I took the 56 buick wagon out for a test ride Sunday and the motor is starting to sound better and a lot more power but, she still over heats .What the best way to clean out the radiator before I have to sent it out? I am on a fixed income so if I can do it myself it would help .P. S. Thanks to you all for helping me on getting the motor running better here on this board . Bruce.
Cleaning a radiator properly is a job for professionals. Forget any voodoo quick flush stuff. Pull it and send it to a good radiator shop. While its out, remove all the hoses and thermostat and use a high pressure nozzle on a hose and blast water in every available opening in the engine side system to flush out rust, mud, sludge etc. that has been building up in there for 50 years. Replace the hoses, thermostat, and water pump if loose or leaking.
Drain the entire cooling system and fill it with white vinegar. Run the engine for at least an hour or as long as you want. I've heard for guys running for close to 500 miles. Drain the vinegar out and flush it several times with straight water. You'd be surprised what comes out. I ran my A for 1 hour and it dropped my total temp 25 degrees.
Instead of vinegar, how about CLR (calcium, lime, rust remover)? I use it around the house and it works pretty well. It may be a bit pricy but was wondering if anyone else has tried it. Bob
I've heard Oxalic Acid is the ticket for a radiator flush but I've haven't tried it. Oxalic acid can be found at the hardware store, better known as wood bleach.
Vinegar is your answer. It will also clean your block p***ages. Run 100% and yes run it for 100 miles at least. After that drain and flush with a running hose while the engine is running until clear. I have repeated this 3 times on a old flathead before yand it never overheated afterwards. Use baking soda to counteract the acidity after you're a happy camper.
Not usually. Pull the lower rad hoses and they will all come out. A lot of the chunks came from the radiator anyhow.
Easy to tell you to "have a professional do it" when it's your money that's being spent...lol. It's understandable that you wanna avoid that and do it yourself if you can. Good tip with the vinegar. Do that. But before you do, I suggest that you remove the radiator and turn it upside down and back-flush it. leave the radiator cap on. While holding your hand over the inlet to plug it...which is at the top of the radiator, but now near the bottom...(because the radiator is upside down) fill the rad through the outlet...which is now at the top...with water from a garden hose. After you've filled it, remove your hand and let the water rush out. Do that a few times. In between, look to see if any debris is stuck and trying to be pushed out. I've done this, and found a mouse carc*** and its nesting material was in there. After you're pretty sure that you've flushed any and all debris, turn the radiator right side up and again fill the radiator with water while holding the outlet at the bottom closed with your hand to hold in the water. Once the rad is full, remove your hand and watch to see how fast the water rushes out of the outlet at the bottom. It should empty out very very quickly...whoosh. If it does, you can be pretty confident that the radiator is flowing well. If not, it may be clogged with a build-up of lime, iron, etc...and hopefully, the vinegar trick will take care of that. If not, you may be forced to take it to a radiator shop to be boiled out and maybe even rodded out. (hopefully not) A couple other things: When you have the radiator out of the car, and you're turning it upside down and otherwise handling it, BE CAREFUL to not drop it...especially when it's upside down. It's gonna be wet, and that ****er can slip right out of your hands. (ask me how I know) If it does, you'll likely smash the filler and the top of the upper tank...then you will have to take it to the radiator shop to have the upper tank removed, straightened and re-soldered onto the radiator. Also: Make sure none of your fins are bent over and inhibiting air flow through them. If they are, straighten them. I had a radiator that had been "introduced" to the fan at some point, and a whole bunch of the fins were bent over, basically closing off most of the airflow. It took a while, but with a small screwdriver, knife and needle-nosed pliars, I got 'em all straight again...and that made all the difference. Also: Clean between the fins (opposite of the normal airflow...back to front) with a spray of water from the garden hose, a high pressure washer, or the local quarter car wash...and maybe some compressed air. After all this, do what the guys said to do with the vinegar. Good luck.
