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View Full Version : K&W Head Gasket and Block Repair question



Benfolio
10-12-2009, 02:14 PM
Hrm, a head gasket fix in a bottle for my EJ25D?

I know, I know, I KNOW it needs head gaskets, but I'm on a budget and just wanted to try this first.

I've heard mixed reviews, and mixed answers about the proper procedure for using it (some say follow the directions, others modify them and still get good results, such as DRIVING the car with the mixture in it, instead of just idling), but wanted some info from actual SUBARU people. Has it been used? How? Has it worked? How long?

Engine is a stock 1997 Phase I EJ25D, 164,000 miles, not sure if the HG's have been done.....
It was pushing coolant out of the radiator into the overflow slightly, usually it would go back down as the car cooled, and maybe it'd go a week or three before it got too high and would overheat, now it's doing it DAILY. Hell, every time I drive it.
Funny thing is, I set it to idle at 3,000RPM for 20 minutes in the shop at work to simulate a drive home and it was fine. Didn't even get any combustion gasses in the radiator according to our fancy-schmancy tester here at work.
But that makes a case for ignoring the instructions on the bottle, and driving it with the mixture in, if it didn't push any gasses into the coolant just sitting there running without a load. I mean, if it's not going to bubble out sitting in the shop like that, how is the K&W stuff going to fill the crack that's not leaking?

jey
10-12-2009, 07:33 PM
3000 rpm with no load is not even remotely the same as driving the car around. Think about how little you have to press the gas to keep it at 3k in neutral, but how much you press the gas to keep it going 50 mph.

I had a hard time even getting the thermostat to open at 3000 rpm no load. Driving is a whole different matter.

Benfolio
10-12-2009, 09:12 PM
I drove it.

Let it idle for 10, drove it for ten, then idled for another 5. Saw SOME bubbles in the overflow so I'm guessing I got her to open up a bit.

Only problem with driving it was it wouldn't stay warm with no thermostat in it.... but I did some half throttle accelerating, got it up to 5k RPMs, got in some freeway driving....

Just waiting for it to cool then I get to drain it and leave it open for 12+ hours to dry. Yay. Borrowed a Mazda3 from work to drive home. No power locks, windows, nothing. :lol:

jey
10-13-2009, 11:02 AM
Wow, didn't know such bare bones Mazda 3s existed.

Benfolio
10-13-2009, 08:34 PM
Wow, didn't know such bare bones Mazda 3s existed.

You can even get a 2010 that way. Without A/C too. Manual trans only.

ouch1011
10-14-2009, 12:25 AM
If I had seen this earlier I would have highly suggested that you do not use it. Most/all of the stop leak solutions out there not only stop leaks, but they also stop flow. I've seen it happen so many times where people use that stuff, and a few weeks later, the car starts overheating because it blocked up the radiator.

Benfolio
10-17-2009, 05:05 PM
Flowing just fine..... just like it was before. Crap in a bottle did not work.

Correction. It worked for two days. Now it's back to being a pain in the ass again. Stupid car. :mad:
Going down to Chicago to get a JDM motor this week. Gonna slap some new HG's on it and swap it in. Don't know when I'm gonna have the time, but I guess I'll have to make some.