Experiment with Bar's HG 1 sealer
07-24-2016, 03:43 PM
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Experiment with Bar's HG 1 sealer
Hey all
I thought I would take the time do document my experience with the sealer from Bar's called HG 1 for anyone else to read, for better or worse. It was like $41.
Anyone who has searched it on here has found mixed reviews; most say if you actually care about the engine don't do it as it can cause more problems than it might fix, and can be a nightmare for a rebuild. That being said, if you are looking to pour a bottle into a truck in an attempt to fix it...you might not care that much anyway or are pretty desperate.
I have been trying to figure out if my 88 pickup with the 3vze with 205,000 has developed a slight head gasket leak. The only symptoms were a slight puff of white smoke first starting, sometimes when cold, sometimes when hot. It smelled slightly sweet. In the last 3 weeks of driving the truck (I've only had it a year and a half and put 21,000 on it) it has been sipping coolant with no visible leaks. One other symptom that I convinced myself was normal was that at all times there was actually water dripping out the tail pipe. I read somewhere that water was a normal by product of a cat, so I happily dismissed that as not being a symptom. It had a new timing belt, valve cover gaskets, and water pump when I first bought it at 184000. I also had the compression tested and it was all good. The engine runs like a top, never over heats, it has great power (for the 3.slo) and I get 16-19 mpg on stock tires. This last winter I drove it to Wisconsin and back a 2000 mile round trip and it never skipped a beat. So when I realized it was sipping coolant I got bummed because when I think of doing head gaskets I would rather just put a new engine in. But I'm not ready to do that yet. This is also my DD and currently my only car so putting it aside for any amount of time right now isn't an option. I figured if I nabbed early what I think may be a head gasket I could save myself a lot of trouble.
Today I put in the product according to directions. I just put the whole bottle in...sort of wincing as I watched it go down my rad. People say it plugs ˟˟˟˟. I followed directions then drove it gently let it cool etc. Then I drove it 20 miles with the fan and heat on full blast, so far no plugging. When I got back there were 2 interesting things that did change:
-Apparently there was a leak around the neck of the radiator (original rad) as the product seems to have done its job and crept out and sealed what was a leak. I thought there may have been a leak, or the cap was defective because the paint around the neck was worn off. Has a new cap.
-The more interesting is that now there is 0 liquid coming out my tail pipe when idling; on start up or hot, and the exhaust also has basically no aroma. When I say it was always coming out, I mean always. While idling the inside of the exhaust tip would have a steady drip/spray of what appeared to be water, did not smell like fuel, and if sitting my tire would would always be wet (side exit exhaust).
This is only after 20 miles, and probably an hour of idiling while hot. Hopefully I don't find out that most people are right about it plugging things...The heat still comes on hot when the engine is hot after it sat for 2 hours. We'll see...I'll try to update as to what happens. Just figured I would guniea pig myself while I'm at it.
I thought I would take the time do document my experience with the sealer from Bar's called HG 1 for anyone else to read, for better or worse. It was like $41.
Anyone who has searched it on here has found mixed reviews; most say if you actually care about the engine don't do it as it can cause more problems than it might fix, and can be a nightmare for a rebuild. That being said, if you are looking to pour a bottle into a truck in an attempt to fix it...you might not care that much anyway or are pretty desperate.
I have been trying to figure out if my 88 pickup with the 3vze with 205,000 has developed a slight head gasket leak. The only symptoms were a slight puff of white smoke first starting, sometimes when cold, sometimes when hot. It smelled slightly sweet. In the last 3 weeks of driving the truck (I've only had it a year and a half and put 21,000 on it) it has been sipping coolant with no visible leaks. One other symptom that I convinced myself was normal was that at all times there was actually water dripping out the tail pipe. I read somewhere that water was a normal by product of a cat, so I happily dismissed that as not being a symptom. It had a new timing belt, valve cover gaskets, and water pump when I first bought it at 184000. I also had the compression tested and it was all good. The engine runs like a top, never over heats, it has great power (for the 3.slo) and I get 16-19 mpg on stock tires. This last winter I drove it to Wisconsin and back a 2000 mile round trip and it never skipped a beat. So when I realized it was sipping coolant I got bummed because when I think of doing head gaskets I would rather just put a new engine in. But I'm not ready to do that yet. This is also my DD and currently my only car so putting it aside for any amount of time right now isn't an option. I figured if I nabbed early what I think may be a head gasket I could save myself a lot of trouble.
Today I put in the product according to directions. I just put the whole bottle in...sort of wincing as I watched it go down my rad. People say it plugs ˟˟˟˟. I followed directions then drove it gently let it cool etc. Then I drove it 20 miles with the fan and heat on full blast, so far no plugging. When I got back there were 2 interesting things that did change:
-Apparently there was a leak around the neck of the radiator (original rad) as the product seems to have done its job and crept out and sealed what was a leak. I thought there may have been a leak, or the cap was defective because the paint around the neck was worn off. Has a new cap.
-The more interesting is that now there is 0 liquid coming out my tail pipe when idling; on start up or hot, and the exhaust also has basically no aroma. When I say it was always coming out, I mean always. While idling the inside of the exhaust tip would have a steady drip/spray of what appeared to be water, did not smell like fuel, and if sitting my tire would would always be wet (side exit exhaust).
This is only after 20 miles, and probably an hour of idiling while hot. Hopefully I don't find out that most people are right about it plugging things...The heat still comes on hot when the engine is hot after it sat for 2 hours. We'll see...I'll try to update as to what happens. Just figured I would guniea pig myself while I'm at it.
07-24-2016, 04:04 PM
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Figure I should have mentioned:
The compression test was done when I first got it; I am planning on getting another one soon. Also, because it has a new water pump, and the coolant was pretty clean when I drained a little to make room for the product, I assumed my coolant system was not too clogged/dirty. Most people on here say flush the system before ever using these products if you don't know the condition. Also, my exhaust now sort of smells like popcorn, instead of a sweet thing.
The compression test was done when I first got it; I am planning on getting another one soon. Also, because it has a new water pump, and the coolant was pretty clean when I drained a little to make room for the product, I assumed my coolant system was not too clogged/dirty. Most people on here say flush the system before ever using these products if you don't know the condition. Also, my exhaust now sort of smells like popcorn, instead of a sweet thing.
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