Technical Cleaning a radiator.

So, my old girl is twenty five years old, the rad has always had green coolant in it, and after all this time it needs cleaning. It still cools, the 327 has no fan, but it has an electric fan with a 190 sensor in the bottom tank of the rad, which has worked well.
My issue is....the engine when not moving heats up faster now than before, and takes longer to cool back down when moving. Generally, it's not a problem.
My question is this, because rad shops mostly don't do rad work, only re and re's, I'm looking at serious money to clean-redo it, so, got any experience with aftermarket rads? A 36 ford pickup rad has extensions on each side that act as hold downs for the hood. I don't want junk, and am looking for real life experience concerning aftermarket rads. My first rad was aluminum, the bottom tank cracked, so I had the original redone, brass and copper, 25 years ago. Either I redo mine for serious money, or buy new, for the same money. Ideas?

 

If it aint broke...you know the rest.
leaking radiators = bad.
Yours doesn't sound bad. maybe something else at fault. How old is that electric fan? You sure it is running? I just had to replace the temp sender on my Olds, it failed after a couple decades.

 

It doesn't sound like you need to change your rad, you just need to clean the system as you said.

There are DIY rad flush products that work great. I usually use the one from Royal Purple called Royal Flush, but others work well. Your local parts store or performance shop should have it. Most of them have a similar procedure, dump all the coolant, fill it with water and the flush and get it up to temp. Dump it out then fill it with water and run it again. Then rinse it all out and fill with coolant again.

You'd be surprised at the crap that comes out of even a "clean" system.

I've had to do this on 2 of my vintage cars and my yard tractor and it works a treat every time. I use water wetter with the coolant when I refill it.

 

Flush the rad with the right products then reverse flush it with a pressure hose in the bottom connection to shift anything that may be blocking the core. When you say green coolant, a high concentration of antifreeze or using waterless coolant reduces cooling efficiency.

 

^^^^ This as most of the radiator shops that rodded then out are gone. Rust and scale build up inside the tubes. If it is not leaking, I would take it off and lay it flat, fill it up with a flush solution, let it soak for a few hours, and then flush it upside down. What is there to lose?

 

Could be a water pump as wel.

 

It's the rad, It works fine, cools still, just heats up at a stop faster than it has in the past. Yes, there is gunk in it, the electric fan will keep it from overheating, it's just time for some much needed maintenance. No, I haven't flushed it, that'll happen soon as the winter warms a bit, was just looking for opinions.

 

As said use a production flush product. I have used white vinegar with lots of success. Drain and fill with vinegar and drive it for a few days or a week. Flush with lots of water. Lots of threads on this topic.

 

Having been instructed on radiator repair years ago, it is suprising how little gunk it takes to seal off a tube. I was taught to take off the tank with the least amount of attachments and run the rod through each tube. They will only be blocked at one end. Our shop had factory made hot tank, flow bench and repair station with a dunking tank. You could use the flow bench to back flush a radiator that wasn't too bad.

I certainly would try one of the flush products since your radiator doesn't sound too bad.

 

Take it out and start with a hose on the bottom first. I’d make a PVC plug I could seal to your fittings. If you can use a 90* on/off that best. Blast it from both directions. See how much junk will come out.

Then soak it in a cement mixing tub with a vibrating sander attached on the side…You won’t believe how good that works with a product for radiator cleaning like said above. Then using the sealed hose device back and forward flush it.

Keep looking inside… it will take time but it’s well worth it. We do this on our circle track radiator every off season.
When refilling only use distilled water for your mixing…

 

Nice truck....bet it's running cool in that photo

 

A complete system flush has advantages over just cleaning the radiator...... Scale, rust, crap builds up in the block and heads as well as the radiator. I'm always kind of nervous when I flush a system ('cause I can't see/monitor what's going on inside the system), but I think it's the best way. Just be sure to neutralize, neutralize, flush, flush....
Good luck!

 

Have you checked this place out? Radiator Repair in Langley - Fraser Valley Radiators It appears from their website they're capable of rodding a radiator out....

 

I don't know if the machines are still in use but back in my mechanicing days i used a "Power Flush" machine that worked along with a radiator flush chemical and did pretty well. The machine had a pump that sent a pulsating pressure through the cooling system. It used one of those Tees that went in one of the heater hoses.

 

Yep, I cleaned some nasty crap out of the block on one of mine doing the flush. Doing just the radiator is only a part of the system.

 

Thank you much, a couple hundred they say, they'll boil it out, pressure test for an hourly rate.

 

Dish washing powder

 

The local MayTag dealer used to carry a caustic solution for cleaning dishwashers. I used it for cleaning out fuel tanks. It did a great job of removing all the crud, rust, etc. If you could circulate that while running the engine, I bet it would clean everything out. If the radiator is removed, you would have to devise a way to circulate the mixture. It came with warnings not to breathe in the fumes.

 

Thanks guys, I'll flush it, then take the rad to a shop