bolts? Might try that first.

[GrumpyOne]

I've had good results with KW Block Seal on a Honda Civic that employs upwards of 185 PSI compression as opposed to the much lower Studebaker specs. However, the process is lengthy and must be followed to the letter in the instructions and it won't work in all situations.

Around $10 and some of your time...

[christophe]

Have you re-torque the head bolts? Might try that first.

Not yet. I'd like to be sure that the leak is not coming from the cylinder head first. I'll invest some money in an endoscope soon.

[DEEPNHOCK]

How long was it run before shutdown and the later moisture find?
Are you sure it is not just condensation?
Did you do a coolant system pressure test? (Free tool loaner from AutoZone)

Don't make yourself crazy before you need to... Test it.... Drive it for a couple straight hours...

[jclary]

Since this is "Recent"...there may be some of our "True Mechanic Members," who have yet to read of your situation. Hopefully, some of them will have some very wise experienced information to provide you with, that is much more valuable than from a "tinkerer" (like me). When I was a teenager, (I'm now 73), I patched an old cast Iron V8 cracked block with an old gooey product called "Bars Leak" that was sold in a small glass jar. The stuff was as thick as molasses and had some kind of pellets in the liquid. Instructions were to get the engine hot, pour the stuff into the radiator, and run the engine until the leak stopped. On that engine, the crack was obviously external on the side of the engine block. That cure held until I sold the old hot rod months later.

On yours, it would be great if there were some way to investigate to isolate just where the leak is occurring. Otherwise, at least for me, there would always be a nagging concern in the back of my mind that would undermine my confidence and enjoyment of driving the car. Water in the oil is always a serious thing. Sometimes it is difficult to find a real good live mechanic...even more difficult to find a good mechanic in a can.

If your situation is no more than a poor gasket seal, some kind of chemical product could be sufficient, but if it is from a cracked or damaged "mechanical" component, it should be corrected.

[Jiles]

I've had good results with KW Block Seal on a Honda Civic that employs upwards of 185 PSI compression as opposed to the much lower Studebaker specs. However, the process is lengthy and must be followed to the letter in the instructions and it won't work in all situations.

Around $10 and some of your time...

I am in total agreement.
Years ago, I used KW in an old Ferguson tractor that had a lot of water in oil.
Previous owner had used the tractor by draining the water and oil after each use.
This was long ago and it was sold after about a year of use. To my knowledge, It is still being used today.
Yes, buyer was told about condition.

[Blue 15G]

KW Block Seal is one of the few "miracle in a can" products that can actually work, based on testimonials from customers of mine when I used to work in the auto parts biz.

[tsenecal]

The bars leak, that John mentioned is still available. I just used it on a Kubota diesel with good results. The old flathead ford v8s were bad for cracking between the cyl and the valve seat. Have used bars leak on them as well.

[Buzzard]

Hello christophe,
Lately I have used, with good success, the product called "IRONTITE" which previously was only available through commercial and industrial suppliers. We are all familiar with the old Bars Leaks and Radiator Specialty products but I feel this is a huge improvement, albeit a little expensive, but if it works, what the heck.

http://www.irontite.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=142

Good luck,
Bill

[lschuc]

Christophe,
I agree with an earlier comment, for you to retorque the cylinder head bolts first, then drain the oil, fill the engine with fresh oil and then see what happens.
If you can find or get a pressure tester, similar to the one pictured in a earlier response, the that may either show an external coolant leak.

Also, I think that if you remove the radiator cap from the cool engine, then start the engine and let it get warm, after the thermostat opens, you may see air bubbles show up in the top of the radiator coolant. If that happens, it may be a good indicator that there is a cylinder head gasket leak (if not a cracked head... hopefully not!)

Otherwise, contact Josserand at O-One in Bazainville to check out the source of the coolant leak. As you well know, they are familiar with Studebakers !
(you probaly met him in Sepember)

[kxet]

I bought a 6cyl. Dodge with had a cracked head,it was at a gas station and they told me about head and they had tried lot of crack sealer on it. Owner gave up and left it to be sold. I had access to a good head and put it on. Ran fine, old head had bad crack and used head cured that. But all the stop leak had completly stopped up radiator, had to be rodded out.

[jclary]

I bought a 6cyl. Dodge with had a cracked head,it was at a gas station and they told me about head and they had tried lot of crack sealer on it. Owner gave up and left it to be sold. I had access to a good head and put it on. Ran fine, old head had bad crack and used head cured that. But all the stop leak had completly stopped up radiator, had to be rodded out.

Always a puzzle to me regarding "stop leak" chemicals. Whether those designed for cooling systems, or automatic transmissions. I have often wondered, if they will stop up a hole...what's to keep the chemical from plugging up a passage that needs to stay open? I have used some of that "green stuff" to stop leaks in some of my farm implement tires, only to have it mess up the valve for inflating the tire. I have had to remove & clean it so I can inflate the tire.

As a side note, many years ago, I was told that for a water leak in a radiator, an effective short term emergency fix was to buy a small box of ground pepper & dump it in the radiator, and the pepper would stop the leak long enough to get you home. Fortunately, I've not had to test that one.

[Colgate Studebaker]

I've used Bars Leak for many years and had good success with it. NAPA sells it in a large pellet form that I mix in a coffee cup with a little anti freeze and water mixture. Depending on the size of the coolant system I will use a couple pellets or the entire package. I only use it once and if it doesn't stop the leak, then I go to mechanical repair measures. Jeff made an excellent point to do some testing before just putting something in the system. Hope this helps, Bill.

[PackardV8]

JMHO, but the only time I'd dump any of those various sludges in the cooling system is if fleeing the zombie apocalypse and it had to run long enough make it over the mountain pass.

If it seems I feel strongly against them, some of the gnashtiest rebuilds begin with a block completely plugged solid with that crappage. I spent two days cleaning a Packard V8 block. No way to know which or maybe all of those products were involved, but once you've seen the inside of a cooling system having had that treatment, no way, no how.

jack vines