Hello All,

My Aluminum radiator is on its way from Summit. I will flush the block before installing. Anyone have suggestions on what works and what doesn't?

Also, I will be installing a screen (at Doc's suggestion) to catch junk flowing through the system. I assume this goes into the upper radiator hose?

-Mac

Look for one of the products called "cooling system cleaner", which'll be a stronger compound than the ones known as "flush". Be sure to follow the instructions carefully; many of them are neutralised by coolant, so you need to drain out all the coolant and put in the cooling system cleaner when the system has nothing but water in it. If I were trying for max cleaning efficacy with minimal risk of issues, I'd probably take the time to yank the thermostat before running the cleaning operation, and depending on what I knew about the state of the car's heater core, I might also consider bypassing the heater core (loop a heater hose between the engine and water pump nipples). I've never used this stuff, but I've heard some good reports on their stuff.

Filter goes in the upper hose, yes. If you wanna get fancy and have an easy way to check the filter at a glance, get a Gano filter.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

Thanks Dan!

Another good product is muratic acid, but it's extremely strong and will trash a radiator if not careful. But seems how you have a new one coming, it's pretty moot. I use about 6 oz's of it with H20 or if your already low, just toss it in and go for a 30-40 minute drive, flush and back flush the snot out of it, then do it again. You wouldn't believe the crap that came outta my van when I did this.

Yes... I wondered about possibly using Muriatic.

Now... how do I get rid of the stuff I drain off after flushing??!

I'm pretty sure the local autoparts store won't take it as used fluids.

-Mac

I would use muriatic acid to clean out an engine block that I had removed from the vehicle. I would definitely not use it in the vehicle. Too much potential for too much damage to too many components, plus, as you mention, the disposal problem.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

If you neutralize it with soda ash (washing soda) you will be left with brine or salt water. Even if spilled in the soil it will quickly break down into various chloride salts, depending on the composition of your soil, and gasses, mainly carbon dioxide and possibly hydrogen. It does not present a long term hazard in small quantities.

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David Kight
'62 Valiant Signet, White
'98 Dodge Dakota
'06 Jeep Liberty

Growing older is unavoidable but growing up is strictly optional.

When I had the engine out of my plow truck last fall for a crank n bearing job, I also replaced all the freeze plugs (brass too) so while it was on the stand, with freeze plugs out I powerwashed the water jackets and didnt believe the amount of *crap* that came out. And I had done a complete system flush when I replaced the rad about a year earlier. I like using a product called Iron out. Its meant for cleaning water softeners and household hot water tanks, the water jackets in an engine, similar deposits are there.