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Cleaning coolant systems


Genie47
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OK You all have been hearing about radiator flush and all that stuff. Now for some hardcore DIY stuff.

 

There are many ways to clean out your coolant system. One of the ways is to use detergent. Yes, detergent. Many USA DIYers have sweared by using detergents. I will list the pros and cons of the most popularly used.

 

Laundry detergent

Sparkling clean.

Cheap as every home has some.

Dissolve in water first then replace it into your coolant system and run the engine for a short while. Drain. Flush with water then fill with your favorite coolant/antifreeze mix.

Low suds formula usually better as this prevents oversudsing. Oversudsing will make too much bubbles and reduced the washing.

 

Dishwasher detergent

Please note this is dishwasher detergent not Mama Lemon. So look for brands like Cascade.

Very low sudsing.

Expensive.

 

Drano/Drainex

Damn aggressive.

Super clean.

Might spoil the whole system if radiator is aluminium.

 

Acid

Super clean wash.

Hydrochloric acid best but corrosive. Cannot use for long. Vinegar is milder but if you can stand the smell.

 

In all these cases, you have to remove the thermostat to initiate the flush procedure.

Edited by Genie47
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Neutral Newbie

know this dude that swears by this laundry detergent by Amway. he ran it in his old Ford Sierra for several years at a time.

 

Claims if you just use it in your washing machine, and collect the water afterward - it's dirty and rusty... so the detergent actually removes the dirt, blah blah from the engine and even prevents it from rusting...

 

He offered some for my old Laser, but i politely declined [:/]

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Neutral Newbie

i dunno dude... u the dude that has a lab [:p][:p][:p]

 

i wasn't gonna run laundry detergent in my radiator!! it smelled good tho! [laugh]

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too troublesome, i just pay stamford tyres n they use machine to vacumm flush twice, b4 refilling. cost less than $30 if i remember correctly.

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Disc washing detergent specially tailor for disc washing machine is the best- very litte foam and wash very thorough. Widely used by US mechanics to flush coolant systems that are contaminated with combustion gas and engine oil.

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In all these cases, you have to remove the thermostat to initiate the flush procedure.[/reply]

========================

 

Hi Genie, Can I just run till hot until the thermostat opens instead of removing the thermostat??? Less troublesome like that.

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OK You all have been hearing about radiator flush and all that stuff. Now for some hardcore DIY stuff.

 

There are many ways to clean out your coolant system. One of the ways is to use detergent. Yes, detergent. Many USA DIYers have sweared by using detergents. I will list the pros and cons of the most popularly used.

 

Laundry detergent

Sparkling clean.

Cheap as every home has some.

Dissolve in water first then replace it into your coolant system and run the engine for a short while. Drain. Flush with water then fill with your favorite coolant/antifreeze mix.

Low suds formula usually better as this prevents oversudsing. Oversudsing will make too much bubbles and reduced the washing.

 

Dishwasher detergent

Please note this is dishwasher detergent not Mama Lemon. So look for brands like Cascade.

Very low sudsing.

Expensive.

 

Drano/Drainex

Damn aggressive.

Super clean.

Might spoil the whole system if radiator is aluminium.

 

Acid

Super clean wash.

Hydrochloric acid best but corrosive. Cannot use for long. Vinegar is milder but if you can stand the smell.

 

In all these cases, you have to remove the thermostat to initiate the flush procedure.

 

won't this kill the water pump seals by using fab detergents??

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Nope. Nobody said running it for longterm. The usual flush is run it with detergent for 15min. Then flush by running with water 2X 15min then fill with your coolant.

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I was wondering if it would react with alum head also ? I know it is not long term .... but they are chem .... just like acid ... which attacks when contact ...

I thought flushing with water is best. But if you take them apart and flush the rad. Then i will take my chances and go wif wat you proposed

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(edited)

Aluminium is very reactive against strong bases. The best is acid but acid is also reactive with aluminium. So it boils down to which acid. Vinegar which can be bought in the 5L bottles from Sheng Siong would be the best. Vinegar which is basically acetic acid is highly volatile. No residuals. So a dilution with 1:1 with distilled water would be best for the job. There are a few that use hydrochloric acid. I will stay away from that if I were you. Mainly it is not so available and it is to me too harsh. Forget about using bases. Sodium hydroxide has been banned for sale in Singapore since the days of old when people used it as a suicide aid. sweatdrop.gif

 

As for detergents, most DIY flushers recommend using the dishwasher detergents. Most of them list laundry detergent as last choice because of sudsing. BTW, low suds detergent is hard to find in the US. Most of their machines are top loaders as compared to the horizontal drum Euro machines that use low suds detergent.

 

BTW, if you choose to flush with water alone, you will need about 5 flushes to clean out or so what some guy at BITOG actually did as compared to 1 detergent flush followed by 2 water flushes (3 total) before filling with coolant.

Edited by Genie47
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nice to hear from u... anyway was away for a while from forums lately ... Ah-veo still ard ? ... I am using glycol ethelyne with silicate ... so presume a coat is present in my engine ... if flush dunno what will come out .... [sweatdrop][confused]

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Well, if you like the safe route, vinegar. Sheng Siong sells boatloads. Distilled water like Ice Mountain can be found in Sheng Siong as well. A nice low silicate coolant is the Toyota red coolant. Low silicate and has lots of phosphate for buffering. I think Nissan's coolant is also low silicates and has phosphates.

 

Mercedes-Benz coolants don't have phosphates at all. They are called G-05 coolants.

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Hehe me use the al cheapo type ..... Green stuff from ALL BEST .... That is y have to renew yearly to prevent problems ..... 50/50 is gd enuf ..... have tested the concentration ... looks good ... flushing gd ... because green stuff contains silicate .... not so gd for the pump seals ... but gd for alum head .... haiii ..... as long it keeps my engine cool and protect corrosion .... and cheao me go for it ...LOL

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Neutral Newbie
(edited)

how do i remove the thermostat?

oh my.. the last time i change, i used tap water/coolant mixture.. that was a year ago.. should i just use those radiator flush off the shelf, or try laundry powder? maybe thats y the mixture in my overflow reservior sort of faded in color?

 

also which coolant would u recommend? was using the caltex extended life bought from the petrol kiosk

Edited by Cyberet
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