stop leak aditives - shite or yay?

[steveo3002]

ok well weve had all the headgasket cure threads and what not

 

these additives that claim to condition /swell  oil seals , reviews seem to suggest they do work a bit , but wont it end up damaging the good seals too 

 

not really got anything i want to use it on....just curious if its worth using 

[Kiltox]

If it's a shitter that's going to scrap when it's MOT runs out, why not

Something even slightly decent/keepable, never

[sierraman]

I used some on the Mondeo about 3 years ago. There was a weep from the crank end seal. I'd have been damned if I was going to fork out for splitting the gearbox to replace it would have cost hundreds. Put some Wynns Stop Leak in and it has worked I'm pleased to say, doesn't happen straight away can take a week or so.

 

My verdict is, if it's something like the above that's going to cost a fortune and is a minor weep or leak then yes I'd use it but by the same token if it's pissing out of a seal or it's a simple job such as rocker gasket or pressure switch then I'd do it properly.

[steveo3002]

still got the car?

 

do you add it once and "fix " it then carry on with oil changes or is it something you have to keep in the system

[Mr_Bo11ox]

Snake oil for bodgers

[saucedoctor]

I had success with Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. (MG ZArse & Ford Ka(ck))

[sierraman]

still got the car?

 

do you add it once and "fix " it then carry on with oil changes or is it something you have to keep in the system

Yes, drove to work in it this morning in fact, it's done 26,000 since. I change the oil every 6 months so it stays in the system, all it does is swells the seals slightly. Might work might not, what's the actual problem and I can tell you an idea whether it might work. A lot will say don't use it but in my position you've got to ask, would you have spent £4-500 replacing the seal on a £800 car or would you have done the same?

[steveo3002]

no real problems ..just intrested as online reviews seem to suggest it works

[xtriple]

I have always been a fan of Wynns products. One of their reps came round when I worked at a bike dealers (several centuries ago) and demonstrated various products. Okay, the 'tests' were carefully staged but it impressed me. The gearbox/PAS one does seem to work as I had a car with a leak somewhere in the power steering that I couldn't be bothered to look for/fix if I found it and it 'cured' it completely.

[plasticvandan]

tried it and it didnt work for me,whats often overlooked is half the time the reason the seal leaks is because whatever runs in it has worn down or worn the seal out,so no amount of "swelling" will sort it.

[Station]

B-T-W it doesn't 'swell' the seals, it's just really thick oil.

[Captain Furious]

I tend to lump all these magic potions, stop-leak, fuel/oil additives, injector cleaners, engine flush, terraclean, rad-weld etc etc under the same category.  They might work and I'd probably chuck them in an old banger to scrape an MOT or get a few extra weeks out of it, but never in a 'good' car.  fixing the actual problem is always the way to go.

[steveo3002]

B-T-W it doesn't 'swell' the seals, it's just really thick oil.

so the really thick oil has stayed in mateys sierra for 26k despite him changing the oil?

[SiC]

A mate used a rear seal additive to try and stop the leak on his V70 T5. Kinda worked (reduced the oil leak a bit), but didn't really stop the leak completely. The car was on 180k, never had its ATF fluids changed and the rear seal on them is a big job. The gearbox turned its ATF fluid silver and soon after that kept loosing gears. A short while later it completely shat its box.

 

Verdict: Give them a try only when it's literally the very last option before it goes to the crusher. 

[Station]

so the really thick oil has stayed in mateys sierra for 26k despite him changing the oil?

How would I know, I've never seen it.

[Junkman]

I had actually quite good experiences with snake oils in the past, but only ever used the ones recommended to me by people I trust.

However, I never used anything to stop coolant leaks. My cooling systems are sacred territory and always get fixed properly.

Must be in my genes, coming from a mountainous country.

[sierraman]

I don't know, the Mondeos a good car but I don't run it 'maintained regardless of cost'. That's just silly on any sub £1000 car. If I got a bill next week for £700 for it I'd bin it off. That's true bangernomics! Don't get me wrong it's serviced on the dot but I can't see the acumen in trying to make something last for ever. It won't. I've seen it time and time again where people have thrown money at a car then got fed up and fragged it.

[danthecapriman]

I used it in an old Volvo 240 with a weeping crank seal. I can't remember the brand but it was a clear watery consistency fluid. It only really started to work after a few days of driving around, I guess it takes a while to mix with the oil and soak into the seals. It definitely worked though.

If the seal is too badly worn or it's split and damaged it won't work though obviously!

[fordperv]

The only stuff I've used is the power steering stop leak it was wynns iirc on my old e30, it sorted it right out

[Rocket88]

Lucas [uSA not Prince of Darkness] stuff is pretty good. Avoid anything endorsed by Quentin Wilson...................purely on grounds of taste................

[twosmoke300]

The Lucas pas treatment does work ! I've used it in many cars now and deffo helps noisy pumps or ones that are cavitating

[dieselassist]

...never, ever had any positive results with POWERSTEERIN STOPZ LEAKZ, additives; tried some I think Lucas brand, at an eye watering €18 for a tiny bottle, on the discovery's leaky steering box for its test - still leaked, and in the end took the 'proactive approach' n renewed the seals on the steering box...

 

...recently, the newish looking power steering pump started to piss its fluid out, of, er, everywhere, on the pump body- ended up having to buy both a bottle of cat litter (the leakage) n 1 litre bottle of powersteering fluid a week....

 

Overcoming my latent laziness/neglect os my own heaps, I ended up taking the out, n taking the pump to bits n resealed it all up with Dirko... no more leaks!!

 

..as Bollo, said - snake oil for the lazy bodger, who is blindly optimistic n a 'laws of physics' denier...!!

 

...seriously tho, Im drawing the line at buying the power steering 'solution to the leak' in a bottle gloop - powersteerin fluid is the most expensive of all the vehicles fluid, n the magic potion is just more coin ontop, so I draw the line with that