Radweld - Opinions

poppasmurf_bewdley

There used to be a product called Barrs Leaks which was always reckoned to be better than Radweld. Don't know if it's still going.

motorguy

mikey72 wrote: »

Did you get the k seal you can use with anitfreeze, or do you need to flush the system first?

You just pour it in - no need to flush before or after.

RegWorts

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

There used to be a product called Barrs Leaks which was always reckoned to be better than Radweld. Don't know if it's still going.

Yes..it is still available but is called Bars Seal now. (with only 1 "r")

The solid version (looks like a cylinder of dog-do )is supposedly better than the liquid and it`s available on Ebay.

I `ve used it on several cars in the past...including my current Mondeo which had a slightly leaking metal pipe, but hasn`t leaked for the past 12 years !

Brilliant stuff

(note : I have no connection with this product apart from being a satisfied user )

mikey72

pgilc1 wrote: »

You just pour it in - no need to flush before or after.

Maybe I'm thinking of steelseal.

thistledome

poppasmurf_bewdley wrote: »

There used to be a product called Barrs Leaks which was always reckoned to be better than Radweld. Don't know if it's still going.

I used that in my old Herald. Worked perfectly and cheap too. Funny stuff, like a roll of oxo that you had to crumble into the radiator.

thefishdude

i have used barsleak and radweld. both worked great fixed a minor drip on rover 213s 1984 my first car that was barsleak and teh repair lasted 2 years minimum as i sold car then. also fixed a fiat punto think it was 1998 that had quite a major leak you could see it running out of car and a bottle of that fixed it easily again last couple of years at least.

nickstarmer

Empty_pockets wrote: »

Nowt wrong with Radweld. You may see a slight increase in running temp of 1 or 2 degrees.

I've heard of the egg trick but never been brave enough to try it!

yeah it works with eggs drove a metro on them for 6 months lost seal in the water pump bearing had no probs at all

reheat

I used this stuff years ago back in the 70's. Had a serious problem with it, but it was my own fault. The instructions (as best I recall) tell you to put the radweld in and run the engine for a quite short period of time, then drain the cooland system and refill (without any radweld). Well I had a journey of about 100 miles to do, so decided I'd put this stuff in and then drain and refill after my trip - just give it more time to do its stuff I thought. Part way through my journey the temperature in the car suddenly started to increase rapidly (no temperature gauge), and a nasty squealing screaming sound from under the bonnet. I dipped the clutch and the engine stopped dead. The engine was so hot the paint peeled off the oil filter! No water left in the cooling system at all pretty much. Later investigation also showed some of the white metal had melted out of the big ends ... I must have dipped the clutch moments before the engine was about to sieze solid. Waited for the engine to cool, and finished journey with very frequent stops to replenish water.

What had happened was this. Radweld works (so I'm given to understand) by sealing when there is water one side of a gap and air the other. All very reasonable ... if you follow the instructions. But in my case, as I drove along, there was still a bit of a leak, and the coolant level dropped to the tops of the radiater tubes, whereupon - with water one side and air the other - it totally sealed off all the radiator tubes so no coolant could flow through the radiator.

So I can confirm it seals leaks pretty effectively, but please do follow the instructions carefully!

thescouselander

Just thought I'd come back with an update on this. I put in the K Seal I bought and it seems to have fixed the problem - it's early days yet but the coolant loss seems to have stopped with no other side effects apparent. Hopefully this will keep the car going for at least a few months until it is replaced. So that's £10 well spent IMO.