tractor radiator flushing

greg oliver · Mar 29, 2014

My White tractor radiator has a leak that needs soldering. I was going to flush the system before I remove the radiator. There was a post about using distilled water and was looking for any feed back. Tractor is a 1989 White American 60 with the Cummins 4 cylinder. The weather is getting better so I was going to run it up to temperature with distilled water then remove the radiator. Thanks for any input. Greg

glennster · Mar 29, 2014

I use vinegar. Drain the cooling system of all antifreeze, give it a quick flush with clean water, then fill the cooling system with vinegar. Start the engine, let it warm up, then shut down and let it sit for a day or two. The vinegar will clean up all the lime and rust. Flush good with water. You can add a little baking soda to the water toneutralize the acid in the vinegar.

Allan in NE · Mar 29, 2014

I gotta flush one too. Thinking of draining all the coolant, filling with vinegar and then get 'er good a hot.

Works for the coffee maker...... :>)

Allan

kruser · Mar 29, 2014

OH NO - Help us all!
Allan's starting to think like the Glennster. LOL

rustred · Mar 29, 2014

if you wont be doing the soldering yourself then you would be wasting money on vinegar. the first place the rad would go is in the caustic tank in a rad shop. then pressure tested. this totally cleans it in and out. rad repair is an art and very few people do the proper job. if its leaking at the top or bottom tank seams then the whole tank is removed and re-soldered. also flushing does nothing for the repairs required on outside of rad. home flushing is ok if you have no leaks and don't require rad removal.

Anonymous-0 · Mar 29, 2014

RUSTRED you sure know a lot

greg oliver · Mar 29, 2014

I was wanting to make sure that the engine block was clean on the inside before putting clean radiator back on. Tractor cooling system has never been flushed, so thought I should get it done. I had fuel tank leak due to crack in solder, I'm wondering if it's from vibration at idle. Thanks for all the replies , Greg

Royse · Mar 29, 2014

Another vote for the vinegar bath and flush.
While rustred may be right on what a radiator shop will do with it,
the flushing helps clean out the rest of the system so you don't
put all the gunk back into the radiator that you just paid to have
fixed. For a couple bucks worth of vinegar, it's not wasted.

tractor radiator flushing

greg oliver

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glennster

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Allan in NE

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kruser

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rustred

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Anonymous-0

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greg oliver

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Royse

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