[Monkey Wrench]

I tried the stuff in a can in my old volvo 240 to see if it worked, It did not but when I replaced the headgasket I could see it was trying to plug the leak. Mostly it is frowned upon but maybe it works if the leak is caught soon enough. there are several types.. I used the one that requires you to drain the water and then flush the water then replace antifreeze. Bar's stop leak does sell the stuff on a continuing basis in more than one flavor. I'm sure there are cases where it worked, it did not for me, waste of time ? Yes maybe..

Im sure people do that and then sell the car, is it permeant? will it plug up the rad? maybe?

where id use it is when you have a car with a blown head gasket that isn't worth the cost of a head gasket replacement, Just before you call the wrecker to scrap it.. , then there is not so much to loose. or maybe if you were in some remote location , it may get you home.

there is stuff you can add to the rad water, that stuff is compatibvle wiht the coolant and you can leave it in there a while. I dont think it works as well to fix a leak. I guess you could add that if you had success, as insurance.

maybe whether it works depends on the type of leak mine was combustion chamber to exhause so I had steam out of the exhaust, steam that smells of coolant. it might be possible to have a different type of leak..

I've head of sticking a CO meter in the water bottle in theory the presence of 02 inthe water bottle is not normal but if exhaust is entering it may.. so its perhaps a way of detecting it. a mechanic that owns one may know more about doing that.

a symptom I noticed was that the water level varies it can push all the water out of the head and cause an over heating condition. basically the water boils in the head, then head may warp. so I'd watch if you have water level fluctuation and watch your heat gauge carefully.

best way is probably just to go ahead and decapitate it , see how things look, big job though. I hope you have success.