89 Caddy coolant factory additive required?

I don't know about this, sounds fishy, but the label in the engine
compartment says you must add some additive to the coolant other than
regular antifreeze, and it's a dealer only item.

Never heard of such a thing, and the label says it will damage the engine
and cooling system without it.

What is the stuff, do I really need it, what's it do?

What's it say EXACTLY?
GW

no@way.com wrote:

> I don't know about this, sounds fishy, but the label in the engine
> compartment says you must add some additive to the coolant other than
> regular antifreeze, and it's a dealer only item.
>
> Never heard of such a thing, and the label says it will damage the engine
> and cooling system without it.
>
> What is the stuff, do I really need it, what's it do?
>
>
>

>the label in the engine compartment says
> you must add some additive to the
> coolant other than regular antifreeze,
> and it's a dealer only item.

Yes, it's required to seal the coolant passages inside the engine. The
engine is an AL block/iron head type engine. Dissimlar metals. The
sealant is a bag of large tablets that cost less than $5 (GM part
#3634621) Dealers carry it but so do any parts places that also carry
AC/Delco parts. Failure to use the sealer is the main cause of failure
in these engines. Use all the tablets each time the cooling system is
drained/flushed.

Dave S(Texas)

On Fri, 18 Jun 2004 04:40:42 GMT, <no@way.com> wrote:

>I don't know about this, sounds fishy, but the label in the engine
>compartment says you must add some additive to the coolant other than
>regular antifreeze, and it's a dealer only item.
>
>Never heard of such a thing, and the label says it will damage the engine
>and cooling system without it.
>
>What is the stuff, do I really need it, what's it do?
>
>
Yes, it is necessary. Bars Leaks is the OEM product under the
manufacturers name.
Look here..
http://www.barsproducts.com/origin.html
Use all 6 pellets of HCC or 2 tubes of G12BP.
I've bought it at KMart and a couple of auto parts stores over the
years.
Note Dave's explanation of what it does and why it is needed. I use
it in my Eldo, the wife's Camry, the daughter's Mirage and it will be
going into my new Chevy van.
A lot of people don't like it because it makes the coolant look muddy.
Better that than new head gaskets.
FWIW
YMMV
DFB
For email remove "_no_spam_"

I've never used these pellets (30+ years of car ownership with some well into
the 100K mile range) and have not had a single engine coolant leak problem. A
couple of hoses, yes...but never engine or gasket. This sounds fishy to me.
Why would a properly designed coolant system and gaskets in a "young" engine
require a "coolant sealer" product. This used to be needed only in very old
engines (back in the 60's and 70's). Why would a new/young engine need such a
thing?

My opinion was that this was a band-aid for a poorly designed product.
This won't change GM's position, however. Subaru has recently implented a
recall on many of their vehicles which requires the dealer to add
stop-leak to the system to help prevent head gasket leaks and help seal
ones that already exist. I think this is equally bogus and that the
manufacturers are simply trying to save money because their product has a
problem they don't want to fix correctly.

no@way.com wrote:

> I don't know about this, sounds fishy, but the label in the engine
> compartment says you must add some additive to the coolant other than
> regular antifreeze, and it's a dealer only item.
>
> Never heard of such a thing, and the label says it will damage the
> engine and cooling system without it.
>
> What is the stuff, do I really need it, what's it do?

You need it, it's organic and will not do any harm to
the engine, and it should be installed every two years
along with a complete change of your coolant. Trust me,
your engine will be better for it if you just follow the
factories advice on this one.

Ian