Bar's Leaks to mend a 5.4L crossover coolant leak at intake-head joint?

[HonkingAntelope]

I tried the search button, but didn't find much info to go on.

I'm a part time mobile mechanic and have a customer with this issue. Met with a customer for a rough idle and a misfire on #2 concern. Saw some steam coming out when we opened the hood and the trail off coolant between the bottom seam and the green pond in the engine valley. The coolant was also a full gallon low. We refilled the coolant and the customer reported the vehicle running and driving significantly better. Reset the codes and told the customer to check and top off coolant every time before starting the vehicle while I check into parts and labor involved for the plugs and coils job. If we're lucky, the misfire happened from the coil heating up more than usual rather than coolant getting into the plug tube. Thanks to Ford engineers, pulling the coil and looking inside is not easy or quick. T intake will have to come off and it's a 50/50 chance it's gonna have to be replaced due to the broken gasket seat. Odds are not very good for the heater hose tees surviving anything more than a passing glance, either.

The customer, like most people, is on a tight budget. This is not a one hour job. If we're lucky and keeping coolant topped off takes care of the misfire, what are other Ford owners experiences with using particle based stop leaks like Bar's to patch it up until it can be addressed properly? Obviously plugs and coils will all be replaced while the intake is removed. Of course, nothing silicate-based will be used.


Thanks.

 

[Al Steel]

I've used Bars on a very worn (310k miles) Dodge 3.8l V6 that had a slight head leak. Oil in the coolant and seepage. It helped some and didn't wreck the engine but I know I'm on borrowed time. I will limp it along until it finally lets go but it's an occasional use vehicle and not a daily driver.

That said, it was for a minor leak and seepage. The car is not worth spending hundreds of dollars replacing a head gasket on an engine that is on it's last legs on a vehicle that get occasionally used.

In your situation, I'm not 100% sure you are describing the T intersection of the heater hoses or the intake manifold to the coolant crossover but it sounds like one or both. The latter necessitates the removal and possible replacement of the intake manifold.

If it is the latter, mine was seeping and it lost just a tiny amount of coolant but when it finally let go it was like a garden hose. You could literally put your finger on the spewing coolant to stop it. No "stop leak" in the world will fix that.

My .02 is that none of those stop leak products should be used on any engine made after 1990. They may be of mixed use in an emergency to get you home, but the mess they create in the rest of your cooling system could result in a huge repair bill in any modern engine. Just know exactly what you are getting into when you use it and that it is no way a substitute for an actual repair.

That said, and if you are talking about the manifold to crossover joint, if the leak isn't spewing like a garden hose and just seeping or leaking then you COULD use JB Weld. It could go all around the joint as a temporary fix until your customer could come up with the $$$ for a real repair.

I have used JB Weld to repair a cracked metal coolant passage and it held up fine for a few months until I sourced a new part. However, surface prep is crucial. Temperature, and cure time is also critical. If this is the manifold crossover union you could prep the surface by making sure no coolant is present on the surface or in the joint, bone dry. Wipe clean with brake cleaner or acetone, no grease, dirt, or coolant residue. Rough up the mating surface with a wire wheel or sand paper and then clean it again. Mix up and apply a LIBERAL amount of JB Weld all around the joint. Allow to set up in +60degF environment. If not possible then use shop lamps or some heat source to keep the temp up so it cures. This MAY stop the leak BUT it is in no way a permanent fix. This is a "I need this vehicle to get me home and I can't afford a tow" fix, or "It's the only car I have and I'll try anything to keep it on the road fix." He/She will eventually have to get it repaired correctly.

The coolant pressure runs at about 18psi IIRC. JB weld is rated way above that so it should hold. If you go that route just be 100% up front with the customer that you are doing it as a courtesy, no guarantee at all, and you won't be in any way responsible if it fails and leaves them stranded on the roadside with a warped head because they overheated too long.

Also, unless the coils and plugs are bad they shouldn't need to be replaced just because they got doused in coolant. Swap to known good cylinder and test. They should be fine.

Good luck!

 

[HonkingAntelope]

Just to post a quick update, half a bottle of bars leaks liquid aluminium took care of the leak at the crossover pipe that was creating puddle in the valley under the intake. We'll address the leaking intake manifold when the customer is ready to do the plugs and coils down the road.

 

[Hamfisted]

The best thing for people like that is a AAA membership ....