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I posted a while ago about the temp guage going high after only a few minutes of driving (oil still cold). So it turns out that the radiator was pretty clogged. I had my friendly mechanic take a look and he told me that when he opened the drain plug nothing came out until he applied some pressure. Then he flushed it out a few(?) times. Car ran ok after that. But I don't drive it much (500 miles a year) and it sits a lot. So after 7 more months, I am back to the almost same situation. I brought it back to replace a fuel pump regulator and asked him to flush the radiator again. He said it was worse. He took off a hose and said there was a ton of junk in it. He said that at a minimum I need to replace the radiator.
So before I jump into that, any comments on the board about what else needs to be done. I've had the car for about 20 years. I'm wondering if it just can't take being driven that little.
If I do replace the radiator, will they be able to flush everything out well? Will that buy me another 20 years?
If have the daylights flushed out of the system..block, heater core all of it til its clean. Then put a raidator in it.
There are block drains on either side if that gives him other options. Sediment settles down in those jackets. Will be a noticeable difference.
From: Clifton Park, NY ............Clearwater, FL ... 85 Original Owner
Originally Posted by barry96
I posted a while ago about the temp guage going high after only a few minutes of driving (oil still cold). So it turns out that the radiator was pretty clogged. I had my friendly mechanic take a look and he told me that when he opened the drain plug nothing came out until he applied some pressure. Then he flushed it out a few(?) times. Car ran ok after that. But I don't drive it much (500 miles a year) and it sits a lot. So after 7 more months, I am back to the almost same situation. I brought it back to replace a fuel pump regulator and asked him to flush the radiator again. He said it was worse. He took off a hose and said there was a ton of junk in it. He said that at a minimum I need to replace the radiator.
So before I jump into that, any comments on the board about what else needs to be done. I've had the car for about 20 years. I'm wondering if it just can't take being driven that little.
If I do replace the radiator, will they be able to flush everything out well? Will that buy me another 20 years?
TIA
I don't think your mechanic flushed very well if he says still dirty after 500 miles. Also needs to come out because it's surely clogged up on the outside too. http://invite.homestead.com/Radiator_2.JPG
i had an 85 ironhead like that which had been just packed with “irontite” and years worth of scale. i used vinegar.
it was great. in the end i didn’t even have to replace the rad.
drove it like that for two years then dealt with the leaking head gasket. after the crud stopped coming out, i did rinse with baking soda and water. then rinsed with hose water. then filled with 50/50 mix.
i rigged up a valving system using garden hose and a Y splitter. would fill through the knock sensor hole, then let engine circulate for a while, drain out the knock sensor by adjusting the Y fitting, then refill etc.
looking back on it, it was a lot of work, but that was 7 years ago and i had no money. id probably do the same thing today because it lets you get a good cleaning in thr block passages.
edit:
A trick for cleaning your overflow reservoir to make it look new again after the rusty water:
grab about 2 cups of "playground sized gravel" and filter this gravel in your pasta collander to get the leaves and organic matter out.
remove the plastic reservoir from the car, pour the gravel into the container.
put in the purple cleaner from autovalue or some cleaner, any cleaner, and then shake shake shake until the gravel scrapes it all off.
It will look as new when you re-install.
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; Jan 25, 2021 at 10:32 PM.
that is really great whaleman. thnx for sharing that.
did u fill the block with the bottom rad hose plugged? once full, open the bottom hose and force it out with the shop vac? or did u let it drain out and turn the shop vac on at the end?
also: did u use any chemical other than h20?
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; Jan 26, 2021 at 03:57 PM.
that is really great whaleman. thnx for sharing that.
did u fill the block with the bottom rad hose plugged? once full, open the bottom hose and force it out with the shop vac? or did u let it drain out and turn the shop vac on at the end?
also: did u use any chemical other than h20?
Just water-many times. The block holds water (and crap) that does not normally drain out. This method vibrates the water in the block to flush out the crap.Just draining out the knocks does not get much. You can see in the video how much agitation is taking place. Dan
Last time I did mine I pulled the T-stat and ran it with the hose going into the upper left of the radiator and the outlet dumping on the ground. Cold idle around 1500 and let it go for 15-20 minutes a few days in a row. Then I filled with water and did the prestone flush for a couple days... repeated and then topped with 50/50. I'll probably do it again in the spring just to be safe.
Is it possible your problem was caused by mixing regular antifreeze with Dexcool at some time in the past? I did that once with my old s10. It completely clogged my heater core and there was a reddish brown goo on the bottom of the radiator cap when I removed it. I had to remove the block plugs and flush everything several times. I had to pull the heater hoses and flush the core separately. "Dexcool and universal antifreeze when mixed will form a gel, which eventually affects your engine’s cooling system. The orange and green coolants will never blend, and when they form the gel, the coolant will not flow as it should, which causes the engine to overheat."
Is it possible your problem was caused by mixing regular antifreeze with Dexcool at some time in the past? I did that once with my old s10. It completely clogged my heater core and there was a reddish brown goo on the bottom of the radiator cap when I removed it. I had to remove the block plugs and flush everything several times. I had to pull the heater hoses and flush the core separately. "Dexcool and universal antifreeze when mixed will form a gel, which eventually affects your engine’s cooling system. The orange and green coolants will never blend, and when they form the gel, the coolant will not flow as it should, which causes the engine to overheat."
This isn't an issue anymore with any extended drain interval antifreeze. The prestone green 100k is perfectly compatible. Regular green however still is. But I can't find that locally anymore.
I called prestone. They said look at the sds sheets. Their dexcool and green both list the exact same crap iirc.
[QUOTE=barry96;1602899201]I posted a while ago about the temp guage going high after only a few minutes of driving (oil still cold). So it turns out that the radiator was pretty clogged. I had my friendly mechanic take a look and he told me that when he opened the drain plug nothing came out until he applied some pressure. Then he flushed it out a few(?) times. Car ran ok after that. But I don't drive it much (500 miles a year) and it sits a lot. So after 7 more months, I am back to the almost same situation. I brought it back to replace a fuel pump regulator and asked him to flush the radiator again. He said it was worse. He took off a hose and said there was a ton of junk in it. He said that at a minimum I need to replace the radiator.
So before I jump into that, any comments on the board about what else needs to be done. I've had the car for about 20 years. I'm wondering if it just can't take being driven that little.
If I do replace the radiator, will they be able to flush everything out well? Will that buy me another 20 years? Hello, A new radiator will solve some of your problems but if you never drive it the engine will carbon up from sitting around. The tires can dry wrought too. I would drive it a little more and that might help a lot! I have a picture of my 1987 Corvette!
radiator all clogged
