First part of this story is in this thread. To summarize, after all the work that was done, the intake manifold gasket blew out and pished coolant all over the road. Mechanic recommended using some Bar's Leak to seal it up, maybe it'll last long enough to trade it in. At least I'd get something for it that way.

I went to the Auto Zone and looked. They've got about nine different products with that name on it, though. I was wavering between the Liquid Copper ($8.99) and the Head Gasket Fix ($29.99), both of which say they're for gasket leaks and you don't have to drain the system first. A desultory search of the archives didn't bring too many mentions of this stuff, of any type.

So, has anyone here used either of these and has recommendations? Or should I be using something else entirely?

(Also, the coolant in there is by now a mix of orange and green, 'cos I used whatever I had at hand as it was basically draining the radiator every day until it finally blew out. The green stuff says on the label that you can mix it with orange, but I've read here that mixing them isn't a good idea. Do I have to flush and refill? And if so, should I do this before using the sealer, or afterward?)

 

None. It'll get into your heater core and your engine and cause all sorts of problems.

Mixing orange and green will cause even more problems and yes, you need to do a flush to get it all out then put in one type of coolant.

If I bought the truck from you and had to do the IM gasket right after and you didn't tell me about it...and I found the mixed coolant, that you obviously knew about it and the bar's leak you'd used had stopped up the heater core and the block (and possibly caused overheating and damage), I'd be pretty pissed. And I'd be coming after you in court, too.

Just do the intake manifold gasket - it'll be done, once and for all, and you'll get more money for it. There's a how-to here on the site.

 

Use K-Seal it will not plug heater cores or radiators. I have used it in my Jeep & it works real good. It is like $18.

 

You mixed Dex-Cool with Green coolant? That's really bad, it tends to congeal.
Also, I don't know why a mechanic told you to use Bar's Stop Leak, that's also a no-no. If it plugs cracks, what else do you think it will plug up? Radiator, Heater core etc, etc...
Do what Leeann_Bravada said. Buy a new intake manifold gasket.
Those "Gasket Fixers" are temporary at best.

 

Yeah, mixing the coolants is not a great idea if you can avoid it. I have used Bars Alumaseal for radiator leaks years ago and it worked great. Now things may have changed since then, but there is always the chance it could cause other issues. The "stuff" you put in plugs small openings, so if your heater core is corroded inside badly, that "stuff" could plug it too. If it is clean, it should work as advertised. As far as selling it knowing it had issues, that is up to you. Autos are sold "as is", buyer beware and all that stuff. A law suit wouldn't get far.

 

I wound up using the Liquid Copper. Didn't do squat. Coolant still coming out like Niagara Falls.

At the moment I'm not doing any further work on this truck, I'm done with it. If some new car dealer will take it in trade, as is, fine. Otherwise it's getting donated to charity for the tax write-off or sold for scrap. Hell, I'm so POd at it right now I'll even pull the lever on the crusher myself if they let me. $3,116.29 in parts and labor down the drain since last September is enough, I'm gonna cut my losses and get this albatross off my neck. I can't imagine what's going to go wrong next.

Leeann: If I was selling you the truck, believe me, I'd not only tell you about the coolant problem, but the worn motor mounts as well; not fair to spring that kind of surprise on someone. (Also the fact that the car was in an accident some years ago, although you should have found that out from Carfax yourself.)

That's in a private sale between two individuals, though, which I wasn't planning on doing. I should think a dealer taking a car in trade should be able to find these things out for themselves, by having their mechanics inspect the car, and figuring the costs of making it resellable into their offer; I'd not be making any representations about it at all, just "Here it is, what'll you gimme?".

Not that it matters now, because the only way they're getting it is on a flatbed, which should tip them off that it ain't perfect.

As far as replacing the gasket myself, I doubt I'm a good enough mechanic to get it done on my own. I read through the How-To, I also have the factory shop manual, and I think I could likely tear it down far enough to get the old gasket out; putting it all back together again, and having it run, is another question entirely. I suppose I could take a shot at it over the summer; worst case scenario is that the junkman tows it away disassembled rather than in one piece. I suppose it helps that an Advance Auto Parts should be opening up around the corner from me soon, so if I need some weird wrench or o-ring I could pop round and pick it up. Even if I did fix it I still wouldn't be driving it anymore, though, just getting it in shape to sell.

CBR995: I asked the mechanic that myself, how is it supposed to tell the difference between a leak and a water passage? His response was that a leak has air on the other side of it and it needs the air to cure. So you mean to tell me there isn't any air in a cooling system which has a leak from somewhere on the engine itself? Well, supposedly it only cures in pin-hole-sized openings. Take that for what it's worth.

To all of you about mixing the two types of coolant: I had no idea that you shouldn't do that, based on the labeling on the bottles (which claims that you can), until I read about it here. See what you learn by staying up half the night reading web boards...

 

You will make more $$$ if you part out the vehicle than any dealer will give you by bringing it to them on a flatbed.

Something to think about.