BTW, when I talked about leak sealers, I only know about ol'-timey stuff (e.g. AlumaSeal, pepper, etc.).

 

I hadn't even heard about the SOA additive until a couple of days ago. Seems that people swear by (rather than at) it, and if SOA endorses it then it is unlikely to do much harm. Manufacturers usually CYAF. (Well, except for the red antifreeze that Ford put in all of their cars in the '70s that turned to red grit after a little while!!!)

With that said do you think this MAGIC additive it worth a shot before I rip the dash apart and it rattles forever!!!

 

Joel

I would suggest that you get some advice from people that have used it. I do not even know how much it costs.

 

One recent post that I read somewhere (about changing the coolant and additive and dealer wouldn't honor warranty unless dealer poured the stuff... *taking a breath*) claimed that all it was was REDLINE's "wetter water" (or "water wetter", whatever!) and didn't say anything about sealing powers.

 

Again, I don't know. In absence of knowledge of the SOA additive, I would have said definitely need to remove heater core to deal with the leak. Heaters are a real pain. Almost wish they were made of cast brass or cast iron... might even outlast a soob.

I would suggest that you get some advice from people that have used it. I do not even know how much it costs.

 

One recent post that I read somewhere (about changing the coolant and additive and dealer wouldn't honor warranty unless dealer poured the stuff... *taking a breath*) claimed that all it was was REDLINE's "wetter water" (or "water wetter", whatever!) and didn't say anything about sealing powers.

 

Again, I don't know. In absence of knowledge of the SOA additive, I would have said definitely need to remove heater core to deal with the leak. Heaters are a real pain. Almost wish they were made of cast brass or cast iron... might even outlast a soob.

So, anyone out there that put it in there Soob had any NEGITIVE effects from the SOA additive?? Should I give it a shot, before I tear the whole dash apart and have to rent a car for a few days??

So, anyone out there that put it in there Soob had any NEGITIVE effects from the SOA additive?? Should I give it a shot, before I tear the whole dash apart and have to rent a car for a few days??

It will do nothing for a bad HC. You need to tear out the dash and replace it.

Sorry.

You could try regular parts store stop leak, as the biggest detriment to that plan is that it might block up the heater core which is otherwise going to come out immediately. I would not personally put a used core in, just out of fear the dashboard might have to come out a second time. I currently change out my antifreeze every two years specifically in hopes of getting a slight edge regarding the heater core corroding and developing a leak. When you do eventually do the job, wipe down the inside of the air box, any coolant residue left behind will prolong the coolant smell inside the car, even with a new heater core in place.

You could try regular parts store stop leak, as the biggest detriment to that plan is that it might block up the heater core which is otherwise going to come out immediately.

The regular stop-a-leak stuff is real nasty and can clog coolant passages in the block. The SOA stuff is only $5 at my local Subaru Stealership. The service guy said it is not made to cure heatercore leaks but, it is basicly a stop-a-leak product that will not clog up the small coolant passages in Subaru engines!!

A guy on another Subaru Board said this is the same stuff as SOA magic?? Anyone agree?

 

http://www.motortraders.com/xcart/catalog/product_16308_Holts_Radweld44192_125ml.html

Well I got a used heater core that looks to be in great shape (Thanks Shane!) for my ’98 Legacy L wagon EJ22, AT, with 139k on the clock. I used the SOA coolant additive and it helped a little with the strong coolant smell in the cabin when the heat is on but I can still smell it. I am looking at the replacement core and it seems to have the remains of foam padding on two sides of the core. How can I replace this so it does not rattle when I replace the stock leaking core with this one?

it wont ratle when you get it in... you will see when you remove the heater box... but if worried you can get some foam and put it on it... But around the inlets is the padding material you will see when you remove the heater box from fire wall.

 

Dont look at it as a whole and something to be hard to do its not hard it just takes time and removal of bolts it like a puzzle