I've done a temporary repair on a pretty severe compression leak with a product known as "water glass"- - - -chemical name "sodium silicate". When Ed Pruss was trying to drive his big 54 GMC fire truck from Cullman Alabama to Denver Colorado, he had to leave it with me about 100 miles north of Cullman after experiencing a head gasket leak, battery charging problems, and dragging brakes. I was able to stop the head gasket leak temporarily and fix the other problems, and drive the rig to Kansas City for the annual reunion. Then Ed flew in from Denver and drove it the rest of the way home. The engine was a 503 cubic inch big GMC gas engine, and there was only one head gasket we could find- - - -all the way up in Canada at an obsolete parts place. If you use it that product, be aware that it can glue the head down better than super glue- - - -Ed had a terrible time getting the head off about a year later when it started leaking again! You can buy pure sodium silicate on Ebay- - - -it's a fairly inexpensive, colorless thick liquid. There is a pretty simple procedure involved in getting the best seal, involving a flush, refill with clear water, add the sealer, warm the engine up, then let it cool down with a little pressure applied to the radiator. When the engine is restarted, any sealer that has found its way to the leak will harden into glass- - - -with a 500+ degree melting point!
Jerry
