Related HG preventative maintenance? (1 Viewer)

[MTBGUY]

Hello fellow owners- I'm a newbie to posting here- have been lurking and doing maintenance to my 97 Cruiser since purchasing about 18 months ago- LOVE IT!

After reading all of the (eight pages) of "heated" discussion over impending headgasket problems I am about to drain and clean out the old fluid.

My question is this: I have a long time mechanic friend who has been (for about 20 years) been doing this to his cooling systems. He will clean out/flush the system about once every 12 to 18 months, replace the thermostat and then mixes a container of Bar's stop leak (the liquid brown stuff with pellets inside it) in with the proper ratio of distilled water and antifreeze. He says it keeps seals and headgaskets more flexible/pliable and thicker (intact), in addition to lubricating the water pump.

I have been doing this for about the last seven years, including a few times to drive the Alaska highway from Seattle to Anchorage and back where I did not want to develop a pinhole leak in the middle of nowhere. My friend lives in Texas, where it gets hot in the summer, and has never had a problem with the temps running noticeably warmer than without the treatment. He also says that although the Bars product does produce a very light film on the insides of some hoses, if you keep the system clean regularly its benefits outweigh the negatives. The only time I noticed a kind of "sludgy" system was when I left it in one car for about three years once after forgetting to do the maintenance.

Forgive me if this has been covered before in a discussion, but I could not find mention of it anywhere.

Opinions, debate, discussion anyone?????????

Thanks

Rick B.
97 40th Ed.
Dark Green, 68,000
Stock (for now)

 

[MTBGUY]

PS- I don't work for this company- I'm just trying to avoid the dreaded HG failure for as long as possible!

 

[elmariachi]

IIRC, you don't run the Bar's Stop Leak headgasket sealer along with coolant/antifreeze. You are supposed to drain the system, refill with water and Bar's, run for a day then drain and let the system air dry. THEN add back your water/coolant mixture and go on down the road. This is how we used to do it on farm vehicles but I am not sure how much helped. I also think it contains silicates, which have been argued to be harmful to Toyota cooling systems. That is still up for debate here though.

 

[semlin]

i won't put crap in my radiator unless someone actually proves it does any good. i can see it doing harm easily. 80 cooling systems are balanced on a knife edge. so sludging up is a big problem if it happens

if you want to do pm to avoid a h/g failure here are a few things
-install the temp gauge mod and watch your temp
-monitor your coolant level regularly (check it cold)
-install the newer fan clutch
-keep a close eye on your hoses
-change the phh
-pull the block plug when you flush
-do not mix coolant types
-replace the h/g as pm!

 

[MTBGUY]

Thanks- I guess I need to read the label more closely in the future!

 

[elmariachi]

I tell you what I'd do if I had a 68K mile '97 LC. I'd drain the cooling system every March, put in a new Toyota thermostat and o-ring, inspect all hoses, refill with distilled water and drive it straight to the local Toyota dealer, where they will clean, pressure test and refill the system with proper Toyota red mix for $99. I have done all of the cooling system flushes and maintenance on my 80s but for what Toyota coolant costs, $99 is starting to look attractive to me to have it flushed free of the grey slime and properly pressure tested annually. That's more peace of mind than a can of Bar's Stop Leak. Just my .02c.

 

[MTBGUY]

I tell you what I'd do if I had a 68K mile '97 LC. I'd drain the cooling system every March, put in a new Toyota thermostat and o-ring, inspect all hoses, refill with distilled water and drive it straight to the local Toyota dealer, where they will clean, pressure test and refill the system with proper Toyota red mix for $99. I have done all of the cooling system flushes and maintenance on my 80s but for what Toyota coolant costs, $99 is starting to look attractive to me to have it flushed free of the grey slime and properly pressure tested annually. That's more peace of mind than a can of Bar's Stop Leak. Just my .02c.

Thats a good idea! One local dealership wants $25 a gallon for the Toyota RED, another quoted me $30 per container. So its getting the labor done for a pretty decent price.

 

[SteveH]

Bars Leak once swelled a radiator cap gasket so large you couldn't put the cap back on. I think it's far too aggressive on 'softening rubber parts'. If they need softening, they need replacing.

The only 'radiator in a can' product I use is the aluminum/bronze sprinkles in a small tube. They work incredibly well - sometimes a half-tube is enough, and they are perfect for a trail repair or for a beater car. They likely plug heater cores, so I'd sure go easy with it and only use it in cars where it is the lesser of any other evils.

Steve

 

[Rookie2]

Thats a good idea! One local dealership wants $25 a gallon for the Toyota RED, another quoted me $30 per container. So its getting the labor done for a pretty decent price.

Or do it yourself with green for less than $20. The other benefit of doing it yourself, is you actually get to see what comes out.