Bars leak is not going to fix the water pump. Also a cup or two of coolant
missing is not going to stop the heater from working. And if the heater is
not working due to a coolant flow problem you are doing engine damage
regardless of what the gauge may indicate. Of course the regular addition of
fresh water is going to do a number on the radiator and heater cores. The
water pump needs to be fixed. A leaking pump will often result in a major
failure and getting stuck on the side of the road. Continued operation like
this may make the engine non rebuild able.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of B
Feddish
Sent: Wednesday, September 16, 2009 9:28 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: To use Bars Leaks or not.....

Soooo... Last winter I got in my van and started to drive, the heat took 15
minutes to start going. That only meant 1 thing, there was not enough
coolant. I've been very diligent over the years keeping an air free system
and have enjoyed a temp gauge that never, even on hot days idling, went more
than a hair past the led. After putting in about 2 cups of water and
bleeding the system I was back to normal and the heat worked fine. A few
weeks later the top coolant tank was a cup or two low. Figured I have a slow
leak somewhere but since I planned to have the engine rebuilt I could just
keep on top of the coolant.  So all summer long I've been putting in a cup
or so a week and I've actaully had to turn the heat on for the first time to
cool off in traffic.  The same day my van's brakes went out I had smelled
hot coolant for the first time when I parked so I had the mechanic search
for leaks after fixing my brakes. He found a weeping head gasket that
stopped leaking when hot and a weeping water pump.  OK, I plan on a late
fall rebuild for the engine BUT my question is should I throw some Bars
Leaks in there for my fall trips? I've got a 300 mile round trip to MD for
Pony Pitch next weekend and a few short hops like "Buses by the Depot". The
van is also a 2 day a week daily driver. Being that I'll probably only put
another 1000 miles on before the rebuild I'm debating whether to do the stop
leak or not.

Bryan