K-seal

fordfocus-chav-car

Does K-seal work? or is it snake oil.
Anyone on here used it...

Strider590

It's pretty much the same as rad weld, i've used this in my car due to a very slight seam leak on the radiator.

It's basically like a liquid that contains small rubber particles, these particles are small enough to go around the system without clogging anything vital, but big enough that when they meet a minor leak, they get stuck on the way out and form a clump that blocks the hole.

I believe it's ok to use as long as you don't use too much (as this will cause serious issues). All the horror stories you see are where people pour bottle after bottle of it into their cooling systems and if the car has a major cooling issue, too much heat can cause this stuff to melt into a horrible goop that sticks to everything.

Basically if the recommended "dose" doesn't fix your issue DO NOT use any more of it..... Unless you flush/replace the coolant (as this usually dislodges the previous "plug").

WellKnownSid

Had a HG leak on the exhaust side of the airport car, a 1.3 Daewoo, many years ago, enough to produce mucho steam. Used something similar for a few euros from the local filling station in Spain - came in a small tin, poured what looked like a mixture of oil and metal fragments into the header tank.

Scrapped the car two years / 30,000km later when the 2,500€ deal came in. Never topped up the coolant once in that time, despite that Summer reaching 47 degrees C.

Couldn't tell you what I used though...

mgfvvc

I've got a car on which the head gasket has been held together by K Seal for several years now. It's a second car which only does 3,000 miles a year. It might not last so long in a more heavily used car and I guess it also depends on how a big a leak you need to seal, but so far I'm impressed,

EdGasket

I've heard good reports of it. Worth a try if you have an old car that isn't worth the expense or effort of a full head job, or a car that is particularly complex to strip down.

bobbymotors

It's the best rad sealant out there, far superior to radweld etc

But its not magic, if it doesn't work in half an hour then it wont work!

bigjl

K Seal is significantly better than RadWeld. Unless they have brought out a new RadWeld product that's more comparable.

AdrianC

All of these products are a bodge. They do not fix the problem, the reason why there's a leak. Only actually getting in there and fixing the problem will do that. What they do is mask it, by putting something in which "finds" the leak and bungs it up. Great if all you're trying to do is nurse a shed through the next MOT or two, but otherwise...? Nope. Do the job properly.

Retrogamer

If the problem is you are leaking coolant, and the coolant stops leaking after application, then they fix the problem.

As others have mentioned i know a few people that used these type of products and had mixed success. Some had cars a few years and had no further issues after it.

AdrianC

Retrogamer wrote: »

If the problem is you are leaking coolant, and the coolant stops leaking after application, then they fix the problem.

"Leaking coolant" is a symptom, not a cause. They remove the symptom.

The cause may be a failing gasket, or a cracked hose, or a corroding radiator, or or or. They do not fix that. They mask the problem, which remains, by removing the symptom.

I bought an old Saab 900 which had utterly horrible-looking coolant in it. I changed the coolant. It turned out that there had been some bodgegoop in there. The coolant level started dropping. It turned out to be a quick, cheap and simple problem - the header tank had a fine crack in it, spraying straight at the water pump. I was lucky - the crack could have spread until the tank split. Bodgegoop wouldn't have done a damn thing about that.

Retrogamer

AdrianC wrote: »

"Leaking coolant" is a symptom, not a cause. They remove the symptom.

I never said it was.
You said they don't fix problems. If your problems is a coolant leak and they stop the coolant leak, then they fix the problem.

I agree it's a bodge, but it's good for people who don't have the time or don't want to invest the money to fix things properly.