anyone familiar with head gasket sealant products

[stevelobello]

i want to try using a product called steel seal which claims to fix a blown head gasket or a cracked block without dissasemble of engine. they also have a 100% money back guarntee if it does not work. look at the website(www.steelseal.com) let me know what you think, before i put this vehicle in the shop. bought the car for 1,500, have a buddy who used to have a car audio shop so he gave me an alarm remote start, radio, amp/subs at no charge. i installed all of it myself so i have an investment into it already. just curios to know what others would do in my circumstances. thanks

[Kep]

I have heard good things about Steel Seal. It may well work for you, especially if you have caught it before the leak is too large.

I have always maintained that sealants like this are OK as long as you have come to terms with the fact that if it doesn't work you will need to go ahead and get a head gasket if the sealant fails. That and the fact that it will be more expensive to do the head gasket because they may need to spend more time cleaning the sealant off of the head and other parts.

Follow the instructions very closely. If they tell you to use water, drain out the antifreeze and flush the system with water and then use fresh water. If it tells you to flush out the sealant after running the engine for an hour don't leave it in for a week. Things like that. The products seek out leaks. (I believe that it reacts with air or exhaust.) If the water pump is beginning to leak it will seal it and that will cause the water pump bearing to clog up which will eat up the seal in short order. It's also a good idea to remove the thermostat to keep it from possibly clogging up with sealant. Keep the radiator topped off (wouldn't want a 1/2" of air promoting the product to seal up the top of the radiator...)

I used a cheaper product called Cargo successfully in a 1990 Camry. It lasted as long as I had the car, over 350,000 miles. (Pobably 150,000 with the sealant.) My water pump ended up needing to be replaced a few days later but that was my only complication.

Kep