Never use Bars Leak Please!
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Elder User
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Never use Bars Leak Please!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...bars-leak.html
My thread on my issues with Bars Leak and a 2v motor. No, it wasn't me who put it in there!
My thread on my issues with Bars Leak and a 2v motor. No, it wasn't me who put it in there!
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Joined: Apr 2011
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Don't know how a coolant additive could have corallated to your problems, but I don't care for additive: ANY that isn't called for, ie limited slip additive etc. is fine, but otherwise from a/c condensor to rear end NO WAY. I think they are "witches brew". BUT, put on your fire jacket, cause you may get flamed for that one. Some here swear by that stuff.
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Elder User
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Those people who swear by it have never torn down a motor that had it in there! Obviously if you read my other thread it is a combination of things but there was bars leak gumming up pretty much all the water passages.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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Well there is more to every story. WAs the truck under warrenty ? How many miles? You said it "had other problems". I have a F150 with 220,000 miles. It has a very small leak in the head gasket or head crack. I have used the COPPER head gasket sealer from BARS and it has fixed it for 2 years. The heater and AC still work great so it has not plugged either heat exchanger. I was not prepared to spend several hundered dollars and the time out of service to do the repairs. Truck is 12 years old, and 220,000 mmiles. Seems like a good option to me. If you can PROVE the sealer was the problem i will listen, you YOU HAD OTHER PROBLEMS ALSO... DOnt kill it for all due to your problems which might not be related. I have used it a few times and seems to work good. I dont know exactly what the passages look like, but i have had no overheating problems.
Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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WEll, i have changed my mind.. I went back and looked at your post and photos.. Now i say your post is total BS.. You bought a car with 37k miles that ran no air cleaner, never changed the oil, ran on durty roads and started burning oil 20k miles later.. Now you THINK it had BARS leak inside ?????????? "I think i had other problems also "-- DUH?
Post Fiend
Joined: Feb 2000
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From: Kansas
The PO's lack of maintenance and the opening of the air cleaner system was killer on a tight clearance engine. You can use Bars Leak as the scapegoat but you have too many other factors on this one.
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: okc
I don't think Bars was the problem in this case, but, I had a 78 460 in 76 F150. The first year I owned it, the radiator sprung a leak in BFE Oklahoma. Having no other choice I got some Bars coolant system leak sealer, the liquid kind that looks like it has rocks in it. I added it and the leak stopped. Got home with no issues, and it ran good thru the year. Then it started getting hot at highway speeds (280*+) but would cool off (195*) as soon as I pulled off the road. I replaced everything trying to fix it with no results. After fighting it for two years, and finally being ready to tear it down I pulled the motor. When I got the heads off, the front 4 cylinders had green antifreeze in their water jackets. The back 4 cylinders had muddy water in theirs. After teardown I peeked in the water passages and found those "rocks" inside. The whole back half of the block was clogged. I cleaned it up and reassembled. Wouldn't ya know it, my overheating issues disappeared. Moral of this story is, those "snakeoil" treatment products can get you home, but there is a chance it will cause problems.
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What I didn't explain was the coolant, which I added a picture of, and the obviousness that it overheated. I am of the opinion that if you are going to fix something, do it right. Odds are you pour bars leak in there and don't tell the next guy a damn thing. I just can't do that. It's out of a 2001 Bullitt by the way. I am just upset that i bought a car on the premise of it being low mileage only to have to deal with this. I have a 1992 F-150 with 214K on it, and I fix everything that goes wrong with OEM or better replacement parts. I just feel if I did something sketchy and then sold it, I am just passing the buck.
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Hotshot
Joined: Jul 2005
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a low milagae car that apparently had been abused and was in worse shape than my truck with a quarter million miles on it... My complaint was not that it is acceptable to put Bars Leak in a low mileage car, my complaint was that you come to the conclusion that no one should "ever" use the sealer --READ THE TITLE OF YOUR POST.. YOur conclusion is not based on facts since the car was heavil abused, burnt oil, ran out of water and run with no air cleaner.. THAT was your problem, not the sealer.
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Joined: Feb 2008
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From: Jackson
by the looks of the pic of the coolant it was only barsleak and no coolant. I ran bars leak in my 1995 F-150 for a week then had to fix another thing and had to drain the coolant and it looked like normal coolant. If you follow the directions it works great.
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Elder User
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I...can't...do it! A bunch of my friends run Lucas in their oil too and it drives me nuts. I guess since I am an airplane/auto mechanic it might be a little different but I have to fix things right.