coolant leaking timing cover temporary fix???

[NOGEN 3]

Is there anthing I can use to gack up the cooling system temporariliy to stop a leaking t/c on a s1 VN 3.8? She's peeing out from behind the engine end of the bottom hose and I need the car to drive 2094k's(Adelaide to Sydney(ish) round trip-return with a light trailer load(I know-BAD TIMING!). How goods Bars Stop Leak???
If I could fix it straight away, I would, but I can't 4 a couple of days...

[peter65]

i have used chem-e-weld in the past and it has worked ok... makes the gaskets swell up and close up small leaks.... the process to do it is a bit painful (read the bottle) but it works ok... i also had to remove/clean threads/tighten all of the inlet manifold bolts to stop various minor leaks. cheers pete

[KRUPTD]

Clean up where the leak is and surrounding area with wax and grease remover or brake clean.go buy some arildite (i hope thats how you spell it).Mix some of this up and use a scraper or a paddle pop stick and gentle fold it into the leaking area and surrounding area too,make sure you do this when the engine is cool and let it set at least 12 to 24 hours before starting the engine.This should hold,but for how long???no one knows.

[UNKNOWN]

It dosnt take long to change that gasket.

[Anthraxnz]

lol, i love reading dodgy methods for fixing things.

[NOGEN 3]

i have used chem-e-weld in the past and it has worked ok... makes the gaskets swell up and close up small leaks.... the process to do it is a bit painful (read the bottle) but it works ok... i also had to remove/clean threads/tighten all of the inlet manifold bolts to stop various minor leaks. cheers pete

Clean up where the leak is and surrounding area with wax and grease remover or brake clean.go buy some arildite (i hope thats how you spell it).Mix some of this up and use a scraper or a paddle pop stick and gentle fold it into the leaking area and surrounding area too,make sure you do this when the engine is cool and let it set at least 12 to 24 hours before starting the engine.This should hold,but for how long???no one knows.

Cheers guys, thanx for you help, I used the chemiweld and the leaks gone, for now. I've got some stuff like liquid metal which needs to be kneaded together, it's a two part putty that, with a clean surface, seals up any leaks. When I get back home, I'll do the gasket and all the 'o' rings aswell....

[Rhino Racing]

I hope not but i have this horible feeling that halfway through your trip you are going to be on the side of the road with steam pouring out from under the bonnet.... there is nothing like fixing it right the first time...... but just think, the money you save now can go into that nice expensive complete engine rebuild after you have fried and warped everything!!!!!
Good luck dude!

[aussieghostrider]

make sure its not the small hose just above waterpump .

My Car has been doing this for years but only a drop here or there, to stop this I use a product called Car Go , it comes in a clear bottle with white lid and when you look at it there are copper/silica powder at bottom of bottle that when you add heat and water goes to a solid state which is excellent for filling holes or cracks in gaskets or heads.

flush your cooling system with the garden hose then fill back up and shake up bottle of cargo and add directly to radiator and go for a good drive ,leave this in for a few days of driving. then drain radiator then add coolant .

If you cant afford to fix it properly then i would buy a few bottles of it for your trip and carry lots of water in bottles with ya.

Car go is sold at super cheap auto , Kmart , repco ....

yes there are other products but I have been using this stuff for like 10 years ...

Also it wouldnt hurt to put in those coolant pellets they sell at holden to lubricate your waterpump and keep gaskets in better condition.

[NOGEN 3]

Yeah, cheers AGR, the Bars Stop Leak's got the black pellets and lubricant for the w/p brg aswell. The other 1/2 wants to go with us, which means the kids too, so I reckon it looks like the car'll be off the road for the day while I replace the gasket and the balancer seal, while I'm at it. If I was just going by myself, I'd just go, but with the family, don't want all of us to be hitching.
I went to my old work and used their pressure tester and found it coming from the t/c- wish it was as simple as that hose, even tho' that one could do with replacing....
I have a new thermo /hsg.(remember, it's a series 1.) and attempted to replace it, but it was an absolute bitch to move/dislodge from the plenum, so I left the old one on. Not looking forward to getting that off when it has to go...
Anything else needed, other than t/c gasket and balancer seal??

[accentstencil]

Yeah, cheers AGR, the Bars Stop Leak's got the black pellets and lubricant for the w/p brg aswell. The other 1/2 wants to go with us, which means the kids too, so I reckon it looks like the car'll be off the road for the day while I replace the gasket and the balancer seal, while I'm at it. If I was just going by myself, I'd just go, but with the family, don't want all of us to be hitching.
I went to my old work and used their pressure tester and found it coming from the t/c- wish it was as simple as that hose, even tho' that one could do with replacing....
I have a new thermo /hsg.(remember, it's a series 1.) and attempted to replace it, but it was an absolute bitch to move/dislodge from the plenum, so I left the old one on. Not looking forward to getting that off when it has to go...
Anything else needed, other than t/c gasket and balancer seal??

Possibly a puller for the harmonic balancer, if you don't have one already.

[NOGEN 3]

FYI- the price on a new timing cover for a series1 VN is $700.00!








