So this weekend I was out changing my oil - almost embarr***ed to say that it's the first time I changed any car's oil (despite doing my motorbikes). I got it done but it took about 6 times as long as it should have, my cheap *** $60 from amazon.com trolley jack failed catastrophically and the Pep boys attendant thought I was talking a different language when I asked for an oil pan drain plug crush washer. I also wanted to change and flush the coolant - and quickly discovered that there's no drain plug on my Howe Racing aluminium radiator. I then discovered that pulling the lower hose was going to pour all over the bottom of the radiator brace, and that the lower hose was stuck like a *******. Being a home brewer, I sat and pondered my predicament for a while before seeing my racking siphon in the shed and hatching an ingenious plan. The racking siphon fit thru the top cap down the radiator beside the fins, all the way to the bottom. Two pumps and I managed to siphon the radiator dry without messing with the lower hoses. A home brew siphon is about $10 from the home brew store. http://www.northernbrewer.com/shop/auto-siphon-5-16.html Thought I'd p*** on my newbie discovery. P.s. yes I bought a new one for the beer after using my existing one for antifreeze.
Great idea! However, you can do the same thing for free with a hose. And you don't even have to **** on it to get the siphon going, thus no mouthfuls of antifreeze. Method 1. Hold the hose with both open ends facing up, like the letter, "U." Fill it full of water (from a faucet, pitcher or bucket). Put your thumb over one opening. Push the other end down inside the radiator. Be careful not to let any air get past your thumb. The weight of the water will form a vacuum inside the hose when you turn it upside down, which will keep it from running out. Lower the thumb-side of the hose below the radiator (into a bucket). Remove your thumb. Method 2. This is a little trickier and takes some practice but it doesn't need a source of water, other than your radiator, to fill the hose to start the siphon. We're going to raise and lower one end of the hose which is submerged in the radiator. The purpose is to use the water's own momentum to pull more water into the hose. We're going to use our thumb on the other end of the hose as a valve, so that the water can only flow in one direction. Put one end of the hose down below the water level in your radiator. Raise the other end of the hose higher than the radiator. Put your thumb over the raised end to seal it. Pull the submerged end up with a quick motion, quick enough to give the water inside some momentum, but not so hard as to pull the hose completely out of the water. It must remain below the water level. While the water still has upward momentum, release your thumb at the other end so the air in the hose can get out of the water's way, so it can travel up the hose. At just the right time, before the water has time to run back down the hose, seal it off again with your thumb. The weight of the water will cause a vacuum in the hose, which will prevent it from running back down. Push the hose back down into the radiator to get ready for another, "pump." If you can get your thumb's timing just right, you can quickly fill the hose with water with just a few pumps. When the hose is full enough, lower it into a bucket to let the siphon take over. After you've successfully done this a few times, you'll be able to do it almost without thinking. (This probably won't win me any free Baileigh equipment for tech week, will it?)
WSdad has it right!!! Do this all the time at work. A lot easier than crawling under to get to the drain. Only we have a 2ft. long piece of steel brake line on the end that goes into the radiator, makes it a little easier to fish it down in.
Method 3: As long as there is some air in the radiator (or fuel tank) you put the hose in deep, wrap a rag around the hose and over the opening, and blow hard enough into the hose to add pressure inside the tank. When you pull away from the hose, lower it into the jug, and the pressure pushes the liquid out, thus starting the siphon. This is how I was taught to siphon gas, back before cars had any valving there right under the cap. Should work on radiators.
You mean as in drill and tap a hole in the bottom of the radiator? You're right it would have fixed the issue, however: a) My motorcycle days taught me that drilling holes in aluminium components introduces stress risers, and subsequently cracks (I may have ruined a monocoque frame that way trying to route a cable through it...). So if something aluminium wasn't designed with hole, and I don't absolutely need the hole, I figure I'm better off without the hole. Siphoning it empty was easy and achieved the same end, so I'd put it in the "don't need the hole" category. b) Probably most importantly, I'd probably screw it up and punch a hole in the radiator, given my (lack of) mechanical ap***ude.
I haven't seen a radiator that will siphon. There's always **** in the way of getting the hose in. Usually a radiator core on down flow radiators or a Trans cooler on the cross flows.
The Jalopy Journal
