Hi all,

Dreaded heater core leak. I have bypassed it for now.
Thinking about trying this K-Seal instead of ripping out the dashboard.

Thoughts? Racing beat seem to endorse it: https://www.racingbeateurope.com/k-seal-water-sealer-1226-p.asp

Any comments good or bad much appreciated.

Cheers,

John

 

I have coolant leak in my rear rotor. I didn't want to pull the motor out mid summer in south Florida so I added a bottle of k seal. It's been about 4 months and I have no leaks anymore. It sits for a week at a time and even after sitting, it shows no signs of a leak. It hasn't clogged anything in the cooling system either. No overheating issues.

 

i had a suzuki sj offroader that cracked the block about 8 inches long across the core plugs...1 bottle of k seal later the leak stopped and it was still ok 3 years later when i sold it,its now in norway and still ok as far as i know...k seal has a big thumbs up from me.

 

It should be fine but why not just bite the bullet and replace the heater core?

 

Thanks guys for your input. I tried it but had no luck, it actually clogged the heater core, probably because there was a lot of air in there.
I'm going to unclog it with a back flush and try again but this time applying stop leak only to the heater core (i.e. a make shift mini system that will circulate water and stop leak only to the heater core). If that fails, then off goes the dashboard. Trying to avoid it as the garage wants it for 2 days. The cost is not that bad, 100€ labor + 70€ for a new core.

The cost doesn't bother me at all, quite cheap actually, just can't afford to be without a car at the moment.

 

Hi all,

Just an update on progress and to set straight some things I said earlier about K-Seal.
Firstly, it didn't clog the heater core, I thought it did but it didn't. Two days after I added K-Seal my radiator fell apart at the seams, where the aluminum meets the plastic, so maybe the stuff didn't get a chance to work. The radiator problem was in no way related to K-Seal. Just a cheaply made radiator that replaced the original three years ago.

Secondly, after replacing the radiator, of course all the K-Seal was flushed out of the system and new coolant was added.

I didn't have any K-Seal left so I decided to try Liqui Moly radiator stop leak as that was available locally and it was so cheap I bought two cans. I poured some into the heater core and filled with coolant and the rest into the coolant reservoir. I used only one can of course and it worked, full heat in the car and hasn't lost a drop in over a week now. No wet carpet anymore etc.

I still have the stuff in the system. I was smart enough to use generic green coolant for this experiment (the cheap stuff). Fl22 will replace it shortly. Even though Liqui Moly states that it can be left in the system for insurance just like K-Seal states, I still cringe a bit on leaving stop leak in the works.

So success 🙌

 

because it’s a big pita job that requires pulling out the entire front and center dashes maybe?