To put this in context, I paid $1500 for the Berlina wagon, with all the Berlina goodies, plus 16" VR Clubsport copies.....
That's OK, if the t/c is corroded, I'll just get an alloy welder to weld it and take it to a cylinder head machinist to dress up the gasket surface flat, just gotta find 1 round south side of the city.
Hope to christ it's just an "O" ring ....
Standard balancer puller? Guy reckons I'l need a special Holden V6 puller??
Running outta time here- gotta go in 7 days....

[jas98]

what about wreckers? they should be alot less then 700...is teha genuine if so look around at other places

[Just_a_stocker]

is there some stop leak **** e you can buy from repco??,, might give you a bit of time..

regards

[NOGEN 3]

what about wreckers? they should be alot less then 700...is teha genuine if so look around at other places

That was a KC brand- the cheap 1! Genny's prob dearer from Motor Traders, yet always cheaper than from Holden ....
Wreckers are scumbags and I'd rather spend more on someone more reputable...but not $700!
Used the BarsLeaks. Worked 'till this afternoon- spewin'
Got the kit- O rings, gaskets & t/c seal- Get going on it tomoz after picking the kids up from Vacation care...

[jas98]

ah ok

yeh shouldnt be too hard...when i did mine it only took a few hours

good luck and let us know how it goes

[NOGEN 3]

I'l be doing it with no help and using the force(no workshop/service manual), so it should be interesting.....

[PaRaDoX]

wtf mate $700??? i could have that fixed for $10 and a hour later...

its simple, remove thermo

remove balancer, water pump

undo all hoses

undo all bolts on the housing

unto the 3 bolts on the sump into the timing cover

pull the cover off

clean surface, seal with gasket goo and gasket, seal and bolt back up

when i was playing with return lines for my turbo i tapped the timing cover seal and did a return line in there,,

$700 my ass! :P its a 5 min job and you know it... 2000km ****ing coolant is a stupid idea btw, the seal is a $8 part even comes with a crank seal for the timing cover

[NOGEN 3]

wtf mate $700??? i could have that fixed for $10 and a hour later...

its simple, remove thermo

remove balancer, water pump

undo all hoses

undo all bolts on the housing

unto the 3 bolts on the sump into the timing cover

pull the cover off

clean surface, seal with gasket goo and gasket, seal and bolt back up

when i was playing with return lines for my turbo i tapped the timing cover seal and did a return line in there,,

$700 my ass! :P its a 5 min job and you know it... 2000km ****ing coolant is a stupid idea btw, the seal is a $8 part even comes with a crank seal for the timing cover

17-04-2008, 10:33 PM
NOGEN 3
Bite the reality sandwich


Ride: N/A
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Adelaide;Southern Suburbs
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Posts: 458





That was a KC brand- the cheap 1! Genny's prob dearer from Motor Traders, yet always cheaper than from Holden ....
Wreckers are scumbags and I'd rather spend more on someone more reputable...but not $700!
Used the BarsLeaks. Worked 'till this afternoon- spewin'
Got the kit- O rings, gaskets & t/c seal- Get going on it tomoz after picking the kids up from Vacation care...
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Nuff said....
Last edited by NOGEN 3 : 17-04-2008 at 10:47 PM.

[NOGEN 3]

Sorted. Thanks to the people who helped...

[jas98]

so it was just the gaskets then?

glad ya got it sorted

[NOGEN 3]

so it was just the gaskets then?

glad ya got it sorted

Yeah m8, that's all it was, luckily. Looked like it had been dodgied with a 1/2 ton of silastic before. I reckon, given another week or so, the other side would have let go aswell...
Had to ride 20 k's for another gasket(Mind you, I'm 38 and ony 1 gear on the deadly treadly, lol), as the first one slid and couldn't get the bolts either side of the oil pump in, then I had to pick the kids up(5k's by bike-Dropped the kids bikes off in the morning b4 starting on it). By the time I got back, the silicone had hardened(surprise, surprise) so I left it overnight. This morning, I did the ride, got the new gasket, recleaned/redid the t/c and turned it over a few times with immobiliser on, then fired it up without the radiator and fan in and the trans line looped. then refitted the cleaned up radiator(had dirty trans fluid mud clogging a good 1/4 of the rad- not that it affected the guage)
She runs!, And no leaks!
Took her to the shops to get some heat/pressure in the cooling system, pulled up in the driveway- no problems at all and whats more-NO LEAK!!
(If I seem surprised, I am. Only because I had a genuine GTR torana that I stripped for a ground up, only to sell in pieces at a 10g loss(10 years ago-Let's not get into how much they're worth now- I'm still kicking myself.) and the VPSS 5 speed, sitting in the single car garage on standswith 1/2 an engine and no front end suspension...cars get started and don't get finished round here, but I'm about to change that with the SS...)
Noticed I didn't have to take off the alternator/coil pack bracket, but cest la vie(that's who gives a ****, in French),
NSW....Here we come!

[jas98]

haha awesome to here. always a good feeling when things turn out to plan

at least its done and you don't have to worry about it anymore and can enjoy your trip.. have a safe trip

[NOGEN 3]

So long as nothing else ****s itself- remember it's a 17 year old car... lol.

[jas98]

lol true but ay we wont think about that lol

[NOGEN 3]

She'll get me there- I treat her better than her last owner obviously, lol