Has anyone used this stuff ?

Being sold on Ebay, and this seller has count at 408 and 100% positive.

Steel Seal Head Gasket Fix! NEW TO UK! on eBay, also, Other Car Accessories, Car Accessories, Cars, Parts Vehicles (end time 03-Dec-07 20:06:06 GMT)

SteelSeal.co.uk Head Gasket Fix

Buy a car with head gasket gone, cheap, and just pour it in ?

A head gasket for a 1.3 is only about a tenner anyway. Give it a weekend or two of hard work and if you've never done it before you should be able to get the headgasket replaced properly anyway. I would only consider that a temporary fix, and as it's more than the cost of a headgasket and may get stuck in other places it's a waste of time and money IMO.

Hi Ive added a bottle of k-seal (also from ebay £8) to my coolant as a precautionary measure, as i wasnt sure if i had a head gasket problem or not.

I was getting cream under the oil cap after long drives at 80mph (even if i wiped it away before setting out). + There were a few blobs of congealed oil in the water header tank, but not many.

I was topping up about half a litre every 2 weeks.

This left me with a dilema:

I could have assumed the head gasket was gone and eith forked out £200 for a garage to do it, or persevered and done it myself. But I didnt want to do unecessary work on a smooth running otherwise perfect engine.

3 Months ago I added K-seal after reading many different reviews .. including this guys website: K-Seal .

After scrubbing the header tank clean with hot soapy water(oil blobs had stuck to the side), and flushing the system and filling with 60% water 40% antifreeze then adding the K-seal, the problem hasn't returned.

12 weeks later and 400miles a week:

No water loss;

No cream under the filler cap;

No blobs of oil in the water;

..a.nd crucially No blocked heater matrix (was worried about the k-seal goo blocking the fine heater matrix).

Hope that helps.

I could have assumed the head gasket was gone and eith forked out £200 for a garage to do it, or persevered and done it myself. But I didnt want to do unecessary work on a smooth running otherwise perfect engine.

If you have the 1.3 you'd be unlikely to affect the smooth running of the engine as the timing chain is connected to the camshaft in the engine block itself. Only thing you'd need to do to make sure everything is the way it should be is adjust the valve clearances on reassembly. If everything else is connected back up correctly there's nothing that should affect the running of the engine.

Main thing I would be concerned about that might spoil your fun doing it is difficult to undo or even snapping nuts/bolts, the head bolts won't snap but some of the manifold/exhaust ones might. Other thing that might be of concern is if it turns out you have a cracked/warped cylinder head which would make things a whole lot less fun too.

I've been checking out K-Seal on lots of motoring forums, i think just about all who used it said it worked, curing their head gasket and/or rad problem permanently with no blocking of the rad waterways. The only negative replies i could find were from peeps who hadn't used it.

But it will only be a temp measure, will go big time after a while :(

I've been checking out K-Seal on lots of motoring forums, i think just about all who used it said it worked, curing their head gasket and/or rad problem permanently with no blocking of the rad waterways. The only negative replies i could find were from peeps who hadn't used it.

That's interesting. Were any of those say people who put it in 6 or 12 months ago rather than yesterday or last week I wonder?

That's interesting. Were any of those say people who put it in 6 or 12 months ago rather than yesterday or last week I wonder?

How about, 15 months and 19000 miles.

K-Seal

I have used K-seal for water loss and it has worked for me, but I don't know for sure whether it was a leaking head gasket.

How about, 15 months and 19000 miles.

K-Seal

Was it the head gasket that had blown though?

We used this on our test guinie pig at work [ford mondeo]

And the time you have to take it to a certain temprature and cool it down, its just as quick to replace a gasket.

how easy is it to remove the head on the 1.6 model?

how easy is it to remove the head on the 1.6 model?

If I had the tools (which I probably don't at the moment) Head off, cleaned (no valve regrind, that's a cam, follower etc. dismantle job; maybe another couple of hours) and back on again in less than two hours (I haven't done a head in 4 years).

Haynes gives it 4 spanners out of 5 as far as difficulty goes so if you can't change the drum on your washing machine or rebuild your PC, then a head gasket is probably too much too.

i cant build a computer!

but i can build an oil rig.

I'd say building a computer is easier than a head gasket, once you got your head around what processors, memory and video cards go with what motherboard etc

i cant build a computer!

but i can build an oil rig.

Same skills, different scale

I'd say building a computer is easier than a head gasket, once you got your head around what processors, memory and video cards go with what motherboard etc

Yes and once youu get your head around reading detailed instructions (like a haynes), have all the right tools, the time, the space, the inclination & know to take the parts of the head off in order, clean them as you do so & lay them out in the order you take them off - c/w nuts & bolts - then you can change a head gasket :P

use a digi cam whenever you do something new....

