Just out of curiosity, has anyone had success with any type of radiator leak stop?
I have a coach with a moderate leak, a drip or two every hour.
Does anyone know of a product that really works?
Thanks
Todd
My eagle needs a radiator, had a small leak. I used a product called Blue Devil. Got it from the Napa store. He had told my dad about it so when I got the eagle and it leaked I tried it. So far dry as a bone, but remember a mechanic in a can ain't nothing but a band aid. I am going to replace the radiator as soon as I can find one. The stuff ain't cheap about $60 a quart, needed two quarts .
Any know of a good source for a new radiator not re-cored for a 77 eagle 05
ED
Wish I could help, but I've only had lousy luck with any that I've ever used. Most never stopped the leaks, and others even closed off a substantial amount of the radiator to the point I had to have it rodded after getting it fixed. If I were in the middle of the Mojave and the only way I was going to get out was by slowing down a radiator leak with the stuff, I'd consider it. Otherwise, I'd get the leak fixed professionally while it's convenient and live with until then. Good luck, maybe someone here has had better luck, Will
Todd, KW ,No Leak and Nulan if you can find Nulan it is the best but any of the good stop leaks you have to drain the system after the leak stops or pay the price later.don't use the stuff like Bar Leak and Wynns.OT here but do you have any bumper corners and blade for Eagles they don't have to be in great shape I have a shop that will rebuild them.
ED, Atlas Radiator in Corpus Christi Tx built the radiator for Eagle and you can still buy it from them sorry I don't have the number but it's on the Web found it 361-882-5661
All that radiator stop leak ever did for me was cover up problems with the radiator core. I didn't know previous owner had used stop leak and when I had the radiator rodded out they found the stop leak and a bunch of pin holes.
I ended up replacing the radiator core and no more overheating problems.
Brian has zeroed in on the solution for sure. The "Bars Leaks" works but I always thought it was a lot of junk to put into the system. I was a skeptic about that little tube of powdered aluminum stuff but it worked for me a few times on different autos till I could R&R the radiator. The powder doesn't need to be drained or flushed but you will do that anyway after replacing the radiator. Try the Aluminum, can't hurt and no recovery problem. Use two or three cans for the size system in a bus.
HTH,
John
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that a bus engine's cooling system has something that automotive ones don't - a coolant filter. It seems to me that if the filter is actually doing its job, most of the stop leak material is going to end up in the filter, sealing its pores up. Maybe it will do some work in the radiator before getting pulled on through to the filter, but my guess is, most of it will be in the filter within 5 minutes of the thermostats opening.
It's not a coolant filter. It's an additive adding filter unit.
If it was a coolant filter it would have 2 inch lines going to it.
I have used Bars Leak block sealer in a pinch with sucess on my 6V92
but ended up re-coring both radiators anyway which worked much better
than using a bandaid. ( The one to use must be in liquid form not the pellets
because they won't dissolve properly in a large system. )
General Radiator in Chicago can make any replacement core that you could dream of and at reasonable prices. No exchange.
Yes, I do know that diesel coolant filters provide the SCA function. But they also have filter elements. They don't filter the full coolant flow, but like a room air cleaner, they filter a portion of it at a time.
http://www.donaldson.com/en/engine/support/datalibrary/052986.pdf
I do believe that by the time the bus gets to town, the filter will be plugged and fail to provide SCA or filtration functions any longer. But if a stop leak product can get a person out of the desert to a shop great! That is good information to know and a filter is a small price to pay to avoid having to be towed out of the desert.
You can also get coolant filters without SCA. A small stream of coolant is always going through the filter and eventually all the coolant should make it through the filter.
I buy the filters without SCA because I want to monitor the SCA level myself and not get too much SCA in the system.
I had good results with Bars Leak - large liquid style, in a pinch.
Saved alot of grief and a tow or two.
Got them home safe and sound. 8)
Its rare to find a filter with out a shutoff valve. If you have to use a product turn the water flow off to the filter. Stop leak is funny stuff. It will melt back out of a hole if the water temp reaches higher than the temp it was melted in at. If you need it, close the filter off and put cardboard over the radiator. Run it up to about 205 degrees and pull the cardboard. The stop leak will stay in until the water temp goes over 205 and melts it out. Put a new filter on when you get it properly repaired and it will trap whatever is left in your coolant after 10 hours or so of running. The filter will plug so change it out. You can check for a plugged filter with your hand. No flow, no heat.