Radweld vs Radweld plus vs k-seal ??

[Braincrank]

Hello all,
How do you all rate Radweld , Radweld plus and K-Seal ?
What does Radweld plus do that the normal Radweld doesn't ? Considering the price difference it must do a lot more .... (probably clogging up the system ... )
And is K-seal superior like the ads have you believe ?

 

[merc85]

I wouldnt use any of them, at the end of the day if you need one you will have a mechanical defect and as suchthe fault should be replaced with a new part.

If stuck by the road side and recovery isnt a option and the Head gasket has Gone, K seal WILL do the job it is really good.

Radweld is more for radiators and less likely to clogg up anything else unlike K seal.

Not heard of Radweld plus.

 

[carat 3.6]

If you have to use one as a last resort, k seal is by far the best.

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

My wife's old Toyota Avensis D4D eventually got the dreaded head walk and started spitting anti freeze out of the header tank on long runs, this is a fairly common fault on the 2006 + D4D and even more common on the Toyota 2.2ltr diesels. the only cure is a replacement engine as this fault causes damage to the block as well.

As ours had done over 140k I stuck some K Seal in it and ran it for another 20k without further problems. so I can also concur its fabulous stuff. but only use it if any other cure is expensive.
Alfie

 

[WG M-B]

I hate the stuff.

 

[ALFIEBEARD]

I hate the stuff.

You're not supposed to eat it


Alfie

 

[tec]

Barrs Leaks is what I always used to use with 100% success.

 

[Braincrank]

Ah, thanks for your thoughts.
Am still trying to get to the bottom of the problem. If I haven't used the heating for some tIme and switch it on the matrix is gurgling and the coolant level is dropping.
Had a look at the heater matrix / exchanger some time ago and it was a pain in the butt because I had to take the dashboard out and even then I could only see it partially. I think the pipe connection that feeds the hot water into the heat exchanger is leaking a bit.
The car is 25 years old and if I can get a couple more out of it I'll be happy and therefore I don't want to go through the hassle and expense to change the heater matrix and that's why I thought that some radweld or k-seal might do the trick.
What are your thoughts ?

 

[hotrodder]

Patent US2315321 - Leak sealing composition - Google Patents outlines how these things work. It's a similar principle behind the old tricks involving eggs or pepper etc. Obviously chemists can come up with with better/longer lasting stuff hence water glass aka Sodium silicate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and other chemicals that work in similar ways but need to be exposed to air as well as heat to 'set up'
Then you get the marketing department to include some words like "copper and ceramic micro fibres" or "nanotechnology" to try and make it sound better than the competition when in reality it's probably just different i.e. might work better on some leaks and worse on others?
Dunno which ones had been used but FWIW i've recored radiators for people and found tubes that'd been partially blocked by the stuff despite the fact they hadn't fixed the leak

What are your thoughts ?

My first thought is that if the leak is located somewhere buried in the dashboard you'd have wet carpets and/or a car that mists up when the heater is used?
A leak elsewhere (say between the duo valves and heater box) could explain loss of coolant with a dry interior that doesn't mist up? If coolant can get out air can get in and result in the heater gurgling as the air works it's way through the system
Most (all?) of these stop leak band aids include a long list of all the situations they won't work in... coolant into an oil passage, rubber coolant hoses etc as well as the more obvious limitations regarding the size of the leak

 

[Braincrank]

Thanks hotrodder!
I did notice a bit of misting up the front in winter but it was gone after cranking up the fan a notch or two for about a minute. And when I took the dashboard apart I didn't come across any obvious signs of moisture , wet cables or the like.
The only thing I noticed was what looked like a bit of old crystallised cooling fluid around the top right connection from the pipe that comes from the duo valve.
But because the heater matrix is encased in a hard plastic shell that holds all the airflow diverter bits and it's a pain in the backside to take it all apart I gave up and was more concerned to get everything back together ... Since it's such an old car it could , like you said , be other areas and I have tried to follow the way the cooling system runs but no joy so far. I did a few pressure checks but that always seems good ...
An example of how much is vanishing : driving up the M1 from west London to Derbyshire (j28) and back I have to top it up with just under 1lt ( the cooling level sensor doesn't show ' low' yet) . I changed the sensor a year ago and it's working fine btw.
It's just a bit annoying .

 

[hotrodder]

I did notice a bit of misting up the front in winter but it was gone after cranking up the fan a notch or two for about a minute.

Cheers. That sounds fairly normal, especially if it's been raining and you haven't recently cleared any deal leaves etc from the heater intake
One i forgot to mention last time is that coolant has a distinctive sweet smell that's usually very noticable if the heater core is leaking