(take that how you will)

I have just this morning put back together an old honda cb250 super dream engine. after a top end overhaul

It has an overhead cam, so i assume its roughly the same process;

Remove the rocker cover,

remove the rockers,

make a note of the cam chain and cam chain sproket with tippex,

undo the cam chain sprokets, remove the cam,

use something to hold the chain, or is it a side mounted belt?

remove head

change gasket

refit motor.

Yep, same process, only you don't have to take the lump out - and it's bigger and there's water in it and lots of sensors and hoses are attached and you don't have to take rockers out because it hasn't got any etc... And you need new head bolts because they stretch.

Make sure the engine's at TDC on No 1 cyl (yes, it's belt driven cam).

Haynes covers it.

Good luck

Got a 325i e30 bmw that I bought with a cracked head- a common problem.

1 bottle of kseal, 200 miles and 4 months later- still no issues!

apart from a waterpump slowly failing:thumbdwn:

Felicia 1.3 n reg, some water loss don't know where.

Bottle of kseal,17,000 miles later,and still no problem.

:)

Hi. New.

So I have a 1999 Skoda Felicia Pacific. First Skoda. Impressively rock solid, particularly in view of what I am about to say.

I've used a total of two bottles of K-Seal on the thing, and the head gasket is not sealed. Kalimex do another product called SealUp, which I will have to flush the engine for and let cure. it is not compatible with antifreeze, so the system must be drained twice.

Now, symptoms. There seems to be a little steam on startup come from the right side of the head. (This might the be cold weather and water steaming off). The water filler bottle fizzes up and froths away water after a high speed (60+ mph) drive, and the water need refilling every 60 miles or so. (Yes, I am limping around like this, oh well I need coffee every 60 miles or so). The water system seems to be under considerable pressure, but the car never heats up at all on a run, the temp gauge will not get off the bottom needle without the vehicle being stationary, UNLESS I block half the radiator, which I must do to get any heat in the heating system. Now, the heating system will work fine, the K_Seal does not seem to have blocked it up, but this symptom has been worse since the K-Seal. When stationary the engine heats up fine and the water bottle does not froth or leak.

I am tempted to whip the head off and replace the gasket, I cannot afford a garage to do it, but what do we reckon the chances of the head being warped are? And why if eveyone else has had such good result with the K-Seal is it not working for me? (I read the website and it said that the system should have gaps of less than 0.75mm, so I might just have a large blow.)

While there is some small evidence of emulsification in the oil, the problem is not a leak to the cylinders, I assume, because there is no vapour lock on start, which I would expect.

Anyway, there it is. I'm not the worlds best mechanic, rather too delicate I'm afraid, and it's been at least ten years since I took a head off. (Mind you, last time it was on an old V6 Granada, that was simple at least).

Sorry it's such a lengthy post. Advices gratefully received.

ADDENDUM.

The "Evidence of Emulsification" may just be condensation, I have look elsewhere in the forum as well. I shall look into this.

(Spelling and Typos all my own, and sometimes I leave out the word "not" unhelpfully)

Edited 7 January, 200917 yr by AniaKovas

The reason the K-Seal isnt working is due to the coolant not getting up to temperature.

For it to seal correctly the temparature of the coolant must reach normal ( 90 degrees )

You should replace the thermostat, it must be broken if the engine doesnt reach temperature. Either that or the guage isnt working.

Ah yes, I had determined this, and sat the car until it heated up rather than driving it around.

In the end though I checked the Rocker cover, and there is no sign of emulsification after all in the oil, just the cap as people have said.

No, I took it to the garage in the end because the behaviour was a bit screwy, the gauge works, and it heats up if stationary, no vapour lock, so no leaking into the cylinders, and no oil whiteness. Put a panel in front of the radiator for the last drive, heated up but then had to make sure I cooled it by running the heater.

As it turns out, there was NO thermostat in the housing, and the garage has bought a new one in a housing because their factors say that's the only way it comes. They were not very approving of the k-seal, lot's of which has leaked out anyhow.

Now, this is a dodge for the head gasket being gone, so the bloke who sold it to me is dodgy, and too lazy even to effect pouring a bottle of this stuff down the system.

I think the stuff has mostly worked after all, but the system was behaving so weirdly that it didn't get a proper crack of the whip. Now it remains to be seen if the radiator fan works, and if the car overheats on a run.

The timing chain rattles, but the garage said not to worry about it. I do.

My garage treats me like a complete girl.

Cheers

I would see how it goes with the new thermostat - and keep an eye on your coolant level, as well as checking the oil for water.