Hey guys i made the terrible discovery that a little coolant is leaking out from one of the heads, its not too bad so i was thinking that some stop leak should do the trick and i was looking at grabbing a bottle of Bar's Leaks head gasket fix (mostly because i dont have to flush the entire cooling system with this product). Has anybody used this product before and if so did it work good? i mean usually the easy patch-o-rama versions are never as good as the full flush style versions. And also the stop leak requires that the engine run with the heater on, is this gonna be a problem if my heater doesnt work? any info is welcome, thanks!
I would try retorqueing the head bolts before using any kind of stop leak! I used Bars once and it clogged up my heater core!
There is a product called DIKE. It's a liquid you pour in. Best stuff I've ever used to seal a coolant leak, and it won't stop anything up like your heater core or radiator.
use that leak as an excuse to rebuild the top of your motor or maybe an excuse to upgrade to some nice aluminum heads if you can afford it. otherwise head gaskets arent much (I think like $50 a set) and its not that hard to change them on a 302 as the heads are semi light and there are guide studs for the heads that make it easy to set the heads on and forget about slipping. you damn near need a cherry picker to put heads on a big block theyre SO HEAVY and no guide studs
Guide studs ? Since when ? The V8's have head bolt bushings to locate the heads properly, big blocks are no different, they had them as well as the small blocks.
Will this stuff work to seal that annoying leak I have at my thermostat housing? I have used all types of adhesives, gaskets, etc, and I can NEVER get that leak to stop.
so much to reply to haha. first off i have no idea why my heater doesnt work, it never did for as long as ive owned the car. Its a 302 and (if your standing in front of the car with the hood open looking in) it looks like its leaking from the left head (passenger side) in the front inboard corner (right corner of the head). i can see bubbles and coolant squirting out but its a little dirty and greasy but im pretty sure thats where its coming from...not terribly but enough to make the car start to over heat while driving. and i would totally like to do one of those edelbrock top end performance kits with the heads, manifold and cam but its a little out of my price range right now and i sorta need my car working asap. but from what i hear about this stop leak stuff it looks like i might just be gettin my hands dirty here. On the subject of stop leak though it seems every brand requires the heater on while the engine idles and i was still wondering if having the heater on is a crucial step in stop leak sealing should i attempt a quick fix.
Scott, DIKE stopped a head gasket leak on a Cat diesel for me. If it can stop a leak with that kind of pressure behind it, I'd say it would work on your thermostat housing. Take the heater hoses loose and reconnect them together so that you are bypassing the heater core. Then add the DIKE and run it like it says on the label. I'm not real big on the "Mechanic in a can [or bottle]" type fixes as they usually don't work or don't last. If you need to just try and postpone the repair, the DIKE should do the job. http://www.qmimo.com/products/Dike-Radiator-Stop-Leak.html
bars leak makes a kind of head gasket fix that is about $50 at a local parts store. I have 2 friends that have used it with success for fixing blown head gaskets on lt1's
youre right after you calling me on this I realized I was thinking of putting on the intake manifold. its been a minute since I worked on my car. I remember what a PAIN it was to put an intake manifold on a 390 compared to my 302. damn intake on that 390 prolly weighed 50lbs compared to 20 on the 302
Fifty ? Must have been an aluminum intake then. The iron FE intakes weigh right at 100 pounds. I changed a couple "back in the day" on my 67 Stang. The CJ intake weighed a few pounds more than the std FE intake.
if its leaking so bad that your seeing it squirt i would be worried about whats giong on inside.you'll be sorry if your getting antifreeze in your engine. it'll score your pistons walls so fast it'll make your head spin.although it might not be overheating you still might be getting it in a cylinder wall. i know you need it back quick but putting head gaskits in our cars just isn't that tough and you can do it with minimal tools in your drivewayin a few hours.better to do that than to waste an engine in the end. cheep fix to while there off i'd check it with a square and make sure there flat or take them and have them checked.(cheep too)
