Bars Leak in Rover V8's?

[harv]

I know the official answer is no, but have any of you had success with any coolant leak stop product in a Rover V8? My 4.6 GEMS has started to slowly leak externally (no evidence of any internal leak) from the upper rear left corner of the engine. It's really hard to see exactly where, but I suspect the head gasket. I've had good success using stop leak in a couple of domestic vehicles I've had. If it could buy me a year or two, I feel that it would be worth trying.

[Rob]

Do a quick search of the other rover forums and you'll see this is a pretty common question that is sometimes a topic of debate but most warn against going with a coolant additive to stop a headgasket leak. My experience using a stop-leak type of product in a Rover V8 (Bosch 4.0L) is that at best it was a short-term fix that lasted a few weeks. There can be some down-sides as the mix is also coating other passages, the water pump, thermostat, the rover radiator tubes/passages are small and clog easily. There might be some magic potions out there that won't have the clogging solids but I'm not aware of any. If you're planning to keep the truck I'd suggest doing the head gaskets... for the 4.0/4.6 V8 it isn't a matter of "if" but "when" your head gaskets are going to go :(

I had that exact same leak on my 4.0 and it was the head gasket that was going.

Cheers, Rob

[harv]

Thanks for the reply Rob. I do understand that a stop leak product would only delay the inevitable. If it would only last a few weeks, it would definitely not be worth it, but I feel that if it might buy me a year it would be. I've had my P38 a little over a year now. I really like it, but it sometimes feels like I work on it more than I drive it.
Harv

[ANDYD]

Hi Harv,

Obviously the proper engine work is the best long term repair for you engine, and if you can pull off the head and complete the repairs yourself that is definitely the best way to go.....but.....on saying that when the engine repair out-weighs the vehicle value you may want to give this stuff a try. I have "friends" who swear by this stuff and have kept V8 Rover leak free for years by using it.
Its not cheap, about $35 a bottle but apparently it does work very well ...

[harv]

Thanks Andy. I do plan to keep my P38 for a long time, and I know I will eventually need to replace the head gaskets, but it would be really nice if I could postpone such a big job. I've also been looking at the posts on rangerovers.net and the feeling seems to be about the same; it's not really the right fix, but it can buy you some time. Apparently some of the stop leak products are quite bad for clogging radiators, heater cores and thermostats, while some seem to be fine. I think I'm going to give it a try. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

[swamijake]

I haven't used that stuff on a rover, but did use it on an S-10 I had. It worked for about a week then started leaking again at the same spot. When I did finally dig into the engine I had to toss the water pump and radiator which were otherwise fine. It won't save you months, but might save you weeks, and will increase the PITA factor and maybe cost later. Keep in mind if your 4.6 needs head gaskets it's probably more than a head gasket, and likely also has a slipped or cracked liner. The 4.6s don't seem to be as bad as the 4.0 for this problem, but it's definitely an issue.

Here are a couple articles about the issue.

http://robisonservice.blogspot.com/2014 ... er-v8.html

http://robisonservice.blogspot.com/2012 ... rover.html

[harv]

Thanks Jake. Postponing the job only for weeks plus other issues is definitely a bad trade off. What I hear from guys is to expect to do head gaskets every 150,000 km or so. This would be reasonable for me, as it would be about every 10-12 years the way I drive. I have just over 150,000 now, but from the vehicles service records they were done less than 70,000 km ago, by MCL in Vancouver, so I assume the job was done by a very competent mechanic with the best parts. As much as I love the vehicle, if I need to do this job every 4-5 years, I will not keep loving it!

[RoverRobin]

Speaking from experience ... I have used barsleak and the other stuff that looks like tiny filings before I knew about the intake preheat plate leak on the D2’s annnd long story short .. I ended up plugging up something and I got amazingly lucky that after blowing 3 hoses and spewing coolant and thankfully all the barsleak and filings everywhere for 4 days in a row ..
what ever happened and my gut tells me one of the products clogged up something .. forcing pressure through the roof bursting plumbing .. I’ve had to flush back and forth through the system to get it all out .. repaired the heating plate and chasing another small leak ...

[harv]

Thanks for the reply. If it will cause me any grief, it's too late now. I put in the Rislone Head Gasket Fix about 3 weeks ago now, and so far so good. No more leaks, and nothing abnormal noticed. I've done all my daily driving with it plus a trip over the Coq, Kelowna to Vancouver and back. Hopefully it continues to hold up. Harv

[harv]

I'll give you an update. It's 7,000 km now and no leaks yet. One of my concerns was clogging up the radiator. Last week we drove up the Connector, air temp read 33C going through Westbank, not quite as hot as we can get it, but probably will be the hottest day that I drive that hill this year. Two of us, plus a weeks worth of camping gear, and a canoe on top, keeping a solid 110km and the temp needle stayed right in the middle. I'm petty sure that the climb from Westbank to the Pennask summit in summer is the most brutal climb in the country, so I'm pretty happy about the radiators condition. My other concern is the heater core. February was very cold here, down to -22C. I wasn't really pleased with the heater output, our other vehicles (excluding the 2A) heat a lot better. I'm not sure if the core is plugged from the sealant, or if it just isn't very good to begin with (it's an Audi heater core). If it doesn't keep up this winter, I'll probably flush the system and go back to a Range Rover core.