June 8, 200619 yr As per WWP99 coolant recall on SOHC 2.5 L engines, I had the "Genuine Subaru Coolant Conditioner," dumped in my 99 forester almost 30K miles ago. Now the question is whether I I should follow SOA's advice to dump another bottle of the stuff in when I replace the coolant. The stuff is rebadged Radweld(I think), made by Holts of the U.K., a division of Prestone. On the Holts webpage, they claim the following for this product: - permanently seals radiator leaks - unaffected by antifreeze - contains rust inhibitors - safe for use with rubber hoses I know of one incident in which this stuff gooped up the weep hole of the water pump, which caused more neglect of failing pump bearings and serious engine damage as a consequence of overheating. This is probably avoidable with pre-emptive (regular) maintenance and unlikely with the low silicate/phosphate coolants on the market. In the 2.5 L engines, most of us replace our water pumps at the time of timing belt service, before they ever become problems. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this genuine goop?
June 9, 200619 yr If you are under 100K this should be a No Brainer. Recall Conditioner in, Subaru 60K warrenty extended to 100K ( for cooling problems ). Just keep your dated receipts. Cheap way to extend factory warrenty and prevent the external leak.
June 9, 200619 yr I was one of the first to install it in the US about 40,000 miles ago now. no problems at all.
June 9, 200619 yr If I'm correct, I think the question is more whether a second applciation at some point is required because the old stuff "wears out" and whether more goop in the cooling innards is needed or even detrimental. Seems like at very least a tranmission flush agent before refilling would be a good idea. We've had it in our '00 Legacy for 20,000 miles or so, also no issues.
June 9, 200619 yr Did a second goop app when coolant was changed. This was what my dealer reccomended. I'll probably change the coolant again next year and do a third.
June 9, 200619 yr I'm curious too. What does the dealer say? Someone has got to work at a dealership....
June 9, 200619 yr The recall stated, as the page I remember putting into MY02 Forester manual, that when the coolant is replaced at the 30K intervals, the Subaru recommended conditioner is to be reapplied ( thats what my manual insert stated ). When I asked at the parts counter thay said Yes...you must put it in each service to extend the warrenty.
June 9, 200619 yr I think that was in the letter I got too. Not that the warranty means much anymore at 127,000 and counting.
June 9, 200619 yr Author There was an ammendment to the owner's manual sent out with the recall notice that reads: "Important: To prevent cooling system leaks, always add Genuine Subaru Cooling System Conditioner (Part No. SOA635071) whenever the coolant is replaced." I am wondering if any of our European members havehad any experiences with Holts RadWeld (a British Subsidiary of Prestone/Honeywell), which is rebadged as the "Genunine Subaru" goop. Is it any different from the Prestone products on the market? I have over 100k miles on the odm so the extended warranty is moot at this point. I'll be replacing the coolant in my car soon and am just curious about these "miracle" cure products. As a side note, my local dealers want $8-$12/bottle for an item that lists for $1.39 -- so should source the stuff online.
June 9, 200619 yr Some Prestone antifreeze produckts have a supended stop leak in them, this stuff goes in solution (it's quite watery) and is supposed to work like antifreeze with stop leak.
June 9, 200619 yr Author Right, it's an aqueous solution unlike the pellets in Prestoned stop leak. In the global economy of mergers and subsidiaries, it's hard to figure out what you're getting sometimes.
June 10, 200619 yr Well, I put it in for my own peace of mind. Canadian owners have apparently not been notified of this issue, but I figured it was a good idea anyways. By the way: $2.25 at Select Subaru in Post Falls, ID.
June 10, 200619 yr As per WWP99 coolant recall on SOHC 2.5 L engines, I had the "Genuine Subaru Coolant Conditioner," dumped in my 99 forester almost 30K miles ago. Now the question is whether I I should follow SOA's advice to dump another bottle of the stuff in when I replace the coolant. The stuff is rebadged Radweld(I think), made by Holts of the U.K., a division of Prestone. On the Holts webpage, they claim the following for this product: - permanently seals radiator leaks - unaffected by antifreeze - contains rust inhibitors - safe for use with rubber hoses I know of one incident in which this stuff gooped up the weep hole of the water pump, which caused more neglect of failing pump bearings and serious engine damage as a consequence of overheating. This is probably avoidable with pre-emptive (regular) maintenance and unlikely with the low silicate/phosphate coolants on the market. In the 2.5 L engines, most of us replace our water pumps at the time of timing belt service, before they ever become problems. Has anyone had any bad experiences with this genuine goop? well the reason it gooped up the weep hone is that how it works. It sees the weep hole as a leak (technically it is) and plugs it up. The stuff only solidifies when it hits air. it wont clog the cooling system, nipper
June 10, 200619 yr You should dump in another container of the stuff with every coolant change. Not so much for the warranty but to keep the HG from leaking. Hopefully it does some good for that anyway. Price comparison point: It's less than two bucks at the dealer on Manchester in St. Louis...
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