My head gasket is going out on my 85' 22re and I don't have the time or money to fix it right now. My buddy told me about this stuff you pour into the radiator and it fixes it somehow. I don't trust that. Has anyone used something like this or know someone who has?

 

It certainly will not 'fix' it as only a mechanical repair is the fix. The stuff in a bottle is a band aid. It may or may not reduce the symptoms and may cause you even more problems in the end with plugged radiator, etc.

That said, a quick search will reveal numerous threads here in this very topic

 

Don't use anything to stop it except a wrench. Your gonna cause more damage then it's worth and will most likely not even work in the first place.

 

you have a 22re... pull it apart, replace the HG, and put it all back together. it'll take you like 6-8 hours if you have all the parts.

 

And a new head gasket!

 

I'm pretty new to the forum and not as savvy as most of the guys here, but I know how you feel being broke. I have used bar's leaks head gasket repair in my 01 Durango and my 87 cutlass. On both cars it worked well enough to fix the leak temporarily and sell the car I could have just gotten lucky though and wouldn't trust it for a long period of time.

 

Ok. So where is the best place to get a head gasket? and should I just buy the gasket or a set?

 

You might try http://www.engnbldr.com/

Probably best to buy a gasket set, as you have to take apart a fair bit of the engine and you'll likely need other gaskets to put it back together.

The main issue with the sealants, aside from clogging the cooling system is that all the HG issues I have seen involve high pressure from the cylinders pushing out past the HG into the cooling system. So there is no way for that sealant in the coolant to get into the leak as the flow is the wrong direction.

The only sealant that I carry with is the aluma-seal stuff, just a fine aluminum powder that can help in some cases and does not clog up any internal passages.

 

Plus you have to clean all that goop out when you actually DO replace the head gasket. Yuk! The P/O used that on my Runner and I had coolant passages with big globs nearly blocking them, etc. It made cleaning the heads (I have the 3.0) and block for my HG job far more difficult.

 

also, if your engine has never been apart before, you might want to replace the timing chain guide with a metal-backed one. they usually break after ~120k

https://www.yotatech.com/forums/f116...d-pics-232381/

 

So I just started the tear down and when I drained the oil it was black and showed no signs of water/coolant in it. what does this mean?

 

Head gasket can blow and not put any coolant in the oil.Keep on wrenching.

 

Yeah, my buddy INSISTED I help him use that crap on his Land Rover. Bad idea.

Put the HG replacement on your credit card, or do it yourself, or pay someone or find another way, but you will just invite more problems with the liquid fix-it stuff.

 

i think its pretty messed up someone would patch their head gasket then sell the vehicle to someone to get rid of it,also fix it once fix it right.best way to learn is by doing

 

Hey come on, I would tell em about it.

 

while I was installing the head I dropped the timing chain. when I fished it out the cam gear/timing chain mark doesn't match up with the cam that wasn't moved. can I just set the engine at TDC then move the cam to the sprocket?

 

Got the timing mark figured out but I can't get the sprocket back on the cam. Is there a trick?