Saw a car care presentation on cable TV the other day which included a live demonstration of a product designed to stop leaks in the coolant system as soon as they appear. The product was made by Wynne's and the demonstration showed someone pouring some water into a tin can full of holes then pouring a small amount of this fluid into it. What had resembled a watering can in full flow immediately stopped with not a single drip to be seen anywhere. It all looked quite remarkable to me and a very, very good idea. IIRC the guy said the fluid should simply be added to the cooling system and could be left indefinitely. It would seal any leaks immediately and remain active until the coolant was changed.
Anyone had any experience of this product and/or got any views on it ?
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It may or may not be coincidence, but about 3 weeks after I put a similar product in my radiator as a 'protective' measure, the water pump failed.
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I was wondering whether this stuff was still around - had it demonstrated to me in my accessory shop in the sixties!
Bluey granular gunk IIRC, very impressive but also wondered about clogging tendencies.
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It strikes me that if small leaks are stopped by this stuff then some problem areas such as rusting radiators and loose pipes will not get spotted early and fail catastrophically later. I'd rather spot a small leak and fix it than have a catastrophic radiator failure on the motorway.
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I've used Bars Leaks ( in the radiator-shaped plastic bottle) for years. It's part of the emergency tool kit as well as being added whenever I change my car. It's supposed to lube the water pump and inhibit corrosion as well.
Only practical experience was having used it in a Citroen BX 16 valve, it collected a piece of slate in the rad. matrix. Slight weeping ensued. In went another bottle of Bars Leaks and it lasted for months until it let go suddenly at a colleague's wedding reception ensuring many of the guests had to paddle through green, steaming fluid. It gets my vote.
H.
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An old dodge for lubricating the water pump was to put in a bit of brake fluid, a substance which mixes OK with water.
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Volvoman, you're watching the wrong 'infomercials' - what you want is 'Super whizzo extra, with formulin' this wonderful product alows your vehicle to run for 1000's of miles with no water. ;-)
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Its just a coagulant. Tends to damage the water pump seals, I wouldn't use it unless desperate - certainly don't leave it in your cooling system as a matter of course.
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No, I've no experience of the product.
Views, oh yes.
Have you seen these similar ads on Sky TV for spanners which fit everything. Why buy 20 spanners when these 4 Grippo's will fit everything?
Bodging is what it's all about.
If you have a leak in the cooling system, why wouldn't you just find it and fix it?
If you can't, what about Radweld or similar. Might get me into bother if I talk about egg white, or wee-ing in the radiator, but the urea will do precisely the same job.
Do you want to do the job properly and be satisfied, or bodge it?
Your call.
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Don't worry Sean - I haven't got a leak and wouldn't necessarily use this stuff if I did. I was just interested to know if anyone knew anything about this specific Wynne's product (Radiator Stop Leak) and it appears not. I know about Radweld, eggs etc. but this seemed light years ahead and the leaks it fixed were by no means pin holes either. I guess I'd be happy to use it if it was a choice between that and getting stuck out in the middle of nowhere - not a case of bodging.
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