In Reply to: Clutch Question posted by Don Doan on December 26, 2013 at 16:09:37:
At this point, it runs (quite nicely, in fact), but is leaking coolant around the freeze plugs - so I guess I didn't seat them proplerly. Can I solve that with something like Bars Leak?
I've had mixed results with the commonly available stop leak treatments and there is also the possibility of it sealing up some of the flues in the core. One product that I've been thoroughly impressed with is "water glass" You can find it at drug stores or just Google it for a supplier. It's also known as liquid glass or sodium silicate. The process is a little more involved than just dumping in some stop leak as you must first remove all traces of antifreeze before using water glass as they don’t play well together.
Here's the instructions in case you choose to go this route:
System must be free of antifreeze and any other block sealant - Flush profusely with clean water - It might not be a bad idea to run some radiator cleaner thru it.
Refill with plain water and put in the liquid glass - You'll need less than a half a cup of sodium silicate.
Start the engine and get it up to operating temp - You want it as hot as possible without overheating. You may have to put cardboard over the radiator to get the temp up.
Let it run for 20-30 minutes and shut it down. If you have the time and patience, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to let the engine go through several heat/cool cycles as extra insurance for a complete and permanent seal. When the engine is cool to the touch, drain the water/liquid glass and reverse flush the system of any remnants of the liquid glass. It's like microscopic sand and will chew up the water pump if left to circulate.
I've seen this fix a blown head gasket so I know it'll stop weepy welsh plugs.
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