I noticed that the inside of my radiator on my 72 vette is looking a little rusty and corroded. Should I use a radiator flush product and attempt this myself?

 

I would say to be safe, pull the radiator and drop it off at a rad shop. They'll clean and test it for $35 or so usually.

While it's out, flush the motor with a garden hose using the upper and lower rad hoses.

 

Using mineral water instead of tap water also eliminates the residue found in water after it boils off. (aka salt, calcium, etc.) I'm usually only that **** when it's a new radiator and I'm doing the work. Probably overkill, but, hey! It's a Corvette ya know...

 

getting the radiator professionally cleaned and tested is a good idea. For the engine go by the chevy dealer and get the powder they use for a flush and use it, It will remove all the scale and rust and crud that a simple flush won't get.

 

Vinegar works great to clean and flush an engine. It removes scale and rust great. Add some table salt for a better chemical reaction.

 

Before flushing don't forget to drain the coolant from the engine.

 

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/show...ighlight=AS100

I'd suggest a real good coolant system CLEANING ... not just a flush but a real cleanout. Best stuff out there is at GM parts dept ... GM P/N 12346500 it's actually Prestone P/N AS100 Heavy Duty Cooling System Cleaner ... but you'll rarely find it anywhere but dealer ... under $10 ... strong powdered stuff, not those wimpy liquid flushes you'll find at WallyWorld or Advance ... wear eye protection. Get a free DexCool plugged radiator service bulletin (#99-06-02-012D) printout at GM dealer Svc Dept ... it'll walk you through a cleaning procedure that REALLY works. BTW ... proper procedure w/ AS100 takes about 4 hours at high-idle. Use the GM procedure as a guideline ... do it right and this stuff REALLY WORKS WELL!!!!!! Also get a new rad cap.

And YES ... AS100 safe for aluminum if you use as directed or as in the GM tsb.

First, just drain & flush with water ... Then start the AS100 ... You won't "SEE" much crud (clumping etc) in the drain water because the oxalic acid disolves it & puts it into suspension ... it comes out looking much like dishwater. AS100 is a 2-part canister ... you must follow up with a water flush... & then the included neutralizer (base/alkaline) ... then you drain & flush that out w/ plenty of water ... then refill w/ DH20 & coolant ... I like green stuff but I'm not gonna argue what type antifreeze to use. Suggest anyone read BOTH product instructions & tsb closely before beginning ... fully understand it so that you have a real sense of what's gonna happen when you do begin. Again, AS100 is strong ... use eye protection. You'll need a clean empty bucket & clean stirrer to mix up each of the AS100's 2 parts w/ DH20. Afford 4 hrs overall because of the several steps of heating, cool down, drain ...repeat etc etc. You must not fill a HOT system with ambient water. Much of this is common sense.

BTW ... if it's running good & cool ... I wouldn't tempt fate.

 

I had a Dodge that was runing rood and cool, no problems. I was doing a stat change and noticed a lot of scale and rust, so I decided to remove teh rad and have it cleaned and tested. While it was at the rad shop, I used a garden hose, and did both back flushes and flow flushes, several times each until the the eject water was clear and clean. It did take several times. Then I get a call from the rad shop. They said the rad was crap and needed to be replaced. They cleaned it, and the thing started to fall apart fromt he inside. They told me it would have run like that for another year or so without issues but that cleaning it caused my problem. Anyone validate that?