So here we go...

I'll start off by saying I understand that a real head gasket replacement is really the only true and proper fix for head gasket leaks.

I've got a 98 Civic LX, 4 door, auto, 145k miles, all stock. Daily car.

Long story short, I am 99% sure I have a slow head gasket leak. The issue most likely stemmed from a leaking heater hose ~5 months ago that wasn't caught until it was too late.

Here's the basic run down:
- No visible oil/coolant mix
- Passes block tester test
- No visible leaks anywhere
- T-stat replaced
- When you uncap the overflow tank and lift the cap up slightly, you can see a steady stream of bubbles surfacing from the overflow cap hose.

5 months ago, I was driving home after an extended freeway trip and noticed the temperature gauge rising quickly. With the heater on, I managed to limp it home briskly after making many cool-down stops every couple of blocks.

The same exact thing happened yesterday on my way home from an extended freeway trip. The overflow tank was full to the brim when I immediately pulled over and checked.

Between the above two instances, the car physically drove around completely fine even though I would loose maybe like half an overflow tank worth of coolant several days. It even drove fine around town today.

I have made a decision that it is just not worth it for me to pay for a proper fix. I am currently looking for a replacement car and this is high on my priority list.

The problem is that it is critical for me to have a car to commute with daily and as much as I am looking for a car ASAP, it might be 1-3 weeks till I find one.

I've been doing a lot of browsing on the net about the Blue Devil head gasket sealing additive and the results seem to be mixed. It does appear that since my car has a very slow leak and that it normally is still able to drive around town just fine, my car might be an excellent candidate to try it out.

Whether it works or not, I am simply planning to get a replacement car ASAP and to cut my losses. I guess what I am doing is looking at this from a "what can I gain vs. what can I loose" perspective and am wondering if it is worth giving it a try to see if it will help me buy another few weeks of time.

Does anyone here have any first hand experience with the Blue Devil stuff and basically what are the chances that it could help me vs. hurt me?


Blue Devil also seems to have two different types. A simple pour-and-go and another one that is much more involved (draining, flushing, removing t-stat). Should the pour-and-go-type offer the same likelihood for success?


Thanks!

 

I did try the Blue Devil "Pour and Go" one time. Didn't do anything. When I actually did change my head gasket after that, there was blue crystal crap on the head gasket. Wasn't sealed, just full of blue crap.

I believe there are products out there that can get you a "fix" if your hg is in such a state that the car is not drivable. But in your case, I say it's not worth it. For any kind of head gasket fix to "work," it has to gunk up the engine. That's the definition of how it works. These aren't intelligent carbon-tube nanobots or anything, just bits of plastic/metal/blue crap that find hot places in the engine and get hard.

A head gasket change is cheap and doesn't take long. I've done it twice (that's another story), and get yourself a buddy and a Saturday. However, you'd need to have the head checked. You're looking at a $100-200 job with parts and a potential head job. Based on that, you can determine if it's worth it. But it's fun!

If your argument is "well, I'm ditching the car in 1-3 weeks anyway," I can understand that. But then why are you asking the question?

EDIT: I will note that Blue Devil made good on their money-back guarantee.

 

They made good on their money-back guarantee for you?

That said.. let me chime in on OP's issue.

I believe that the mistake the first replier, slogfilet, made was using the "Pour N'Go." I once bought several bottles of the Pour N'Go, with the logic of "It costs half as much as the normal version, says that it can mix with the coolant, and *should* work the same." And.. I had the same exact results as yourself. It did not much of anything, and anything it MAYBE did.. was quickly undone, with normal driving. As a result, I would say.. AVOID the Pour N'Go product, BLUE bottle, the one that costs less. AVOID. It is fairly useless, and I tried HARD to get it to work. THAT SAID.. I have had entirely DIFFERENT with the ORIGINAL, LARGER, $62 a bottle YELLOW bottle. I will detail below.

OP, it sounds like you are understanding what many, many will tell you. And the ones that will beat you up (I KNOW they are on here, I simply wonder if they will remain silent.. they usually like to speak to people some kind of way) ... either are being silent, or have not yet seen this. They will say stuff like "Why would you even think about using that stuff," "A real repair is the only way." However.. I actually read your first post, and I, myself, have been in very similar situations. I remember being jumped all over on forums with members that couldn't accept that it simply was not possible to get an ONLY car.. working properly. So.. I have been in the exact same situation as yourself.. several times. It is from this experience, that I have tried, and used, the large, yellow bottle of Blue Devil. Now I will continue talking about what I did, and why it was, basically, successful.

