Cooling system flush tips

[bp71k5]

I've had my radiator removed twice in the past few month for warranty work

I noticed after I removed the radiator for the second time (after a week of running straight water) that the water was a little brown/rusty.

Is there any good way to de-rust the interior of the motor without disassembling it? Once the radiator is back from the manufacturer, my plan is to just fill and flush it a few times to make sure any loose rust is washed out. Is that a good plan? Any better ones?

 

[chulisohombre]

That's pretty much all you can do. If you pull the water pump you can flush out the engine with a hose. I do that everytime I replace my water pump. There is a lot of crap that settles to the bottom of the water jackets up in front where the pump sits. Running strait water the engine will start to rust a little if let sit. It wouldn't have the coolant oil in the mix to protect It. You could run engine flush as well and it will get rid of scale and rust but it will be pushing through your radiator as well and maybe deposit what's coming out of the engine back into the rad again. You could a inline Coolant filter to catch debris but that would require some mods Beyond me. Semis have a filter and maybe you could do that to yours.

 

[dyeager535]

Probably obvious, but you aren't running straight water intentionally are you?

At the very least, need to have something like water wetter or similar in it (Napa's Superkool would probably work) to make sure it doesn't corrode up for long-term water-only use.

Rust is the least of your concerns with a multiple-metal cooling system.

Just making sure.

 

[ryoken]

*coughmuriaticacidcough*

if your not pulling the 2 npt plugs on the sides of the block, YOU ARE NOT FLUSHING THE BLOCK... being the low points in the block cooling passages, they ALWAYS have sediment behind them...

 

[bp71k5]

I was running straight water on purpose for a short time to check for water leaks in the radiator. Ive got two in a row that leaked after a week of running and didn't want to dump coolant if I didn't have to.

Ryoken, I'll pull the block plugs and flush it for sure before the next one, but is the muriatic acid for real or just funny suggestion? I'm not quite sure with the "coughing", but I'll try it if its helpful and won't damage anything.

 

[ryoken]

nope, I was serious..... you can delute down some muriatic acid, fill the system with, let it sit 10 minutes, flush with freshwater... it's just like a prestone flush, etc...

gotta be cool time/strength-wise if you have dissimilar metals in the system like alum, etc.. but I've been known to dose some boat systems with a pretty heavy mix.... ya see a whole bunch of crud come out from that....

 

[AJs72K5]

nope, I was serious..... you can delute down some muriatic acid, fill the system with, let it sit 10 minutes, flush with freshwater... it's just like a prestone flush, etc...

gotta be cool time/strength-wise if you have dissimilar metals in the system like alum, etc.. but I've been known to dose some boat systems with a pretty heavy mix.... ya see a whole bunch of crud come out from that....

Yep. Asked the same question about my old motor at the shop where I store the truck. Muriatic acid, just like Paul said.

 

[wasted wages]

TSP or dishwasher detergent ( not dish liquid )

both are anti-foaming and will do a great job of cleaning a cooling system....


BTW...

Semis have a filter.

It's not a filter..... It's a block of chemicals that treat the coolant and prevent scaling,,corrosion etc....

 

[ryoken]

Cummin's 6BT's run spin-on coolant filters on the marine versions..

 

[chulisohombre]

Yep what Paul said. Mine is a 05 Volvo with 400 cummins and is a spin on filter.

 

[DEMON44]

Ya those are a filter but the expensive ones are precharged with time release additive package. Turns a $25 filter into a $75 filter. So you'll know what you have by the price.


Any ways Calgon gets oil out of the system. Caterpillar makes a good acid flush kit with an acid and base if you don't want to mix up your own. The "cleaner" that comes in the kit is a base solution that neutralizes the acid flush.

 

[bp71k5]

Is the acid any safer with a stock brass radiator? It's looking liked I'm getting the shaft on my fancy aluminum radiator warranty and I may just go back to a stock cheap one.

 

[AJs72K5]

Is the acid any safer with a stock brass radiator? It's looking liked I'm getting the shaft on my fancy aluminum radiator warranty and I may just go back to a stock cheap one.

I think you have to run a much weaker concentration with the aluminum rad. But, someone else will have to confirm.

 

[ryoken]

about the same, the alum's a bit worse.....


ya really don't have to worry much with mild solutions.. unless ya leave it overnight or something..

you can even just run 2 or 3 of the prestone ones at once to keep it pretty mild..

I usually do a gallon from the hardware store mixed with 4 to 5 gals water ...