Flushing a engine block that has been sitting.

[Tony_H]

I have a 67 Fairlane in my shop with a 390 that has sat for twenty years. It appeared to have very little antifreeze in it with big chunks of yellowish solidified looking coolant in it. After some flushing, a new H2O pump, radiator and hoses, 2 different thermostats, new fan clutch and factory shroud. It wants to heat up to 230 going down the road. My temp. gun indicates that it isn't circulating but maybe a little. I suspect the block is plugged up with sludge. One of the forums suggested CLC for cleaning sinks and such. What do you guys think? I also want to swap out the O'rielly's H2O pump for a high flow Stewart or Flow Cooler pump.
Thanks

[earntaz]

I hate to tell you this -- but with that much time sitting, your only alternative may be tearing the engine down and "hot-tanking" the block/heads. Even dumping cooling system cleaner in the engine may not work. The water jackets in the lower portion of the block are probably filled with solid material. Some cleaners will flat attack anything that is aluminum or white cast material and will be easily destroyed -- including the radiator and heater core. Just my .02 cents worth -- but maybe someone out there has a better idea.

Good LUCK

The TAZ

[Big Block Bill]

The only way we have ever had ANY success with a condition like yours, is to knock out ALL the freeze plugs we can get at, pull all the coolant drain plugs, and use brass gun cleaning brushes to clear out what we can get at. Using an after market high flow / volumne pump is just going to "Band Aid" the real problem, and when any "Chunks" of old deposits come loose, they will just get clogged in the radiator core. Zep used to make a product called "Zeptine". It was an industrial cleaner for heat exchangers. Good luck, and where an old raincoat!

Bill

[Craig_Maiorana]

I'm with TAZ ... if in some case you free up a chunk of that it could lodge itself somewhere else in the engine and make things ten times worse. All in all the absolute best thing to do would be to hot tank it. It will be a big step to helping preserve that engine.

[Verne_Frantz]

I've always used the following process and am happy with the results. I drain everything I can from the bottom of the radiator, then add water and either one of the commercial flush products or muriatic acid (pool supply center). Then I run it for 20min or so. (you might have to do it longer if you suspect a large deposit of iron oxide is in there) Then drain it again.
Then I disconnect the upper hose from the radiator and add a few other hose pieces until the upper hose (and extensions) lay out over the front of the car. I put the garden hose in the top of the radiator and let the engine run until the thermostat opens and everything in the block runs out over the front of the car. Keep filling the radiator when that happens and wait for the next heat cycle when the thermostat opens and the bad stuff flushes out. I keep repeating that process until I see clear water coming out. Once that is done, drain it again then I reconnect the upper radiator hose and refill with water and antifreeze and I'm done. oh, and I add water wetter too.

Works for me
Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img]

[Billohio]

I have heard people using evaporust to flush with. Be interesting if anyone here has

[Tony_H]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Verne_Frantz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I've always used the following process and am happy with the results. I drain everything I can from the bottom of the radiator, then add water and either one of the commercial flush products or muriatic acid (pool supply center). Then I run it for 20min or so. (you might have to do it longer if you suspect a large deposit of iron oxide is in there) Then drain it again.
Then I disconnect the upper hose from the radiator and add a few other hose pieces until the upper hose (and extensions) lay out over the front of the car. I put the garden hose in the top of the radiator and let the engine run until the thermostat opens and everything in the block runs out over the front of the car. Keep filling the radiator when that happens and wait for the next heat cycle when the thermostat opens and the bad stuff flushes out. I keep repeating that process until I see clear water coming out. Once that is done, drain it again then I reconnect the upper radiator hose and refill with water and antifreeze and I'm done. oh, and I add water wetter too.

Works for me
Verne [img]<<GRAEMLIN_URL>>/biggthumpup.gif[/img] </div></div>

Do you think the acid will hurt the new $600 radiator? I like this idea.
I appreciate everyone's ideas. I am thinking about popping a rear freeze plug out just to see how bad it actually it.

[69PACE]

I've never done this myself, but an old farm trick is to use straight white vinegar to dissolve blockage. You will have to drain, flush then fill, but if the plug is organic mater it will eat its way through in a couple of days. I've used it on drains and the pipes are fine.

Other then that I'd say the advice to strip her down, and caustic boil is the best way to make sure everything is open. Or use pressure washer.

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Big Block Bill</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The only way we have ever had ANY success with a condition like yours, is to knock out ALL the freeze plugs we can get at, pull all the coolant drain plugs, and use brass gun cleaning brushes to clear out what we can get at. Using an after market high flow / volumne pump is just going to &quot;Band Aid&quot; the real problem, and when any &quot;Chunks&quot; of old deposits come loose, they will just get clogged in the radiator core. Zep used to make a product called &quot;Zeptine&quot;. It was an industrial cleaner for heat exchangers. Good luck, and where an old raincoat! X2

Bill </div></div>

[Tony_H]

Well here is what I did. I replaced the O'Reily water pump with a Flowkooler pump. While I had the pump off I poured a 1/2 bottle of CLR into the water pump holes on each side of the block then let it sit for a hour. I used a water hose to flush out each side of the block. Man the stuff that came out. I repeated this step again using another bottle of CLR. Once flushed, I put it back together and installed a Bob Drake filter in the upper hose to catch the big stuff. Now the engine runs 180 to 190 degrees without any issues. I have drained the straight water 2 times now and it is still turning nasty brown. So I'll keep doing this until it clears up then it will get 50/50 distilled and antifreeze. I hope this helps someone. I wasn't looking forward to pulling the engine.
I have a nice ugly stain on my driveway, so if you have to do this make sure you wash down your driveway good.