I have a 2000 3.1L V6 and it has a slight coolant leak on the left side of the engine - at the back of the intake manifold. This is a drag because otherwise the engine seems strong (86000 miles). Can I patch this with one of the stop leak products? Any chance I can nurse this problem another 10,000 miles?

 

I tried and it didn't work. Fix it now and it'll still be strong and not dead.

 

Stop leak products are evil anyways. The thing they don't mention on the product is if it can stop a leak it can also stop up a radiator, heater core, or coolant passages in the engine. Like Gwampa said just fix it right so you won't have more problems.

 

I amnot a big fan of stop leak either, but I thought it was worth a shot to put off the major repair. The nanotechnology product I used has been in there for about 100 miles now, and I smelled coolant this morning, so it must still be leaking. Oh well, tax returns are coming!

 

I remember driving mine a ways but man that's risky at best. Many say that the Dexcool antifreeze is the problem. It's all up to you about putting Dexcool back in after the repairs. Also, everyone recommends NOT putting in the green ethylene glycol. Damned if ya do and damned if ya don't. So I put the compatable Prestone yellow. Call me crazy, but it's hard to trust stuff that was the result of a class action law suit that covered a broad range of GM cars. Just exercise good judgement and my guess is you'll be fine.

 

There is absoultly nothing wrong with dexi-cool. The problem lies with the owner and failure to maintain their car. Most people believe dexi is good for a 5 year or 150,000 miles but that is not completly true that is only in ideal conditions. You must change your rad cap yearly and fix coolant leaks right away. If air mixes with the dexi-cool that is when you have problems. As far as the intake leak . 1 stop leak really does not work unless you have a leak the size of a pin. Then it is only temporary and runs the risk of clogging other cooling system componets. 2 is your intake starts to leak internally you could severly damage the engine and a $500.00 repair quickly becomes $5000.00. I have seen that happen many times.

 

Thanks for the responses. Thereare really a lof of differing opinions on this issue. WikiPedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifreeze) echoes the statement by MDTAHOE. It also implies that the newer green coolants, such as Prestone LongLife, can be mixed with DexCool.More importantly, Prestonesays clearly on the label it can be used in any car using anycolor of coolant. So maybee, Gwampa, I will take your adviceandreplace DexCool withPrestone LL, once I get the thing fixed.
Question to Prestone: If the Long Life antifreeze can be used in any car, then why do you sell a DexCool coolant? [sm=wtf.gif]

 

As a former employee of Advance Auto Parts I know the answer to the question. Some people will not use the universal coolants in the GM cars. I am one of them. Does it make it right or wrong? No, but it does create the need for the DexCool to be sold.

 

WTF: They're covering all the bases Wildman, it's only business. MDTAHOE make a good point. Wish I'd have had him around earlier, but that's water under the bridge. Let's move on.

 

Hey Wildman! when you gonna repair the intake gasket?