Dear Friends, I had an issue which I have managed to resolve, at least for the time being...let us see.
I had been asking around for the 1.1 bar radiator cap and stuff. Actually I had started loosing coolant from the expansion bottle. My radiator had started producing bubbles at a very high rate. It will push the coolant out the expansion slot. I have a 50 km journey every day, from home to work and back, with a couple of bottle necks. Every morning, I would pour about a liter of water in the radiator. The expansion bottle would always be full up to the brim.
I noticed the radiator producing bubbles extensively. I consulted a few mechanics who diagnosed a faulty head gasket and advised me to get it replaced immediately. I had to travel to Nathiagalli on 11 November. For some reason, I could not postpone the visit or change vehicle. I decided to take the risk. To be on the safe side, I kept 4 cans of 4 liters water and started my journey via GT Road. I took two stops on the way to Nathiagalli and had to pour only a liter of water on every stop. We did some extreme hiking on the vehicle, there were no signs of heat up or anything extraordinary.
The return was via motorway, and in the same manner, poured about 3 liters of water during the entire journey till Lahore.
For the next few days, I drove the vehicle normally from home to work and back, pouring about a liter of water every day.
I again consulted my mechanic who said it was definitely a case of gone head gasket, the hole was minor and at combustion side, but it was there and would make my vehicle stall any time without warning. I asked for his advice for a work around as I did not want to get such a big job for apparently a small problem which was not bothering me too much.
He advised me to try a product from Liqui Moly called Radiator Stop Leak(RSL). I had used this product earlier to fix a small radiator leak issue for my Accord CM5, so I decided to give it a try. I went to Xpress Lube, a Liqui Moly authorized dealer and asked his opinion. He said this product is extremely effective for minor head gasket issues.
I bought two 150 ml cans of RSL, as one can treats 7 liters of coolant. At the same time, I found a 1.1 bar radiator cap from Honda Pit Stop Johar Town. One fine Sunday, I drained as much water from the cooling system as I could, replaced it with coolant and brought it to operating temperature. The I poured both cans of RSL and let it run for about half an hour. I removed the expansion bottle and placed a 1.5 liter pet bottle to observe how much coolant is rejected out of the radiator. On the first ride of about half an hour, there was about half a liter coolant in the pet bottle which I pored back in the radiator. It gradually decreased and by the end of the day, there was no coolant being rejected out of the radiator, and when I removed the cap...VOILA, there were no bubbles.
This product has completely cured my head gasket problem, at least for the time being. I still check the coolant level every morning, and it is up to the brim so far. Not a drop of coolant being lost.
Hope this story has not bored all of you I thought I should share it for the benefit of enthusiasts in general...