Howdy,
Leaving tommorow AM heading south. On my walkaround I noticed that I've sprung a small coolant leak. I have a 6N71. If you're looking at the engine from the back, the leak is on the top of the block to the right of the blower. Not major but still concerning due to long trip ahead.
There are no bolts in the area to tighten. Can I use BarsLeak to stop it?
Thanks in advance.
Aron.
I wouldn't hesitate to use it on my 671 under those conditions. I've used it on my old farm tractors with no problems and don't see how it can harm these ancient engines. The 671 runs cold anyway.
Go Find a GOOD automotive repair shop that has Wynns Radiator Stop Leak
Hands down the best and safe-est stop leak IMFO
This stuff IS NOT sold in parts stores
OK,
Thanks guys. I'm probably being overcautious but hey, who can blame me. I'm sure the jitters will wear off the further south I get. This is the first big journey in the bus...
Aron.
I would check the oil for antifreeze before I do anything.
Loosen the drain plug a couple of turns and if antifreeze is there it will come out first. If the coach is level.
I had great success in getting a Trans-Am from Greensboro to Portsmouth Ohio with the stuff with all the copper flecks in it.
Ed
The oil on the stick looks good, but I will check the plug. Assuming the the antifreeze goes to low point?
If head gasket is the problem, guess that puts things on hold.
Aron,
Take a good look at the water manifold on the other side of the head. You may have a leak there and the coolant is flowing around the head to the lowest point.
If the o-rings in the head were leaking, there probably wouldn't be much visible on the outside since there is an o-ring that goes all the way around the outside circumference of the head where it mates to the block. You would be more likely to find coolant in the exhaust or in the oil.
To find out if there is oil in the exhaust, start the engine from cold and hold your finger in the exhaust stream until the condensation makes it wet. Stick your tongue on the wet finger. If it tastes sweet, there is coolant leaking into it.
You may also only have a cold water leak, where when the engine warms up the leak goes away. these are caused from silicone/nitrile hoses that don't seal with regular clamps.
Make sure you tighten up all your clamps before you take off, run the engine down the road for awhile and see if you still have a leak. If so, use the Barrs Leak. It isn't gonna hurt anything.
Dallas
Pulled the plug...black gold only!! :P
I'll try the Wynn's if I can find it...otherwise BarsLeak.
Thanks again.
Aron.
Dallas,
I'll have a look at that too.
Hey Dallas,
What is the course of action if I find coolant in exhaust?
Aron.
Quote from: Flyboy on October 30, 2007, 07:07:13 PM
Hey Dallas,
What is the course of action if I find coolant in exhaust?
Aron.
Rent a cherry picker and buy a head set. It should only take you about 3 days to remove the head, have it checked, clean up the deck, replace the o-rings and fire rings, put the head back on, torque it, run the rack and button it up.
Or run it gently using the Barrs leak as needed and go south until you get to a place you can sit and fix it.
6-71's are tough old engines. I ran mine over 1000 miles with a blown O-ring. These engines are just about as bullet proof as it gets.
Take your time and you'll make it.
IHTH,
Dallas
When I replaced my radiator core a few months back someone told me that radiator stop leak is one of the worst things to put in an engine. I don't know if age and type of engine would matter.
I'm sorry to rain on anyone's parade but I have never had any luck using any kind of crap that you pour in the rad & hope that it will stop a leak. It gives you a momentary sense that you are doing something and sometimes it doesn't actually make things worse. The best you can hope for, IMO, is that it will only lighten your wallet by the cost of the stuff you pour in the rad. The worst you can experience can be a lot worse.
Just drive it for now. The more you run it, the less it will leak. Barsleak or any such snake oil is only temporary at best. If it still leaks after your drive, you'll have to fix it properly, once and for all.
I have had very good luck with Bars leak in the past. I can't imagine all the solids in that stuff not screwing up something over the long run. I put that powdered aluminum stuff in a couple of leaker's for friends and it lasted for years. It also doesn't have the volume of solids to harm anything but it did work. Put it in a warm engine that has the thermostat open. If that doesn't work you can also add bars leak later and not have lost much. Beats having the radiator removed an roded.
John
Well I have to disagree with the people who say that Barsleak wont work we used it in a n14 cummins when the head was leaking and it sealed rite up.Now the other brands like alumaseal dont work that i can agree with. Go to barsleaks website and it will explain how it works,pretty intresting. also make sure you check the quanity needed cause these buses have a bunch of antifreeze, which in turn means alot of barsleak to fix a little leak.Also just remember all these stopleaks dont last forever, so when you have time get the leak fixed rite.
I used Barsleak on my 8v71 over two years ago for a small leak. I have not had any further problems at all. I was skeptical at first, but glad I tried it.
