"Snake oil" that worked!

[TilliamWe]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Bar's Leak is the worst thing you could put in your cooling system. Why not pull the radiator and replace or get it repaired? Pretty simple repair. Put in that stuff and you will be replacing your clogged up heater core...a not so easy repair.

Pulling the radiator is an easy repair? Not on any vehicle I have ever owned!

Simple was dumping a can of Bar's in one day and never doing it again for 5.5 years. And never having a cooling failure or heater failure. Not even the rear heater on my 87 Van.

 

[halfmoa]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Sure it's not the same as rebuilding but it's getting to a diminishing returns point anyway, why spend another $1,500 to still have something only worth $1,000.

Precisely.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Pulling the radiator is an easy repair? Not on any vehicle I have ever owned!

I guess easy for one person may not be easy for another. I just recently pulled the radiator on my Lexus GS300 when I changed the timing belt...30 minutes. My old Volvo took 15 minutes. Suburban took 30 minutes. Toyota Corolla...30 minutes. Toyota Pick Up 30 minutes...

As another poster alluded to, you will ruin the cooling of the radiator as well. Since this a boat forum, don't use it anything that you are going to pull your boat with if you don't want to overheat.

I guess I am different than a lot of the posters...I don't want to be left stranded someday because my band aid fix let loose. I would spend more on a fix even if the car's value didn't deserve it, to have something safer and more reliable. But that's just me.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Yeah Bruce the radiator in a 1987 Chevy van is a little hard to remove. But I assure you, it towed my Chap 2135 just fine for the 5.5 years after I put the stuff in. Like stated above, I paid $650 for the van, I wasn't going to pay $100 to have the rad fixed. Shoot, I junked it cause the power steering pump was leaking and the front brake line rusted out! (oh and the rear floor had huge holes in it, you got sleepy when you drove it. )

 

[matt167]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

My '51 chevy's radiator comes out with 4 bolts, 2 hoses, in about 5 mins.. And actually it NEEDS to come out to do radiator hoses. Bottom rad hose is so short, you cannot put it on without pulling the radiator. The transmission cooler ( separate water cooled piece that hangs off timing cover ) is the reason for that.

I worked on a '75 Lincoln that had 1 clamp holding the rad in from the top, just as many cars from that time did. Actually I pulled the 460 out of it in an hr with only basic hand tools.

The worst snake oil is that head gasket in a can ( sodium silicate ).. I'v had the 'privilege' of rebuilding about 5 cyl heads thru the time I did it ( tech school ) where that was used. 1 was cooking so hot, the sludge in the rocker valley baked and the only place it wasn't blocked up was under the rockers. Flipped it over to find the coolant passages clogged up into pin holes. Took hours to chisel that stuff out

 

[bruceb58]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

I have replaced the radiator in a similar van. Not that hard.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

I have replaced the radiator in a similar van. Not that hard.

You just know it all, don't you bruce?

 

[RogersJetboat454]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Admittedly, I have used radiator stop leak in my own car when the heater core sprung a decent leak in the cold months, and I needed to arrange the time to rip the dash out to replace it. The cooling system was then thoroughly flushed, and haven't had a problem since.

I know of a couple of instances where O.E.M's offer their own stop leaks, usually for head gasket issues. Cadillac did for their abomination known as the 4.1/4.5, an aluminum block with iron heads. Subaru did/does too for the boxer engines.

I agree, most radiator replacments are a cake walk, but there are a few out there that are a PITA to remove. The radiator in a late 90's, early 00's Jeep Grand Cherokee comes to mind.

 

[matt167]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

There is a few. Chrysler LHS/Concorde comes to mind. R&R on the radiator involves removing the nose of the car

 

[Wind dog]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Just got done fighting my 01 Dakota power steering.
The rack & pinion was leaking out the rack end so I got a reman from Dodge, installed it, bleed the system & the pump would whine when warmed up. So I figured I let it go to long & low oil took out the pump. Replaced the Power Steering pump with one I got from the local parts store (Dodge wanted like $400.00 for a reman) it also whined. Replaced that pump & still had a whine. So now I was back to the rack, I called the dealer to see what the warranty procedure was and was told by the svc manager to put "Friction modifier" in it. (The same stuff I have to put in the differential every once and a while to keep the differential from "grabbing". While it did quite down I can't help but wonder why it whined with the new rack & pump. I don't think I like Dodge.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

You just know it all, don't you bruce?

Used to buy and sell cars when I was in college. Had a lot of experience with a ton of cars. Turned over at least 40 cars a year with many that needed major repairs.

 

[jkust]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

I have replaced the radiator in a similar van. Not that hard.

I've got to say, I still have that same Montana Van equivalent in the fleet and it is hands down an awful vehicle for accesability under the hood. Everything is a pain except the water pump.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Admittedly, I have used radiator stop leak in my own car when the heater core sprung a decent leak in the cold months, and I needed to arrange the time to rip the dash out to replace it. The cooling system was then thoroughly flushed, and haven't had a problem since.

I know of a couple of instances where O.E.M's offer their own stop leaks, usually for head gasket issues. Cadillac did for their abomination known as the 4.1/4.5, an aluminum block with iron heads. Subaru did/does too for the boxer engines.

I agree, most radiator replacments are a cake walk, but there are a few out there that are a PITA to remove. The radiator in a late 90's, early 00's Jeep Grand Cherokee comes to mind.

I agree, those are some of the most difficult rad's to remove that I have ever come up against!

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

You just know it all, don't you bruce?

Probably not all, but it does seems as if he know a bit based on conversations we have had the last couple of years!

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

You just know it all, don't you bruce?

Even if he doesn't, he has an opinion on it......

 

[bruceb58]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

I've got to say, I still have that same Montana Van equivalent in the fleet and it is hands down an awful vehicle for accesability under the hood. Everything is a pain except the water pump.

He was talking about full sized van.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

Even if he doesn't, he has an opinion on it......

I admit, I have opinions on a bunch of things but usually have basis to back them up.

 

[jkust]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

He was talking about full sized van.

Right then.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

I've got to say, I still have that same Montana Van equivalent in the fleet and it is hands down an awful vehicle for accesability under the hood. Everything is a pain except the water pump.

While I was talking about a full sized van, that has no room behind the rad to work, I'll bet Bruce will tell you it's easy to change the spark plugs in a Montana van. When you and I, and GM service techs know it's not! Not an opinion.

 

[jkust]

Re: "Snake oil" that worked!

While I was talking about a full sized van, that has no room behind the rad to work, I'll bet Bruce will tell you it's easy to change the spark plugs in a Montana van. When you and I, and GM service techs know it's not! Not an opinion.

The Silhouette/Montana is probably the most trouble free and pleasant car we'll ever own but I'd hate to be a tech doing anything under the hood.