I have cleaned a radiator after taking it out, by filling it with vinegar and leaving it over night. When flushed it looked like new inside.

 

Yes, vinegar!!! I forgot about that secret little cleaner that is cheap, eco friendly and works better than anything else to clean anything.

 

Have you already got it sold? if not , how much are you asking for it?

 

More importantly, how much are you asking for it?

 

Hello. I had problems with my radiator a couple of months ago, and based in what I saw, I think that leaving the rad with winegar during the night might not disolve all the clogging.

Fortunately, the procedure is easy, but you may need some tools. The only things you need is a propane hand torch and flat iron stick/rod and a bar of tin. This iron stick (I really don`t know how to say it in english) must be like the material used in the metal measuring tapes, but stiffer enough to unclog the radiator tubes.

First: Remove the radiator.
Second: Chose one side, and with the torch, remove the tin of one of the sides. get a small pice of wood or something that you can use to knock near the flame in order to let the tin go out of the radiator. This process may take 10 minutes. Be patient, and when all the tin has been melted, the side cap will go out very easily.
If your radiator is clogged, you will get something like this:
http://www.bernardembden.com/xjs/clograd/index.htm



Third: Now you have access to each small tube of the radiator. In order to check how much is the radiator clogged, take the radiator with both hands (the side of the radiator where the cap has been removed must face you). Then, find a recipient big enough to submerge the radiator (the batthub maybe!). Fill it with 10 or 15 cm of water, enough to submerge the whole opposite side of the radiator (the one that still has the cap). Submerge that side, and with a fast movement, try to take the radiator out and turn it in a way that the open side is down and the part that still has the cap is up.

Do that movement two or three times in order to check where the radiator is clogged. The water must run freely in each flat tube and you must have a nice water courtain every time that you take the radiator out of the water.

After you have identified how much clogged your rad is, then, with the flat iron stick, you must start inserting it in each tube, two or three times, going slowly at the beginning and trying further each time.

Here is the procedure:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5877287_rod-out-radiator.html

After that, go again to the batthube and check again if the radiator is still clogged.

Fourth: Reassemble the radiator with the tin, re paint it, and try to do a pressure test, if you have a compressor available.

Fifth: Install the radiator back again.

Good luck!

 

Here is the craigslist ad http://knoxville.craigslist.org/cto/1686387674.html I am just asking what I have put into it for now. I think the process above may be a little to complex for me right at the moment but I would be willing to try it on a junk radiator just to see if I could do it. Thanks for all of the tips and I will get back to this thread when I have tried them. It prob won't be done within the next couple of weeks however. What about concentrated sulfuric acid if nothing else works? Hardcore but I happen to have a jug sitting in my closet.

 

Yes, I know it's an old thread but just wanted to say I tried this vinegar flush and it makes a difference. My temp used to be at 214 while sitting at a stop light and after the flush, it's now at 203. Some nasty looking crap came out of that radiator.

Eric

 

Something we used just the other week at work on a Taurus that had a 90% clogged heater core, 90% clogged heater hoses, severe buildup on reservoir, and God knows what inside the block: Powered Tide. We drained the coolant, refilled with water and added 1 cup of powered Tide. Dove the vehicle several hundred miles, drained, refilled with water, another hundred miles, repeat process. When the water drained out clear, we refilled with coolant.

This COMPLETELY fixed the clogged heater core, hoses, and reservoir. We pulled the thermostat afterwards, and it looked brand new- shiny brass.

I couldn't believe it. I saw the heater hoses before the Tide; the 5/8" hose was restricted with this nasty brown goo down to an opening of maybe 1/4". After the cleaning, there was nothing inside the hoses - completely clean!