oil additives

[76bonanza]

I have a very small leak in my timing cover around the crank not enuf to make me pull the pan and the timming cover. My question is do any of those oil additives work at all at stopping small leaks? Or any other reason to ever use an oil additive?

[Longhorn Man]

the stop leak additives are nothing but real thick oil. Some are hardly even pertolium based...
I'd stay clear onless you just don't give a crap about your engine.

[Fred T]

Sounds like the front crank seal (to the balancer) is leaking. Usually due to wear on the balancer hub due to either a hardened seal. The only way to stop the leaking seal is to replace the seal and put a redi-sleeve on the balancer.

[Green Machine]

Napa and likely other parts stores should have a front seal with the seal lip offset to ride in different unworn spot, little cheaper and easier than a redi-sleeve, it depends how much of a groove is worn in the balancer, sometimes a new stock front seal will hold if the groove is pretty small.

[70rs/ss]

Some of the additives do work, they penetrate the old hard rubber seals and make them swell up. It does work with no adverse effects to the engine, I think the stuff Longhornman is talking about is engine honey (what it is called!) which is a stop smoke (though the valve guides, but the actual stop leak for the seals will work, but you can pull the oilpan, lift the engine to get the oilpan out (otherwise you'll have another leak there too), timing cover, balancer, waterpump, fan, and radiator to fix that $3 seal if you want to! Supposedly that is what the high milage engine oils do, stop leaks and condition engine seals. I'd try changing the oil a couple of times with that stuff first, then the additive if the high milage oil doesn't help, then and only if I still had a leak I couldn't live with would I pull everything to replace that seal.