Put ***** hose in the top radiator hose to catch the **** that would clog the radiator. The Vinegar works great. I like to pull the water pump and use a small soft copper tube or some rubber hose and get in there with compressed air while the water hose is running into the motor and it will help dislodge and then float out lots of ****.
I had a 352 Ford that was badly ****ped up with rust, I believe someone ran it with just water for years... I popped out all the freeze plugs on the sides of the motor and then flushed it, but this was an extreme case. An amazing amount of **** came out of it. Bob
Hello Bruce, I have a 55 with a 322, long neglected. I had to remove heater core and beat the daylights out of it and removed a cup of scale and rust. Restored enough flow for Texas. Removed both rear freeze plugs, sediment had completely covered them in the block. I dug out all I could and flushed with a garden hose. That stuff will never get flushed out under running conditions, just keeps contaminating the system. I did take my radiator to the shop, don't know If I could have cleaned it well enough, didn't try. Either way, I recommend cleaning everything while the radiator is out. Remove the thermostat so you can flush the block while the freeze plugs are out too after using a high pressure nozzle thru the freeze plug holes. Leave thermostat out after ***embling the system and put a ***** hose in the top connection to catch all the trash that will circulate. You cannot effectively flush the system with the thermostat in place. The ***** hose can be removed and dumped occasionally and be left in the system when finished if you like. I don't have a personal recommendation for cleaners but those already mentioned like CLR, vinegar and store bought seem reasonable. Remember, no thermostat and high rpms will establish a strong circulation flow. Keep heaters turned on.
Yes, you have to remove the starter to replace rear plug on one side, not that big of a job. It would be best to remove all plugs but you might just do the front and rears or whatever you can access without removing motor mounts or pulling engine, Do not try to use rubber plug type replacement with the center stud and nut, they will not clear the starter......period. Good luck whichever way you go.
I recommend this only as an emergency measure: I had an overheating problem in my Safari on the way home from M***achusetts one year.Stopped at my aunt's house in Jamestown NY with the idea of having it cleaned there. Pulled the radiator out and took it to a local shop only to find out that the EPA won't let you clean radiators anymore in NY state. I got the idea of using a drain cleaner(Liquid Plum-R)to clean it.Bought two gallons and sealed off the upper and lower hose connections as well as the heater tube and filled the radiator with the drain cleaner.Capped it off and rotated it about every 15 minutes for a couple hours and then back flushed it.Unbelieveable amount of **** came out! Re-installed it and bled the cooling system(a real chore in a car with an underseat heater)and drove it for nearly a year before getting it recored.
What did you guys use to plug up the upper and lower radiator outlets while cleaning it?Thanks Bruce.
If there are any aluminum or pot metal parts in the system,they will be disolved with this stuff.Caustic solutions and aluminum dont co-exist. Ive used diet coke,full strength and it works well.
Yeah, just remember that the stronger the solution the more likely radiator damage will result. You may get it clean but have leaks all over after you get it back in. I don't know offhand where to buy them but a rubber specialty place might carry the plugs. You may find common plumbing sizes at Home Depot or Lowes. Measure your neck sizes and shop around.
X2 on the caustic^^^^ used it for many years, nasty stuff! If you don't rinse very well it will keep eating away, Viniger (acidic) will neutralize it Bill
Cascade dishwashing detergent works great, too. Just got through flushing a 460 in a motorhome with it, runs 20* cooler now. Just pour a bunch in the radiator and put the cap on and run it about an hour. Then put a hose in it and flush with the engine running until what comes out is clear. And it won't harm anything rubber or metal.
Just a heads up. All the flushing,cleaning may show your radiator needs to be replaced. You are liable to open up holes that were previously clogged from debris. My dad had a radiator shop. Most cases on an old radiator , if it got boiled then pressure tested, in most cases holes were exposed that were not necessarily the initial problem. At least you can probably get a new core and use both tanks. Good luck.
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