I believe I have a head gasket leak or some other damage in my engine causing the air from the engine to enter the coolant and my car is now also leaking coolant on the ground. I have watched a few videos of Scotty talking about leak fix products. It seems like every video on the topic he recommends a different product. Which one do I buy?
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You should find the location of the leak first. Then try to fix it correctly.
Only use leak fix products on cars that you're ready to haul off to the crusher.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDuGeQnMOzk
I was told that I should just put a new engine in as diagnosing the problem and fixing it will cost just as much
How can anybody know that? You don't even know where the leaks is coming from. (or at least, you didn't post it)
I just showed you how to easily find leaks.
Is a $20 kit "just as much" as a $5,000 engine?
I didn’t see the video earlier. I can buy that dye test kit. I already did a combustion leak test a few weeks ago before coolant started leaking in the ground and it was weakly positive for combustion gases getting into the coolant system which suggests a head gasket or crack in the block if I remember correctly. The car could have more than one problem but it does seem like the engine is damaged right?
OK so that's valuable information to include in your question.
Big difference between cracked block (throw the engine/car away) or a bad head gasket (repairable)
More investigation is needed.The dye kit could quickly reveal to a trained eye, if coolant is leaking from the head gasket or a crack in teh block.
I was told that I should just put a new engine in as diagnosing the problem and fixing it will cost just as much
Who told you that and how did they arrive at that conclusion? What kind of car is it?
A mechanic that I now know not to trust as I had to discover the coolant/ head gasket issue myself. They didn’t even check the radiator when I brought it in because it was dying. I had to figure out for myself that it had no coolant and put a gallon and a half in it. They did say that fixing a head gasket would cost thousands though and that I spoils just buy a used engine. I have an 09 Honda element
It will cost thousands to fix it properly…
Is it a vehicle that you want to keep as long as possible or is it an old beater with 3 wheels in the junkyard and one on an oil slick? Those so-called "sealers" are intended for the latter, where the car is not worth fixing right and at the next needed repair it will be scrapped.
Once again you have not provided any details, but for something like this it might be a good idea to get a 2nd opinion.
It’s not a car I want to fix and keep and it’s not quite a junker. Cars values are overinflated right now. The car should be worth 5k and it might be worth that so given the car market so putting a 4K engine in it didn’t make sense. It also needs two bushings for another 1k. It’s starting to need the same price in repairs that I paid for it 5 months ago. The mechanic who inspected it didn’t do a good job but the company is saying that the inspection I had didn’t include the fluid levels being checked before I bought it which I find insane
It’s not a car I want to fix and keep and it’s not quite a junker.
This video has some detailed information about how those "sealers" work (if they work). However from your description I'd say that if you try it and it either doesn't work or causes more problems the car is going to be scrap. If you try the stuff be sure to follow instructions precisely which generally call for draining out all coolant and using pure water.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJ7KFmg6Y8E
I live in Canada so I can’t use water in place of coolant. It’ll freeze
The Bar's Leaks product says on the bottle "No Draining Required". I have no idea how well it would work with antifreeze in the system though. You're really taking a chance with these kind of products.
https://barsleaks.com/product/head-gasket-fix-1111/
I was thinking of using it and hoping it would work even if temporarily. I knew it might not work. You’re saying that it could cause damage though?
It can cause damage by clogging up the heater core and/or cooling system.
It seems like every video on the topic he recommends a different product. Which one do I buy?
None of them. They're no more than temporary band-aids at best. Might not work at all. Might plug up your cooling system or heater core. Find the leak and fix it properly.
It will cost thousands to fix it properly…