Firstly, the large, yellow, $62 bottle of Blue Devil is NOT compatible with antifreeze. Not sure why, but, it isn't. (This is likely a key part of why the Pour N'Go version does not work.) But.. you have to FLUSH the cooling system, FLUCHFLUSHFLUSHFLUSHFLUSH, until the water runs clear. I had a garden hose, fortunately, and did it as quickly and repeatedly as I could. I got the water as clear as I could on my vehicle; I honestly forget if it ran clear. Then I drove with the water in for a day or so.. with flushing agent, etc etc. Re-flushed.. the idea here is "flush so good the water runs clear." Then, you have to start from cold, and pour in slowly.. the whole bottle in over a minute's time. (The idea is to let it distribute itself in the radiator. It TELLS you to leave the T-stat out, but leave that up to you, I never took out the stat. I did squeeze upper radiator hose to make sure there was room for Blue Devil to go, and topped up with water, if I had to, before quickly re-sealing cap. It won't DO anything until it warms.. the advice to NOT drive it is good.) Now, two quick tips they WON'T tell you in the instructions: Let it run for TWO OR THREE HOURS, and USE THE WHOLE BOTTLE no matter the engine size. (1. Why be "cheap" about it. I have used half bottles with success, yes, but.. in hindsight, why not let it ALL go in, since it will clog up any hole, anyway. I don't recall losing heat, either, although it "could." You could try to manually block off heater core hoses, too.. if the radiator is set up that way.. 2. The length of time.. will really let it get situated.) Then, let it sit for AS LONG AS YOU CAN before you drive it again. If a day is possible, let it sit that. If two days, even better.

The results SHOULD stun you, especially since yours is a very small leak. Just hope it isn't in a pressurized area, or you will be going easy on the throttle, in the hopes your crystalline leak does not blow.

So... I have saved several cars this way. They all met their demise in other ways. I do not recall "selling them to get out of them."

OP... How is all of this sounding? Anything to add?

*Almost forgot: MOST of my Blue Devil applications, held up "perfectly" when ONLY water was in the cooling system.. since antifreeze - which IS necessary in colder months, hello - is corrosive, and eats away at things, .. it usually starts to fail, and symptoms of HG problem return, when a proper 50/50 mix is added. But... Maybe not, just relaying my experience, since Blue Devil is the topic here. Antifreeze = seemed to hasten the return of any issue, as I believe the antifreeze ate away at any hole that wasn't supposed to be there.

Also, Head Gaskets can blow different ways. At least you don't have "Milkshake Oil." Like a car I had once. I put "Oil stop-leak" in that one, too, since the Head Gasket comes in contact with different things in different places.. It worked, but that engine failed in a different manner. (I can advise AGAINST engine flushes, is the short version there.)

 

The Pour and Go didn't work for me... but I did have luck with a product called K-Seal for a short-term fix. It bought me time until I could do a proper hg job, but it did lead to some gunking that took an extensive flush to remove.

So yes... some of these products can be useful, but understand that they are short-term fixes, and may cause issues in the long run. With that caveat... do as you will.

 

There's PLENTY of people with experience on it. If it decides to work, it'll work for a day or two, then your motor will **** on you. Also, now you can't just replace the head gasket - you have to tear down the motor and have it professionally cleaned, replace your radiator, replace your thermostat...a $200 job just turned into a $1000 job.

 

I had a Camry that I was running in a demolition derby that I noticed the night before the race had a pinhole coolant leak coming from the block just below the head gasket. I'm guessing a coolant passage cracked. Anyway, I dumped a bottle of stop leak in and it sealed the hole, car didn't overheat until the radiator got smashed. Too bad I can't remember the brand. Point is, if you don't care about the car, you really have nothing to lose but time, it's worth a shot.

And I'll be that guy. It's "lose" you're looking for. Not "loose". I can't stand that.

 

A guy in my town used a product like that on his turbo motor. He still drives it around. It bellows smoke like mine does though. It didnt blow up the engine, but if it fixed the problem temporarily, it sure isn't fixed anymore.