K-seal....

[one-lady-owner 1]

Just thought I'd let everyone know, maybe you have heard of it maybe you haven't, I had a small leak on my heater matrix (the ZX that is) and to change the matrix on the zx is a complete strip of the dash! I could smell coolant and the windscreen steamed up when I turned it on.

 

I've just chucked a bottle of K-seal into the cooling system, it seems a really wrong thing to do when you're doing it as it's full of copper bits, it looks very much like watered down copper grease. But having now run the engine up to temp (takes a very very long time with the XUD, very cool running engine!) It's has sealed the hole and I now have a heater that doesn't smell of coolant and the windscreen doesn't steam up when I use it!

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I've also used K-seal to good effect in the past, bit of a bodge and not something I'd do to my own car, but you can't deny it works well.

[Pugleyrich 37 1 Cars]

I also used it to seal a hole in the radiator of my girlfriends Clio. Worked really well, but I would still never use it on one of my own cars.

[roote 0]

ive heard it's called k seal, as it was designed for the k series engine, and after reading the insructions and it's clever stuf, it's also worked on a friends car.

[timb1046 1]

ive heard it's called k seal, as it was designed for the k series engine, and after reading the insructions and it's clever stuf, it's also worked on a friends car.

 

might have to get a bottle of this next time i see it sound like good stuff to have on the shelf.

 

if designed for thK-series engine does this mean its designed to heal up head gasket failures? (having owned a K-series engine i know of the pain and anguish)

[one-lady-owner 1]

It is designed for HG failures yes, it's also stocked at most Eurocarparts branches so you usually don't have to go far! According to the bottle it will sort cracked blocks, cracked heads, HG failure, rad and matrix problems. As for people saying they wouldn't use it your own car, why not?

 

To change the matrix in the ZX is at least a 10 hour job, it's not difficult it's just a pain in the arse, which is why I tried it. There is a lot of science behind it and I can say it's working for now at least! I wouldn't use it in the 205, but for your everyday hack cheap as chips car, why not?

[d-9 0]

Anyone tried it for a HG?

[djc 0]

My mates dad used this to repair a head gasket on an Astra - worked no problem. As previously said though I wouldn't want to use it on anything of any value.

[roote 0]

that's why i used it on a friends k series as their of no value lol, the idea is that the copper only congragates at low preasure points ie the crack, so dosn't block your water way's like the old fixers in a bottle.

[one-lady-owner 1]

Due to the k-series infamous narrow waterways in the head, k-seal is the only coolant additive you can use on the K-series as it doesn't congeal in the waterways and cause blockages, therefore it can do no harm! I'll update this thread after a few miles and let everyone know what's happened (if anything)

[timb1046 1]

thats good to hear. and means that its clever stuff and should i ever get a water leak problem that i cant otherwise fix i'll be popping some K-seal in.

[harryskid 193]

Being a heating engineer i've seen all sorts of crap which was meant to stop leaks. Apart from making an unholy mess or clogging some thing else up i never seen one that's worked as claimed. A bodged fix is not a fix!

[one-lady-owner 1]

Yes I would never really suggest the use of this stuff (or any other fluid on the market) for anything larger than a small hole in the matrix or the rad, and if this was a small hole in the rad I would have just thrown on a new one, but the matrix being the price it is mixed with probably 2 days of stripping and rebuilding the dash of a 17yr old citroen whose dash electrics aren't fantastic anyway isn't something I would choose to do if I could get away with it, which hopefully I now can!

 

(Bear in mind that until very recently this car was being driven to the scrapyard when the MOT ran out in 5 weeks time, it is now being kept but it's still a scrap-worthy car I'm helping cling to life!)

 

A bodged fix is not a fix!

 

This is a phrase that will haunt you forever as you've chosen to buy and keep an early 90's small french car, and in 30+years time when they stop making spares for it you'll be more than a little happy to make it work again by bodging something back together!

[woodsy 0]

I used it on my daily runaround 1.9gti as year or 2 ago the block decided to crack at the front by starter and poured water everywhere.I dont really like using these type of things but had no choice.Its still going strong at moment although the car doesnt really go anywhere other than work but did have a rolling road session at SBC other month and gave no probs.

[notamondayfan 44]

to me it sounds like something you keep in the boot for emergencies to get you out of a bad situation, like those emergency tyre inflators / puncture repair canisters.

[muddatrucker 125]

I'll buy some of this for my trip to Mongolia.

[timb1046 1]

i'd buy it for the 'shelf' in the garage as a last resort only kind of fix.

[pug_ham 244 3 Cars]

Its recommeneded / used by the AA for fixing leaks permanently over something such as Radseal but if you read the packaging it does say you need to keep it in the system for ever so when you do a coolant change you need to put some back in again.

 

As mentioned, good for an emergency but I'd rather fix the problem than mask it with something like as this.

 

Graham.

[1 FAT PUG 39]

mate put it in his vitara that we used offroading in and no problem atall

[one-lady-owner 1]

Another ZX related K-seal win

 

Driving up to the other half's house in swindon, came to membury services and stopped for a drink (red bull, very very tired!) and thought I'd double check that the oil filter was sealing properly having only just fitted it and watched as the rad decided to go pop and start leaking coolant everywhere I thought sod it, i'm most of the way there and there's nowhere for me to just stop easily so I went on my way, keeping my speed down and watching the temp gauge like a hawk. Thinking to myself if the coolant level drops too much it'll drop out of the sensor and the gauge would stop reading, only it didn't stop reading. When I arrived in swindon I checked under the car and no leak! A quick top up of half a litre of coolant and back to normal! Gotta love it, and given that it's my cheap runabout I have no intention whatsoever of finding what actually started leaking as long as it stays sealed!

[Batfink 201]

worked on my work van too Had a few drops of water from the heater matrix and K-seal did the trick...

[harryskid 193]

worked on my work van too Had a few drops of water from the heater matrix and K-seal did the trick...

 

But for how long? I admire your faith though.

[Junosix 0]

Going to try this on my diesel 206. I'm getting no compression from the engine, it cacks out water through the header tank if you unscrew the cap and try to crank it. Good chance it'll cure it? I'd be happy enough if it works as a quick bodge

[welshpug 1,657]

sod all chance if its lost compression.

 

I really do hate fixing cars when people have used this stuff, JUST FIX IT PROPERLY!!!!!

[roote 0]

it's good for slight leeks not warped heads, any chance you boiled it dry and carryed on till it stopped ? just a question though.