Stop Leak Oil Additives

[frodo1028]

I bought a 1992 LS-400 with 146,000 miles on it last November. Not long after I bought it I discovered that I had a bad engine oil leak (lost about one quart in 1500 miles). It looked like it was coming from the rear main engine oil seal which meant removing the transmition to fix it. Rather than tackle fixing it myself, I took it to a Lexus specialist. They said that it was difficult to tell if it was the rear main or the oil pan gasket. The rear main would cost $1200 and the pan gasket would cost about $2000. Since I bought the car for $4500, I thought this was a real bummer. I decide to drive the car with the leak for a while and park it over a pan.

Not long after, a friend at work mentioned that he had had good luck with the Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I am a real skeptic when it comes to these additives and usually don't like adding these things to the oil. I change the engine oil every 3000 miles. Anyway, given my options, I decided to try it. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!! After only 1000 miles, the engine totally stopped dripping oil. This tells me that it was the rear main because the stop leak would not have worked on the pan gasket. It only works to soften dynamic seals not static gasket seals. I have been able to go back to parking in the garage without any catch pan!

I just thought I would share this with the forum since the forum has been very helpful to me.

Thanks folks!

Frodo

[mburnickas]

I bought a 1992 LS-400 with 146,000 miles on it last November. Not long after I bought it I discovered that I had a bad engine oil leak (lost about one quart in 1500 miles). It looked like it was coming from the rear main engine oil seal which meant removing the transmition to fix it. Rather than tackle fixing it myself, I took it to a Lexus specialist. They said that it was difficult to tell if it was the rear main or the oil pan gasket. The rear main would cost $1200 and the pan gasket would cost about $2000. Since I bought the car for $4500, I thought this was a real bummer. I decide to drive the car with the leak for a while and park it over a pan.

Not long after, a friend at work mentioned that he had had good luck with the Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I am a real skeptic when it comes to these additives and usually don't like adding these things to the oil. I change the engine oil every 3000 miles. Anyway, given my options, I decided to try it. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!! After only 1000 miles, the engine totally stopped dripping oil. This tells me that it was the rear main because the stop leak would not have worked on the pan gasket. It only works to soften dynamic seals not static gasket seals. I have been able to go back to parking in the garage without any catch pan!

I just thought I would share this with the forum since the forum has been very helpful to me.

Thanks folks!

Frodo

That is great it stopped the leak; anything is better then $$$$$$

Just thinking here maybe I would use some LC20 or AutoRC to condition the engine seals (both sides) so it stops the leak the right way? If you ever use an engine flush etc it will start to leak again if using other engine adds.

[monarch]

Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!!

Another inexpensive option is to use a 10W-40 or 20W-50 "high mileage" motor oil like Valvoline Max Life. These oil come with seal swelling additive.

[mburnickas]

Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!!

Another inexpensive option is to use a 10W-40 or 20W-50 "high mileage" motor oil like Valvoline Max Life. These oil come with seal swelling additive.

true but seal swelling is not the samething as conditioning the seals either. Do you want to seal it for good or us seal swelling it to seal the leak?

If you need to use a 20w-50 in a Lexus you really need to re-think the oil.

[JaredB]

I bought a 1992 LS-400 with 146,000 miles on it last November. Not long after I bought it I discovered that I had a bad engine oil leak (lost about one quart in 1500 miles). It looked like it was coming from the rear main engine oil seal which meant removing the transmition to fix it. Rather than tackle fixing it myself, I took it to a Lexus specialist. They said that it was difficult to tell if it was the rear main or the oil pan gasket. The rear main would cost $1200 and the pan gasket would cost about $2000. Since I bought the car for $4500, I thought this was a real bummer. I decide to drive the car with the leak for a while and park it over a pan.

Not long after, a friend at work mentioned that he had had good luck with the Barr's engine oil additive to stop leaks. I am a real skeptic when it comes to these additives and usually don't like adding these things to the oil. I change the engine oil every 3000 miles. Anyway, given my options, I decided to try it. I cannot believe how well the stuff worked!! After only 1000 miles, the engine totally stopped dripping oil. This tells me that it was the rear main because the stop leak would not have worked on the pan gasket. It only works to soften dynamic seals not static gasket seals. I have been able to go back to parking in the garage without any catch pan!

I just thought I would share this with the forum since the forum has been very helpful to me.

Thanks folks!

Frodo

I was wondering if anyone with experience could comment on this? I have heard everything from very good to very bad regarding oil additives that swell gaskets to stop oil leaks.