FOUND SOLUTION, DID NOT BLOW UP MY 91 LX

[HISSIN50]

I don't know - I always run distilled; it's cheap, and I figure I should try to keep mineralsout of the system any way I can. They might end up as a heat transfer reducing deposit or contribute to electron transfer, and maybe distilled helps reduce that.

thank you for your thoughts - i just keep coming up with weird questions.
i knew that one was a weird theoretical thing that likely would not matter in the real world - but i thought maybe i was missing out on something.

i too, run distilled - you have not seen the water here (it is actually not bad, but i'm afraid of what is in it to make it presentable). thanks again, Michael!

 

[Michael Yount]

Years of living in Houston - the water there was such that after 7 or 8 years, unless you treated the water, your home water heaters would fail and if you ever opened one of those up, well, you'd never put tap water in your car's cooling system afterwards. There'd be literally six or eight inches of 'gravel' in the bottom - all mineral deposits. The scaling that occurs with water like that is just terrible.

 

[mustangsquared]

So what is a good way to get all the crap out of th ecooling system...I have 3 bottles of super cleaner in it and have been driving for a week...still have crap in there (mostly radiator leak sealer) (man this thread has taken on a life of its own.)

 

[BlackGT89]

So what is a good way to get all the crap out of th ecooling system...I have 3 bottles of super cleaner in it and have been driving for a week...still have crap in there (mostly radiator leak sealer) (man this thread has taken on a life of its own.)

All the good cleaner has been taken off the market for years now. Prestone used to make a really good one that would leave bare brass showing inside the radiator. It was so strong it came with it's own neutralizer.

Ford makes a good cleaner but it's not cheap and they seem to like to keep it out of sight. I usually run it for 2 or 3 days before it seems to do anything. Most of the usual flush from local auto stores just seems to be very ineffective to me. I wouldn't use the sealer unless I was on the desert and that was the only way I could make it home.

 

[mustangsquared]

Learned not to use that crap the hard way.... stupid heater core.... I am still getting clumps of the sealant floating in that tank.

 

[tmoss]

Remove the radiator to flush it out good.

 

[mustangsquared]

removing it is my next move....and maybe using the pressure washer on it...J/K

 

[tmoss]

NO - a pressure washer may damage it! You just need to fill it some, slosh the water around and dump it out a few times to get the debris out. If you want to loosen and get rid of mineral deposits, cap the lower hose opening and put a quart of vinegar in there along with water to the top hose connection and let it sit for a day, then re-flush with a hose.

 

[jrichker]

One thing I have heard to use is CLR Lime & Rust remover. It is mostly phosphoric acid. Phosphoric acid is used to remove rust from metal and is commonly found in Coca-cola and other soft drinks. It will remove lime & rust, but I would follow it with a baking soda rinse afterwards.

 

[mustangsquared]

Are you suggesting RUNNING CLR through the system...or just washing the rad with it. I would think CLR would jack up the hoses, seals...but then again I am not a chemistry guy so I have no clue.

 

[jrichker]

Try flushing the radiator with it. The CLR phosphoric acid is the same as in soda pop, so it isn't that strong. Just be sure to follow up with the baking soda rinse to neutralize any remaining acid.

 

[mustangsquared]

Sounds like a project for tomorrow....along with the stupid exhaust leak, and reinstalling the MSD 6al.... thanks for the help/advice...someone post another question in here that has nothing to do with the thread title (hey I started the thread...so HIJACK it... its been fun guessing what the next response is going to be about)(NOTE: CRUNCHY get out)