A trucker depends on his truck running and they will fix them correctly and not use snake oil.

Because it has been overheated repeatedly, overtorqued repeatedly, improperly torqued repeatedly, and hydrolocked repeatedly. The way this engine has been treated, since I've known it, has often tested and exceeded the limits of modern metallurgy.

Nothing can put the metal back. This stuff might seal it for a little while, but that'* it. You are literally describing a product that is installed by diluting it in water then applying 16PSI to it, so it can hold hundreds of PSI out. This is like fixing a dam by patching the dry side. The pressure is still there doing everything it can to push that patch out.

I can't say it better than the Risoline tech that you talked to: He thinks that their product would likely seal the fracture. I don't see that he said he'* sure it will seal the fracture reliably for an indefinite period of time.

Either way, this "mechanic" won't put the head on correctly anyways, so you could put ten gallons of magic juice in it and it will not seal.

Have I had experience with it and it'* competitors? Yes, if by "experience" you mean I've come across countless people who have tried it and it didn't work, while also creating other problems in many cases. I've also come across a few that have purchased a used car where someone used this stuff to get it to appear to run well enough to sell it.

People who understand engines will read this and have other analogies that parallel this:

The heart surgery was a success except for all of the air getting into the veins.

The boat was repaired perfectly except for how the repaired leaks allowed it to sink.

The space capsule was excellent except for how all the air leaked out.

You're not sealing a fish tank or a Home Depot bucket here.

I don't mean this to sound insensitive, but this is what we warned about way back at the beginning of this odyssey. This "mechanic" doesn't know how to fix your car, is bleeding you dry, and is taking no responsibility.

Yep. That'* part of the trap that the mechanic has you in. Now you find yourself 340 days from the initial failure, and worse off for all of your efforts and expense.

Yes, the LEA that you have is the newer version of the LAF that was in the 2010 Equinox. IF it were a hobby car and you really wanted to take the time and expense to figure out how to make it work right, then I'd say go for it and let us know what happens. But since you need the car to run, this would be a bad choice.

You can use whatever you want. It won't work because this stuff doesn't typically work and because your "mechanic" doesn't know what he is doing:

. . . and how does a machine shop fix a warped head? They grind metal off of the bottom of it until it is flat. Then, the head is slightly shorter and the cams end up timed wrong because the cam chain didn't get any shorter. Then your check engine light is on, and then you can't sell the car for a reasonable price. That'* assuming that the "mechanic" can even put it together well enough to sell in the first place, which he can't.

Using Risolene or Irontite or whatever to seal the crack in the block is like using a tube of silicone to fix a broken window. Silicon is great for sealing around the window, but barely temporary for fixing the glass.

Thanks for your responses. The mechanic said that he is 90% sure there is a crack (from the experience I have had so far, I don't know how accurate this is).
I don't get how water gets into cylinder through crack. Isn't the water in specific pathways in the aluminum block... So the fracture has to go from these pathways to the cylinder wall, then the cylinder wall (made of cast iron) also has to have a fracture in the exact same place ?.. So the engine that hasn't overheated has to have a crack in two different type of materials in the exact same place (what is the probability of that) ?..or is there some coolant between the iron "sleeve" and the aluminum layer?

You could accurately describe oil passages this way, but not coolant passages. Coolant is flooded through most of the block around the cylinders. There are some webs of iron and aluminum (depending on the engine) that hold it all together.

Here you go:


Above is about what your block looked like until your "mechanic" got to it.



Above is the same picture with the coolant passages called out in magenta.

I see, having said that the wall around the cylinder should be the strongest and it looks like about 1/3 inch on the pic. I am so surprised that it would be leaking when the engine has not heated but if it was hydrolocked at some point then perhaps.

Hopefully , I will check the crack tomorrow..it looks like there is no water jacket in certain areas (like between the cylinders) so for example, a crack between the cylinders would not leak coolant..correct?

It doesn't matter how strong the metal is, if there is no coolant to take away the heat, it will crack. Combustion temperatures are thousands of degrees.

The engine has been overheated. Repeatedly. It has run low on coolant repeatedly. The gauge shows the temperature of the coolant wherever the temperature sensor is. If coolant is running low, the areas without coolant aren't having heat removed properly. If the areas that aren't having heat removed properly get too hot, they expand and/or crack and/or warp and/or etc.

The hottest part of the combustion chamber is immediately below the head, including the top of the cylinders. If the top of the cylinders are not being cooled properly, they will expand and/or crack and/or warp and/or etc.

If the coolant is running low and not getting to the areas that need the most heat removed, then the coolant will not get as warm.

This has nothing to do with having been hydrolocked. This is one of the contributing steps to hydrolocking.

Step 1: Coolant is full. Heat generated will get removed to the radiator by way of the flow of coolant.
Step 2: Coolant is a little low. Most of the heat generated will get removed to the radiator, and metal next to air pockets where coolant should be will conduct heat through the metal to places where coolant still is. This allows the metal next to air pockets to expand more than the metal where coolant is, causing warping and cracking.
Step 3: Coolant is a lot low. Little of the heat generated will get removed to the radiator, and metal next to air pockets where coolant should be will still conduct heat through the metal to places where coolant still is, but this heat transfer will take much longer. This allows the metal next farthest from the coolant to soften and expand much more more than the metal where coolant is, causing severe expansion, warping, and cracking. At this point the head gasket is involved, as is the top of the block.

The rules of physics still apply, even in engines. Air pockets are at the top and gravity pulls coolant down. At the same time, combustion happens at the top, creating the most heat at the top. Whatever coolant the water pump is pumping will occasionally and briefly pass over the overheated metal at the top of the engine, such as the head, head gaskets, and top of the block. This will create vast temperature shifts that further exacerbate Step 3 (above). Combustion temperatures approach 4,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The melting point of iron is 2,800 degrees, and for aluminum it is 1,221 degrees. If combustion heat isn't removed properly, things get soft and melt and expand and warp and etc. easily.

Remember when we thought your "mechanic" was nuts for not being concerned that your engine is losing coolant? This is why.

Hydrolocking occurs when there is coolant (or water) in a cylinder, preventing the respective piston from moving to the top of the cylinder. Your hydrolocking is caused by warping/cracking/etc. from all of the overheating. When the engine is running, combustion events try to push coolant out of the combustion chamber. What little coolant that gets in is evaporated at the next combustion event. This is where your coolant goes when you notice coolant loss. Hydrolocking happens when your engine is shut off. The cracks/leaks/etc. have zero pressure in the combustion chamber and 16PSI coolant pressure outside. If there is a place for that 16PSI coolant to escape, it does it. If that is into the combustion chamber then that'* what it does. after sitting a while doing this, enough coolant builds up that the cylinder can't get completely to the top of the bore. Then you show up an hour or two or ten later and turn the key and only get a click. This paragraph is how that happens.

A crack between cylinders would not leak coolant directly.

A crack between cylinders allows more combustion gases, therefore heat, to travel between cylinders and heat the head gasket more in this specific location. This aids in ruining the head gasket, which would then allow a coolant leak.

A crack between cylinders in a block that is not worth repairing, or a crack anywhere in a block that is not worth repairing, is a death sentence for that block. Blocks worth repairing are generally found in classic and antique cars and are contemporarily irreplaceable. Think 1930'* Bugatti, any Duesenberg, V-12 Cadillac, just about any Mercedes or Ferarri before 1960, etc. That is, unless you want to spend tens of thousands of dollars having someone repair it. There are shops that do this. Just keep in mind that, after this repair, you'd need the engine to be assembled properly for the repair to be remotely worthwhile.