do head gasket fix-it products work?

[restino]

do head gasket fix-it products work? BARS and K&W i think for $10 and less.

anybody have luck with these products? have they actually got to a point where they are working now?

thanks

[boschmann]

They're not designed for head gasket leaks unless it's small & external. If it steams out the exhaust it won't help much.

[mars-red]

Agreed - in fact, I would never use the stuff even if it *were* an external leak. This is stuff that is *designed* to clog the system, and so (in my opinion) should only be used as a desperate measure. If you *do* ever use the stuff, then have your coolant system flushed immediately after the problem is fixed properly. I've seen more older VWs with this crappy gunk circulating in the coolant system than I care to remember. The more of it you use, the more build-up you'll get along the surfaces of the coolant passageways, and even on the impeller of the water pump. Sort of like a human's arteries accumulating deposits - bloodflow gets restricted and, ultimately, clotting starts to occur. That's kind of a gruesome way to look at it, actually... ah well.

Yeah, don't use that stuff unless you absolutely have to for some reason. 4 cylinder gasoline VWs are probably the easiest cars around, as far as replacing head gaskets. It's not a *trivial* task by any means, but it's something a good shadetree VW mechanic can easily tackle themselves over a weekend.