Head gasket repair

[Trebor English]

My first wife's 2006 Pontiac Torrent, similar to Chevy Equinox, had a head gasket failure.  According to the interwebs this 3.4 liter V6 has this failure often.  First a freeze plug leak caused a low coolant level, that caused an overheat, then the coolant had lots of bubbles and it used a pint of coolant per day with lots of steam in the exhaust.  The repair estimate was $2300 plus, if necessary, rebuilt heads at $500 each. 

I used Bar's head gasket repair HG-1 and that fixed it.  So far it has been only two days and I know that this fix may not be as reliable as new heads, gaskets, etc.  It is, however, working and the price is under $50.  I know people who have the disparaging opinion that such products are not good and only the "real" fix should be used.  It is my opinion that a 10 year old car worth $2500 (according to KBB) probably ought not get the $2300 repair without trying the $50 repair first.  A new vehicle under warranty should get a new gasket installed by the dealer, out of warranty I think this is the way to go.

I am pleased that the fix is holding but not really surprised.  On the box it says that the product is intended for engines that can idle for 15 minutes without overheating or having to add coolant.  This engine met the requirements.  The fix works.  Just in case, keep your receipt.  The product has a warranty.  If it fails, money back or replacement product.

The product web page is http://barsleaks.com/product/blown-head-gasket-repair/

Since it was driven a lot with the exhaust passing through the coolant there was a lot of ugly stuff in there.  I started with Bar's cooling system cleaner flush product.  The oily mess might have kept the HG-1 from sealing.  The cleaning and flushing took about 2 hours.  Draining a quart of water and adding HG-1 by itself would be under an hour.

 

[Gary68]

can you run a compression check on the cylinders?

top end gasket sets are not that much and head gaskets are very easy to replace,the getting to them can be murder though

 

[Trebor English]

Would a compression test at this point be like an unnecessary medical procedure?  If the test comes back positive my car insurance plan won't cover the treatment.  : )

 

[jonsun]

you'll be able to see a significant compression leak by using a infrared temp gun on the manifold coming right out of the head.

 

[GotSmart]

A pressure test does not mean tearing things apart.  It involves removing one spark plug at a time, then turning the engine over with test tool in place of the plug. That would give you information you need to know.

Either way, I would be looking for new wheels, as the bottle fix is only good for a short time.

 

[closeanuf]

How many miles on it?  You're probably better off putting your money into another vehicle.  I'd likely drive it till it broke again and sell it as a 
"mechanics special".  There is always someone out there who has the ability to fix things themselves looking for a bargain.

 

[Trebor English]

A spark plug inspection would probably identify the bad cylinder. The infrared temperature and compression tests would too. That would have been interesting before the repair if I wanted to only replace one head gasket. It might be wacky to be that far into it and leave the other head gasket.  Now that it is fixed, why bother?

Only 140,000 miles makes it good enough to not be a throw away yet. 

At this time the fix has 800 miles and I quit counting warm up / cool down cycles at 10.  I am hopeful, close to being confident.

 

[GotSmart]

Why bother?  Because it is smart to know what is going on with the motor.  It is not fixed, just patched.  

That is one of the bad reputation GM motors.  Similar to the Vega 2.3.  I went through one of those a year until I sold mine. 

Your car... free advice... your decision.  JMHO, for what it is worth.   :-/

 

[Trebor English]

Why bother?  Because it is smart to know what is going on with the motor.  It is not fixed, just patched.  

Do you think the compression test will show something?  The not fix patch is not leaking now.  There is no exhaust in the coolant.  The coolant level is not going down.  I don't think a compression test will predict how long the seal will hold.

 

[GotSmart]

Exhaust into the coolant is just one of a number of possible problems.  It works fine now in cool weather with short trips.  In the summer stuck in traffic will be a different animal.  A compression test will help you find out if there might be a burned valve, ring problem, in other words, anything other than close to identical pressure is one early warning sign of things not working right.  Catastrophic failure usually happens at the worst possible moment. 

TANFL.   :angel:

 

[bullfrog]

Sounds like you got lucky! Best wishes, mine worked till summer loaded full of supplies when it gave out, take it from me always wear socks and good walking shoes not sandals.

 

[steamjam1]

I would add that head gasket additive, and hope it works. If so drive it straight to the dealership and trade it in if possible for a better vehicle if fixing and replacing it are roughly the same cost.

 

[closeanuf]

I noticed you started this thread saying this is your first wife's car.  Are you still married to her?  Are you married to someone else now?  If so mechanical knowledge isn't the only thing you are short on.  IMHO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[grimmal]

We had a 1995 dodge neon that had the same problem.  I did the gasket sealer repair on it. That was in 2005 In 2011 it was still running fine. Had put over 40,000 miles on it. We just kept driving it figuring when the head gasket went out we would junk it. Ran it from east coast to west coast 3 times. Guy we gave it to was still driving it in Vegas 3 years ago.

 

[Trebor English]

I decided that I wanted to do something to predict the likelihood of success with the Bar's HG-1 repair.  What I did was remove the pressure cap and run it at 1500 rpm in neutral.  After 5 minutes there was a geyser spewing out of the reservoir.  A hot spot got to 212 degrees and a small amount of water became a large amount of steam.  It took about 10 seconds to stop spewing then I turned off the ignition.  The original problem was a loss of coolant that overheated a hot spot causing the subsequent bubbles in the coolant.  This stressed that same spot, the spot repaired by the HG-1.  Since then the car has been driven 1000 miles and probably 50 starts with no loss of coolant and no bubbles.  As long as the pressure cap is in place and the coolant level is maintained so that the water jacket stays full of water I am confident the repair will hold.

Don't do this to a car that hasn't been damaged.  You might end up with junk.  I did it only to test the repair.  Can anyone suggest some other way to test this repair?

 

[coldwhiteguy]

you'll be able to see a significant compression leak by using a infrared temp gun on the manifold coming right out of the head.

What a great idea for initial evaluation of a used car, easy automatic rule out in 30 seconds, Outstanding suggestion