Good Luck,
Paul
I've had great success with Bars Leak! Get the tablets if able, if not get the pellets! BUT DO NOT USE THE POWERED STUFF IT WILL RUIN A RADIATOR IN NO TIME! I have used the tablets & the pellets more than once and had great results! I had an 8V92 that would leak coolant into the airboxes when the weather would change, used Bars Leak in it and it was still doing FINE 2yrs later when I sold it a yr ago & the current owner has had ZERO problems! FWIW ;D BK ;D
By the way this was back when I was a poor boy try'n to get by, and was along way from home and had 2 choices Bars Leak or tow truck! (and I didn't have $ to pay a tow truck!)
YA know come to think of it I'm sorta still a poor boy! I started with nothing & still have most of it left!
Whatever radiator stop leak was used in my engine did stop the pinhole leaks in the radiator.
I wasn't aware of any leaks in my radiator when I took the radiator in for cleaning. They rodded it out and found evidence of stop leak being used. When it was pressure tested there were a number of pinhole leaks that the stop leak had been plugging. I ended up buying a new core and no more leaks.
One other note on this! Even if you do use the "good stuff" DON"T USE TOO MUCH OF IT! Too much of ANY of them will plug the radiator sooner or later and probably at the worst time possible! FWIW
;D BK ;D
Over the past 50 years I have used Barrs Leak and other remedies and I have never been disappointed in any of them as a temporary radiator/block sealant. Everything from a Model A right up to modern vehicles. I have never heard of any of them causing a blockage of the radiator itself. I suspect it would take a significant overdose to cause a problem like that.
Richard
I Use Barrs "Block Sealer" . It saved me on several different engines.
Remember the engine must be up to operating temps and you have to run it for
a while to circulate the sealer. It actually starts working after you shut down and the
engine starts to cool.
I had a continental 6 cylinder flat head that had a physical crack across the head
that you could see... Barrs leak block sealer and the crack sealed up. I ran that engine for 4 more years and it never leaked again.
Worst case, Get one of those big shaker packages of Black Pepper and keep it handy. It will temporarily stop a readiator or minor hose leak and can be flushed out later with little residue.
Dave....
Dr. Dave,
The black pepper move sounds down right culinary. The first leak sealer I ever heard about was "oatmeal". I never did that but the old timers said it worked like a charm. Who gnu?
John
IIRC -- Wynn's Radiator Stop leak is a special kind of ground OATMEAL
The problem I had with the oatmeal mixture is that it swells and cooks into globs
in the radiator core and engine galleries. It requires acid boiling to get it out of the system later.
The Black Pepper is a short term fix that does not clump up and make a mess of everything. Only a good water flush is needed to remove the residue.
A buddy of mine had a 49 Dodge woods buggy and the radiator tended to leak. He got carried away with the pepper one day and as we are running down a back road at about 40 mph the radiator finally exploded.... Uh... No windshield, firewall or dashboard to deflect the steam and pepperred water spray....Right back into the drivers and passengers faces...( I was shocked, laughing and crying all at the same time. )
I had warned him earlier about using it as a long term fix.....
I have used in in my MC9 a while back when a radiator popped a core 110 miles from home. It slowed the leak enough that I got home in only a couple of extra stops.
I ended up recoring both radiators after that just because I hated those surprises while on the road. Salt damage on the NJT MC9's is worst on the drivers side radiators lower sections. It's also where the air intake is located.
Dave....
Dave
The Wynns stuff is truely UNIQUE - It doesn't clog radiators - just stops leaks - I've NEVER had it cause me a problem
Like I said -- A SPECIAL ground oatmeal mixture --
Pete
Having always lived in the "Great White North," I heard many warnings that heater cores were the first thing to plug up from using leak stop products. Considering the sizes of bus cores, I'm not sure it would be much of a problem in this case. But if you're worried, you might want to close the gate valves until the stop leak does its thing.
The amount you would need to add might be a lot less, too.
Don
Back in late 40's....we had a factory rep from Bar Leak that was in our 4-H farm tractor club. He told us about "How radiator stop leak work?"
They use (back then) ground-up balsa wood into fine particle so it expand wherever it expose to open dry air. You can read the FAQ about it...http://www.barsproducts.com/bars_faq.htm
Only ones that has clogging problem, during as a mechanic in my life time is they either too low coolant to allow air being circulate or over heated.
FWIW
Sojourn for Christ, Jerry
I have used Bars Leak for many years in different vehicles with very good results. There are some auto manufacturers who install BL at the factory. (Jaguar is one I remember) There is an interesting story about BL and a nuclear submarine: http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=3739
Fred