Leaking head gasket.

[Byron]

I have an 05 Sport Trac. I've spent a lot of money on it. It has a rebuilt engine, 70,000 on it, new body mount bushing, tires, radiator, water pump, it goes on and on. I've been reading youtube posts on what sealer to use and how to do it. It's info that's all over the map. I believe a sealer should be an option first as to replace the gasket is very expensive and when the engine is open no telling where it could go from there. One concern I have is if I do use a sealer and it doesn't work will it damage other things that aren't damaged. Anyone have real life experience with this? Should I try a sealer? I was told use a BLOCK sealer. Anyways anyone with real life experience would help. Thank you.

 

[CamoKorean]

I've used lucas stop leak engine sealer before....it's a hit or miss when it comes to sealers in a bottle. 95% of the time it won't harm engine components or mess anything up.

 

[Byron]

Thank you..

 

[Todd Z]

WHY would you seal a head gasket if its running fine? or new or rebuilt.... whats it doing?

 

[Byron]

It's leaking. It's over heated and apparently compromised the head gasket. It runs but I'm constantly adding coolant.

 

[Todd Z]

ugh.... ok, I hate sealers... but if you must, then you must.... Try silver solder first...

 

[Byron]

If it doesn't work will it harm any other parts of the engine? I'm thinking if I do an additive and it doesn't work there's always replacing the gasket.

 

[Todd Z]

Depends what you use.... they are known for clogging heater cores, radiator, water pumps.... remember its meant to plug a hole... they all have holes...

 

[Doug Kaye]

I've used the sealants on:
Ford Econoline 150 1982 with the old v6 4.9L engine, for about 3 months until radiator replaced
Acura MDX 2006, about three years now
my Sport Trac, about 3 months

So far no permanent damage noticed in any engine. It's theoretically possible as Todd Z says. The old Wyoming cowboys I was travelling with when I put the sealant into the Sport Trac, said I was about to destroy the engine - both of them had bad experiences with it in their old trucks. I flushed 3 times with water before putting in the new radiator and coolant, because they'd spooked me..

The Car Talk guys said on one of their shows,
TOM: No, they won't do more harm than good. But there's at least a 90 percent chance they'll do nothing.
RAY: We consider these "products of last resort." If you're facing a major engine or transmission repair, then why not try an $8 bottle of Miracle Whip or whatever they call it?

 

[JC2008SportTrac]

They're all a short-term fix for a long-term problem, but it's a cost/benefit analysis. I THINK I have a small leak in a radiator in an '06 4.0 V-6 Explorer. I really can't see the leak, it's not audible, nor visible. But after driving, then sitting for 30+ minutes, I see a small bit of spit on my driveway. So, my cooling system on that vehicle is spitting some coolant, for some reason. I guess it's either a small leak in the rad, or the cap is bad. So I'm HIGHLY considering putting some stop-leak in the system, to see if it'll 'stop' it, lol. It's a $6K vehicle, and I don't want to spend $500 on the motor or the cooling system, where I don't have to. I've replaced the front suspension already, and the alternator. I just don't want to drop more dollars in it than I need to. It's transportation for my GF, not a Mustang that I've got some love for!

 

[Byron]

You are in the same boat I am. If I could put a sealant in it and trade it in to a used car lot I might get $4,000 for it but if I tell him I have a blown head gasket I might get 400 for it. My head gasket is definitely blown and I may try some blue devil I don't know thanks for responding.

 

[doctormo]

It's leaking. It's over heated and apparently compromised the head gasket. It runs but I'm constantly adding coolant.

I have never posted here before but I bought a 2004 Adrenalen about 2 1/2 years ago. Bought it off Craigslist. It was eye candy to me when I saw it. Did not know a thing about the 4.0 engine. It was posted on a diesel truck lot,it was for sale. Went inside the office,got the key. Checked under the hood,oil,trans fluid,brake fluid,steering fluid, found the antifreeze resevoir very low. Started the engine and two codes came up. Went back inside the office,talked again to the person I had originally talked to.Told him of my observations.He said take it anywhere in town,have someone look at it,come back and if you want it will talk price. The original asking price on iCraigslist was 5000 dollars. I took it to autozone,they put the analyzer on it and said it was missing on 2 cylinders.Didnt mean too much to me at the time,I figured it just needed a tune up. Came back to dealer,showed himthe report. He would not tell me anything about what other people who had looked at the vehicle reported and that vehicle was being sold as is for a friend. I am pretty mechanical so I figured I could handle it. I bought the vehicle,stopped and topped off the antifreeze. My drive home was 160 miles. It was driving ok but I noticed it the engine was starting to overheat. Pulled over,waited for the car to cool down and added more antifreeze.Did this two or three times.Finally made it home. Ran a compression test and found I was loosing compression in two cylinders. Figured it must be a head gasket leak. I bought a quart of I believe Blue Devil sealer,70 bucks. Tried it,it did not work.At this point I had no service history on the vehicle,dealer couldnt,wouldnt tell me anything so rather that play hit and miss I decided to have the engine rebuilt.Took it to a machine shop.They tore it down and said they could not find where the leak was,thought it may have been a warped head as no telling how many times it had overheated before I bought it.The rebuild was 3500 dollars,on top of the 5000 I had already paid for it. As of yet I still havent reinstalled the motor. I have four other vehicles I drive and maintain so this is still on the wayside. Not that anything I said would have helped you.I was just relating my experience.I was a victim of eye candy and my own ignorance. If I knew then what I know about that 4.0 engine now,I would have never bought it. The fiasco with the aluminum heads,the timing chains,one at the back of the engine passenger side where you have to pull the engine to replace it,I have read you can replace it without pulling engine but you have to be a Houdini,and so on. Better luck with yours than I had with mine andd thanks for your time. .