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O/T I have a question

J

John B.

Well-known Member
What is a good radiator flush treatment?
My 98 Blazer the coolant is very rusty. It was flushed a year ago and all new hoses, heater core and radiator put in with new coolant and it needs flushed now again.

I'm ready to pour about 4 liters of Coke soda in it and let is set for about an hour then drain and rinse real good. I will take the thermostat out first.

Second question. A co-worker wants me to sandblast, prime, paint & clear coat his 16ft 7,000# GVW flat bed trailer. He is buying the sand, primer, paint, clearcoat & hardener. What's a job like this worth doing for?

Thanks,
John B.
 
Others are charging $70 an hour for labor, so I think a good man is worth $15 an hour, and $5 and hour for your equipment. Some people don't have that much, and others will pay the $70. Make it fair for the both of you.
 
As to the radiator, I use plain old vinegar.
It's caustic enough to clean but not enough to hurt anything.
As to the trailer, are you expected to flip it and do the bottom too?
That's a lot of time, work and risk on your part.
Charge a fair price, but take the scope of the job into consideration.
 
No I'm not going to flip the trailer. Not equipped to do that. I'm thinking $250 for my labor is fair.

How long do you leave the vinegar sit inside the cooling system before you flush it out?
 
I put coke in the water cooled exhaust manifolds of a raw water cooled boat moter. Let it set all afternoon and it did clear it out--course the manifold was beginning to be stopped up.

On the sandblasting I just took a truck frame to be blasted. I'm suppling the sand and paint. He quoted $250 to do the job.
 
I let it sit for a couple of hours on a normal cleaning.
If it's real bad it can be left over night or 24 hours.
Might have to do a couple of treatments, like any other cleaner.
 
Problem with pricing jobs like that, if you price it so you ARE paid fairly, you're probably going to be more expensive than a professional who has all the right tools and equipment to get it done better, and in half the number of hours you can do it in.

I'm assuming anybody asking a friend to do it for them is looking to save a lot of money.

So - I'd forget what you "should" be paid. You can't get that in this scenario.

The question is how much of a favor do you want to do for this guy. Ask for a token amount so it's not a gift, and accept that you're doing this to help the guy out, not to make a profit.

Or, if you do want to be paid fairly, forget it and send him to a paint shop instead.
 
Thanks for all the replies!

I'm going to try the vinegar.

Then I'm going to tell the co-worker $250. After making 4-5 trips over his trailer then putting the wheels on and off plus all the lights and rewiring them all up I think it's worth that.
 
I took "Diesel and Heavy Equipment Mechanics"
school, in 1968. They Reccommended "Washing Soda"
I"ve used it for years...mix a few cups with warm water, stir until dissolved, pour into radiater,
it sure brings out a lot of crud, do it twice if
the radiater is really dirty, you can even leave
it in overnight, then bring tractor up to
operating tempureature, and flush with clean
water.
 
does your blazer still run the GM Dexcool coolant (orange color) if it does its not rusty the system must of got air into it and that makes Dexcool turn rusty brown and theres sludge all over, What i've done is flushed with just plain water a few times and refilled with good old fashioned green anti-freeze and distilled water. got a 99 buick that we switched somewhere around a 100,000 miles from dexcool to green and now its at 340,000 and still has original water pump and head gaskets.
 
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