Q: Should my radiator be empty while pouring the stop leak for blown head gasket?
Hey there,
My Camry 2000 was working very good before 2 months. Eventually resulted in a blown head gasket. We were running without coolant but nearby areas only also if speedy drive means it will keep on heating and if i stop somewhere it takes too long to start again. So it was too costly to do a mechanical work on it so i was suggested to try a stop leak oil for blown gasket head. I bought one yesterday and i didnt know how to exactly use it. Since my radiator was empty i poured it inside it directly (one full bottle) and waited a minute followed by pouring water into the radiator. I waited 15 mins with the heater turned on. I drove around i saw a bit difference but its not fully gone. White smoke started frm exhaust but when i keep my hands there water comes on my hand. Also when i press the brake, my car accelerates a bit. If i press clutch its normal. Please help me and tell me if i used the stop leak correctly or how i shoud use it the right way.
Thank you.
My car has a manual transmission.
Hi there. Thanks for contacting us today. Based on what you’ve written, you probably did this correctly. However, it’s quite possible that the damage to the head gasket is too extreme for these products to work. In most cases, a "stop leak" product is designed to simply clog up or plug a leak. The drawback to this is that the product also clogs other places, that will cause restriction of coolant and continue to overheat the vehicle. It can also cause symptoms like you are describing. I think the best advice I can offer is to look into letting go of this vehicle and finding a different one, as a head gasket failure should be repaired correctly, but the cost to do this would likely be more than the vehicle is worth.
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