So I'm not sure whether to panic or not. I just bought this rover, and thankfully, it has a ton of service records.

About 100 (yes, one hundred) miles ago, at 159,825, the local rover shop, which has been taking care of this thing since 100K miles, flushed cooling system, (still has Dexcool in it - runs great) and put a tab of Iron-Tite, or sealer in it.

They used 10qts of coolant to do it, according to paperwork.

WTF do I do on this one? Re-flush with dex and no iron-tite? I really don't want to swap to green yet, that's going to be a bear of a job.

I'm hoping that after only 100 miles, i can flush and re-use dexcool, and get away with this.

Thoughts?

 

Just drive it, they added that stuff as a preventative measure, lots of shops do it on vehicles with known coolant leak issues.

 

I'm with Spike

 

Fair enough. I'll spend the money on an Ultra gauge and just watch it like a hawk.

And there is a note by the tech that the throttle body gasket has a leak.

Thanks guys, minor panic mode there.

 

Here's a few notes from the Iron-tite site in their own words:

Upon effectively stopping a coolant system leak the company guarantees those identifiable leaks will remains sealed for at least a 6 month period of time or your money back.

And

I used the All Weather Seal to fix a coolant leak. It worked well, but now I don't get any heat when I turn on the cars heater.

Because the All Weather Seal can be used along with your existing cooling system fluid (anti-freeze) if your car is older and the heater core tubes have become caked with sediments over the years reducing the flow of coolant it's possible that the All Weather Seal will do it's job and close of those tubes that are not as free flowing as they should have been. This is not improper behavior of the All Weather Seal, it is an indication that your heater core was extremely calcified and preventing proper flow and/or you did not flush the system with ThoroFlush prior to adding the All-Weather Sealant to the cooling system.


To recover from this problem you do not necessarily need to replace the heater core of the vehicle. You should first disconnect the heater core hoses and attempt to run water through the core in the reverse direction to unclog the core and flush it as much as possible with a small amount of water pressure. Now, reconnect your heater core hoses and use our ThoroFlush product to clean your cooling system. Then add new coolant and the All Weather Seal. Because our All Weather Seal never fully hardens, this method should recover the heater core, and may improve the heaters performance after the ThoroFlush has cleared the sediments from the core. Even if this does salvage the heater core, the fact that it clogged on you is an indication that the heater core in this vehicle should be replaced sooner than later.

IMHO, you have a moving jello that won't fully harden. If you already had sludge in the cooling system (heater core, radiator, or thermostat metering holes), flow in those areas can be impacted. You may well find yourself in an overheating condition as the extra material finds a "resting place" in the horizontal spots cooling system (lower rad tubes, top intake plate of thermostat, heater core). The Ultra Gauge is certainly a good idea, as is flushing Dexcool, dex mud, and other goop from the radiator and going to green coolant before hot weather gets here, and you need 100% of the radiator capacity. Pix of sludge radiator and thermostat metering holes that can become clogged.

While not a short term worry (hopefully) it certainly adds to your list of things to do. If it clogs up the thermostat metering holes, the stat won't get the hot coolant it needs to warm up and open. If cooling system was in perfect condition, no internal sludge or scale or calcium build up, and you were only dealing with a hard to find leaky & sneaky hose - maybe good. But the maker of the product's lawyers let them tell you that it will close up other small things in the water path way, even if it is not a leak to the outside world.

And it is not just this brand, there are others. But they should only be considered a temp fix, not once and done.

 

Savannah,

Thanks for that - what I'll probably end up doing is at some point soon pulling the t-stat to have a look for crud, and swab the radiator one morning when cold. Being February, and me living in Atlanta, I've got at least another 6 weeks before it gets anything like warm around here.

I generally dislike mucking around with coolant - its toxic stuff and my dog is usually supervising mechanic work, so I'll probably have the guys at the shop do this, and sleep better knowing its being recycled.

for now, heater works great, and once Ultra-gauge arrives, I'll have better idea on temp.

Honestly, I figure if the motor has 160K on it now with Dex-cool, I'll probably keep it there, and flush once a year. It's not a huge expense when amortized, and as long as its kept fresh, I think it'll be fine. That Thoro-flush seems like it would be a good idea though.

If I have to do something major soon, like water pump or the like, I'll swap it back to green, and pull radiator to have it rebuilt by local shop. Can't hurt.

Ok, off to work now to pay for all my habits........

 

I have no idea why everyone is so scared of stop leak, if you over use it you will have problems.
All of the top mechanics now recommend using stop leak in your cars as a preventative measure.
Its not going to clog anything, it has to react with air to work, the cooling system is closed, no air, unlike cooling systems of just 20 yrs ago.

 

Spike,

Very logical reply.

I have decided that I am going to install the Ultra-Gauge, and get an idea of normal operating temps. If it starts getting warm, its time to react. Until then, I'm gonna let 'er rip.

As long as the cooling system is doing it's job, and my engine keeps running, it seems there is nothing to worry about as long as I flush regularly. Haha, that sounded funny....ok sorry, 13 year old humor over.

Anyway, the reactive with air part makes me feel a lot better. I just had one experience with a forklift that I owned that some jack-wagon dumped a can of head gasket sealer in.......that was about a $4K loss for me, and it still burns a little when i think about it.

 

Before you do anything, flush out that system a couple of times, the less crap you put in the less chance of plugging up the radiator or heater core cause an over heat and head gaskets or a dropped sleeve.
Replace the t/stat and refill the system, if you want to monitor it fine but clean it out first.

 

React with air - does not turn to a solid - that means eventually - it will pass thru the cooling system and the coolant reserve container, which has air inside about half of it, then back into the cooling system to find some place to attack, and repeat. The factory tells you it is capable of clogging an already calcium covered cooling system. In a D1, not so big a problem. In a D2, with a remote stat, plug those holes on top of the stat (where goop sits overnight when parked, chemical activity in the dark while you sleep), and your engine will get very very hot before the thermostat will open. Buy a lottery ticket if you are feeling lucky.