Is radweld bad for an engine

thexav

Pro Tuner
Staff member
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Car
2002 Clio 172
I heard a friend say he usually puts radweld in his coolent just in case as a preventative measure.

Is radweld bad for an engine though? Would it block up essential waterways or cause other problems?
 
yes it can be
and it can save a lot of money

have put it in a rover once with the head gasket gone water in the oil was ok until the engine stopped and were the water was going into the oil so was teh rad weld and not blokcing the hole just seized the engine

but i have put some in my landrover as the water pump was leaking a bit and it has stopped that for now so its saved me about 6-quid for now
 
my sons radiator sprang a leak about a month ago, and as a quick fix I put an egg in the expansion tank, Its still holding up just fine
 
Radweld reacts with the air and solidifies blocking any holes. I know lots of people have used it in the past but I'm not sure I'd be happy using it as a prevention. What happens when you drain off the system does the residue coke up the waterways and water pump?
 
the trick with radweld is to put it in the car, drive for a week
then drain the water from the car via rad bolt, top up with normal water, go for another spin, lets say half hour, or fan kicks in couple of times

then drain that, now top up with coolant, bobs your uncle
 
I did use Bars Leaks in the Primera once to combat a very slow coolant loss. It did solve the problem and I had no further issues even after a full service which included a coolant change.

I also loaded up the ibiza with some as a preventative measure in 2004 - we bought the car quite old in its life so I thought this would not be a bad idea.. It, too, has been fine.

Generally though I think you're better off rectifying the problem at source rather than using magic potions etc.

One thing I would avoid is oil additives regardless of what purpose they're meant to serve.
 
hdi,
your right about the oil additives, some of the hondas owner manuals ive owned, it actually says dont use additives, not only are they bad, they dont really work
 
To Prevtec: I agree. Most are benign. Many can cause engine damage by interfering with oil circulation. All engine oils contain an additive package in the forms of viscosity modifiers, detergents, and low levels of zinc compounds as extreme pressure lubricants to help when things get really out of shape. The problem is that adding more of the same is never beneficial. All oils are different in their additive makeup. So throwing in additional ones that are not compatible is quite likely to cause unfavourable chemical reactions

This is why I think it's best to stick with one brand of oil completely. Especially so with synthetics as the base stocks may not even be compatible..
 

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