Your prefered cooling system cleaner??

[Frank B]

I've used the usualt prestone and zerex 10 minutes flush, and the system cleaner that is left in for 6 hours of driving, or several days. But they really don't do the job. They never get that yellow powder residue that's left from old neglected coolant, or the crusty mineral deposits from the water.

I've read that a capful,or two of dishwasher detergent in water only(coolant flushed) does the trick. Being formulated to soften water, break down mineral deposits, cut grease, etc.

What have you folks used with success?

[mdjdc]

Due to the new EPA regulations the really good flushes are no longer on the market. In order to get the crud out of the radiator you need to take the rad to a professional. Frankly, I just replace the radiator with a new one. It will probably outlast these old cars anyway and it isn't woth it to chance overheating the engine.

 

Good luck.

 

New rads can be had on ebay for about 80.00 for a single row rad

[GeneralDisorder]

Yeah - the cheap price of subaru radiators doesn't warrant rebuilding them. If this was a $300 radiator, maybe, but they aren't

 

I got one of these and it's been great. Single row, so probably not for turbo's....$60 shipped, and the one I got was a Modine:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/85-90-SUBARU-LOYALE-GL-GF-DL-FE-RX-RADIATOR-86-87-88-89_W0QQitemZ230052015488QQihZ013QQcategoryZ33602QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

Here's a thread where we talked about this auction:

 

http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/showthread.php?t=61518&highlight=ebay+radiator

 

GD

[Frank B]

Oh I don't need a new radiator, if I did I would just buy one.

What I want to do is remove all that yellow powdery slime out of the cooling system that was left by the old, too old coolant that was in it.

It really isn't going to be done on my subaru either, the hatch is fine. I need to flush the 97 lumina I just bought for my girlfriend(the 89 GL-10 was a bit small for a 6' 2" blonde!!) This think is terrible. I had to replace the thermostat, coolant temp sensor, and rad cap, and next the manifold gaskets. But untill then i need a good flush.

 

What chemicals did the EPA ban?? Not that I would find them and use them myself or anything .

[robm]

An expert mechanic (truly expert, a sought-after consultant as well as a top-flight instructor) I know used to use dishwasher detergent to flush his cooling systems. He stopped when I pointed out that it eats zinc (brass has high zinc content) and aluminum - and just look at the wife's aluminum pots! He decided he didn't want his water pump looking like that.

 

I am not sure what he uses now.

 

How about hot water? Does this gunge circulate and recongeal as the cooling system heats and cools? Or is it stuck in one place?

[nipper]

To clean radiators you use dawn and warm water. It should get the scum, especially if its from oil, but old antifreeze that becomes gum not much you can do, and there is nothing you can do about mineral deposits (hence why you dont use tap water in a cooling system. The are rock hard, and the only way to get them out is to recore/rod or replace the radiator.

 

nipper

[desertsubaru]

I used baking soda and water. Drained all coolent mixed a gallon of water with a box of baking soda, put in rad and ran car untill hot then let run fo 5 more minutes then drained and flushed with a hose for like ten minutes.filled with water again and let run another ten minutes then drained and flushed again. Wow some of the crud that came out was scary. I got this idea from cleaning coffie makers, its old trick I learned from working in a kitchen . We use to use baking soda and water to clean the calcium and lime out. So I tried it in my car and it did a great job and allso made the car run cooler so it must have worked!

 

[ShawnW]

Id love to see a car going down the road blowing bubbles out the exhaust pipe. I know its not possible but it would make my day.

[TomRhere]

NAPA sells, (or used to anyways), a product called MAC'S Radiator Cleanser. Stuff is great!!! Directions say to run it, (after flushing system and filling with plain water), for 20 minutes, then flush again. I've left it some systems for a day or two. And at one shop I worked at, I left the stuff in one of our chiller systems for a week, you should of seen the grunge that came out of that thing. YeeeUuuck!

[bgd73]

If the cooling side is crud, so is the oil side, do both engine flush for coolant and oil. I have found the coolant get dirty after an engine flush with no leaks- one surface of channels met the other differently within the block(oil vs coolant). All ready then for a decent flush of coolant to get what shook free from the other channels. if it is the mineral stuff, radiator gets hit the worst- most likely never coming back (that is actually a good thing).

The stuff they are selling that doesn't seem strong enough, could be a bad adding of impure water. The flushing chemical should have plenty of strength to do the job. No worries about the block however, there are more round about ways with its heat and vibrations to shake the crud out- a clean radiator is a dang good one, even if it eats it prematurely.

I know I had a dirty engine when after an engine flush on the oil side the coolant had loose crud (not a leak of course).

 

EDIT: Holy Cow. I have a thousand posts... I gotta go get a life now.

[Frank B]

I have used Macs before, I should have thought about that since I have managed two NAPA stores . But I think I'll try the baking soda deal. it's cheap, available, and I doubt it will kill anything when I pour it on the ground. Hey, maybe it will get that tranny fluid out of the gravel in my driveway too....maybe not.

 

Thanks for the replies.

[soobscript]

Citrus flushes are highly recommended on diesel sites I frequent.

I have used vinegar several times with good results. Gets the gray chunky/flakey deposits out.

Best if you remove radiator, fill with vinegar, let sit for hours/days, flush with hose, rinse out with distilled water. I have also run raw vinegar thru the whole system for a several minutes as the first step in a flush process.

[DaveT]

Vinegar is mildly acidic. Baking soda is a mild caustic. So it makes sense that they remove deposits. Which would remove a particular type of deposit is beyond my knowledge of chemistry. Baking soda did remove the crud on our kitchen floor - build up of hard water deposits that regular washing had laid down.

 

Both are mild enough to not harm anything in a reasonable time frame.

[daeron]

Permatex has an excellent radiator/block flush, if you want to go the retail product route instead of grandma's engine flush.... but I am digging the kitchen-ingredient idea... Maybe an alternation between a baking soda flush, thorough water flush, and a vinegar flush, and who knows, throw the permatex stuff in too?

 

Anyhow, to answer your question, I have used the permatex stuff with excellent results in many different engines. It is my flush of choice. Until reading this thread.... Now, we shall see.