K seal, is it a miracle cure to my water leak???

[handyman1]

Hi all who are on line,

Can anyone tell me if there is something on the market called K seal, apparantly it is a solution that you add to the cooling fluid in your expansion tank. I have a 98 reg 2.5 TD SWB transit mini bus, and have been given the news that a leak on the upper left of my block ( just below fuel injector pump ) on its lower left side, is seeping very slowly, a mechanic friend has suggested that it may well be hairline fracture of cylinder head, or in head gasket, dont want to fork out for a full strip down if at all possible (just been laid off today ) and he suggested this K Seal "miracle cure" stuff, he swears by it, and says its about a tenner a bottle, is this worth a try, and if so, what is the best way to put this stuff through the cooling system, do I have to allow the engine to cool after applying the stuff when at operation temp, any other ideas on what my leak is would also be appreciated.

Thanks all,

(handyman1) in a very wet Newcastle upon tyne.

[Luke]

i've used K-seal and it's as good everyone says

but no matter how good it is i still view it as a 'bodge'

[handyman1]

I see what your saying luke, but when needs must, I have just forked out for the van and its tax is up Sunday, it needs to start paying for itself soon, do you think this gunk / bodge messes up the engine, and can you recomend the best way to go about putting the stuff in.

Handyman1

[captain hook]

Where's the leak as the injector pump is on the upper Right of the block

[Luke]

i dont think it messes up the engine but thats the risk you take i guess

we had a head gasket go on a car (one of my family) rather than doing the job i put k-seal in, just to get me by untill the weather warmed up and i was gonna do the head gasket 18months later its still running fine - didnt get round to doing the h/g and no probs since can't say it'll be good for ever but the stuff does work 100% sure

[Luke]

Where's the leak as the injector pump is on the upper Right of the block

not a core plug is it

[steviebee]

Used k seal on a rover 200, lasted about 8 months before headgasket finally gave in, worth the £9 I paid for it.

[captain hook]

Where's the leak as the injector pump is on the upper Right of the block

not a core plug is it

I was thinking that too

[handyman1]

Hi again all, thanks for all the replys, really appreciate the comments, I read them as I just got back in house after throwing caution to the wind, and driveing off down to my local Halfords 4 miles away, bought the K seal and put it in when I got back, around 8 miles, and engine at operational temp as requested on the bottle, left engine running for 15 minutes, then drove slowling down minor roads for about 2 miles, checked the leak and it had stopped, I drove back home via a 70 mph A road and
drove her for 6 miles at to 70 mph, got back home at 8.15 and a tiny bit of water had again seeped out, but nothing like what was coming out before, so mixed blessings at this point, I am hoping that when she is cooled in another couple of hours, the K Seal will have fully set (if thats how it works) and the leak will have stopped, I hope so as it cost me £12.00, but worth it if it saves getting head stripped off for now. CAPTAIN HOOK the leak is behind and below a silver alloy unit which has pipes coming out the top of it, it sits just above and to the right of the aternator as you face the engine with the bonnet open, it may be the turbo mate, just not to clued up on the parts, (should have bought haynes manual when I was down at Halfords) any way as you look down through a gap a fine stream of water "about the width of a sewing needle" works its way down to the top of the left hand side of the oil sump, pooling, then dripping onto road nothing drastic, but still a worry, any more advise is welcome from all reading this reply.

Thanks again guys,

handyman1

[handyman1]

Just popped bonnet and looked at unidetified unit, it is made by lucas, 2 black pipes lead out to back of engine bay and what looks like a fuel filter, I saw the core plugs, they all look shiny and new, the leak has stopped and engine is now just warm, the leak was travelling down past the last core plug directly under the lucas unit and right behind a metal water feed pipe that has 2 bolts ataching it to the block and rubber hose leading off towards middle of engine. No leak though!!! so hoping, final test will be when I pick the Mrs up from work at 11pm about an 8 mile round trip, will post my findings when I get back in around 11.30 pm,what a way to spend a Friday night, but obsessed now with stopping this leak as I plan to take my transit for long run over weekend.

Handyman1.

[handyman1]

11.30 pm leak still evident, but has reduced a lot, will give it a couple of days but not hopefull of full cure, it may be because the K Seal takes longer to set off in a larger engine, or have not allowed it enough time, searched for info on K seal web site and it states that any cracks or fractures above 1mm will not fix with this stuff, but I would have thought bad crack over 1mm on my engine would have produced more water than what I have been loseing, I can smell the stuff getting to work, like a putty smell now in the engine bay, will post update if cures it or not over next few days, Goodnight all....

handyman1