Cleaning radiator

Is there a good way to clean inside of radiator?

Vinegar works good if it is limed up ? What is in yours ?

Take it off and take it to radiator shop and have them boil it out.-------Loren

I agree Vinegar works very well. Depending on what is in it.Boiling works even better

Yes mine

you can try vinegar as it is cheap , with main cost being your time. I flushed and did vinegar soak & run on 3 separate occasions on same tractor/radiator and wasted several hours of my time. IR photo shows still clogged. New radiator fixed it.

red is hot, including part of alternator peeking out the side.
By the time you pay shop to remove tanks,rod out core, and re-solder tanks, you will have bought a new radiator, but still have an old rotten one.

There are home remedies, vinegar, OTC cleaners from the auto supply.

Sometimes it will help, but best left to the pros at the radiator shop.

Radiator shops are getting hard to find, about all that are left are truck and heavy equipment shops, which are sometimes reluctant to take small jobs. You will need to let them know you are serious and willing to pay the price for a quality job, which can turn into a recore if the cleaning results in a leaking core.

The other option is a replacement radiator, if available for your model. Cheaper than a recore, but not the same quality and sometime the fit is not exact.

If the radiator is still in, it would be a good time to flush the block also. That needs to be done first so the cleaned/replaced radiator doesn't get clogged from what's inside the block.

It's near impossible to get all the sediment out of the block, especially if it is clogged with rust. You can use cleaners, just be sure to flush it completely when done. If it has freeze plugs, they may start leaking, which means they needed to be replaced anyway. Some can be in difficult locations, depending on the model. If any freeze plugs are removed, that will provide more opportunity to dislodge more sediment. Temporarily removing the thermostat will give good circulation, which will be helpful in removing loosened sediment, and a better flushing of the treatment chemicals. Letting it run at full governed speed with the water hose running and drain valves open is the best way to get everything as clean as possible.

Man you are all high tech !

Read the other replys. Here is something we did years ago. Had a small irrigation pump with a little Briggs engine on it. Hooked the dischage to the bottom of the radiator and then hooked it to the bottom pipe into the engine. It worked quite well. Reverse flushed everything. Just remember not to let the pump run full tilt. You want a little under an inch high of water coming out of the radiator. If you have rust or lime build up then follow what the others recommend. They reverse flush in radiator shops too.

Drain the cooling system and then fill with vinegar. Run it till good and warm. Let cool then drain and use the block drain to back flush with a garden hose. You may need to do it 2 or 3 times but it has always worked well for me

I agree with Steve and Case Guy. Take it to a good radiator shop if you can find one.

I do not believe in commercial radiator cleaning chemicals unless you like replacing water pumps.

Dean

I had the radiator off one of my tractors once and used a pressure washer to remove the stuff built up in the block. Blew out a lot of stuff. It makes for a lot less junk if you clean the radiator your self.

Rydlyme or phosphoric acid.

the BEST way to clean a radiator is to have a rad shop HOT tank it in a CAUSTIC solution. all these vinegar and other remedies are not a 100 percent clean thing. then they check for leaks and paint the rad BLACK. they will also tell u if the rad cores are good or rotten. these rads are 60 years old.

(quoted from post at 01:09:32 10/19/19) you can try vinegar as it is cheap , with main cost being your time. I flushed and did vinegar soak & run on 3 separate occasions on same tractor/radiator and wasted several hours of my time. IR photo shows still clogged. New radiator fixed it.

red is hot, including part of alternator peeking out the side.
By the time you pay shop to remove tanks,rod out core, and re-solder tanks, you will have bought a new radiator, but still have an old rotten one.

Click to expand...

A thermal image camera is only limited to you imagination...

I have experimented with different flushes none worked to clear the blockage... The first thing that needs to be done is confirm flow its its suspect no flush is going to make it better...

A flush is a feel good deal it may help[ to flush debre but its not gonna clean a stopped up radiator ...

Back to the imagination I have the rad out of a Toyota I am installing a engine in its been replaced and don't look that old. I am going fill it with hot water and shoot it with my thermal image camera just for reference.... It may have issues and I could confirm it off the truck : )...

I am waiting on a set of injectors so mite as well play... You stirred my imagination up...

I don't think over the counter radiator flush does much good. The top needs to come off and the tubes poked out.Last time I took a radiator to a shop. All the guy did was glass bead blast what you could be seen through the hose connection pipe opening. looked good when I picked it up. I was going to install it, and noticed glass bead near the hose opening. I got my money back. I wasn't too happy about that. California shut down all the hot tanks. Stan

NO.

I run them for a couple days with the vinegar in the radiator...does a fine job. Use about 3/4 vinegar and 1/4 water.

If you get a new radiator make sure you know what you are getting. Some of the new ones, probably imported, are not as good as the original. Less tubes or fewer rows of them. Sometimes a recore with a US core to original spec is more money but may turn out better.

(quoted from post at 14:09:32 10/18/19) you can try vinegar as it is cheap , with main cost being your time. I flushed and did vinegar soak & run on 3 separate occasions on same tractor/radiator and wasted several hours of my time. IR photo shows still clogged. New radiator fixed it.

red is hot, including part of alternator peeking out the side.
By the time you pay shop to remove tanks,rod out core, and re-solder tanks, you will have bought a new radiator, but still have an old rotten one.

Click to expand...

Curious as to why the rad would plug up in the middle.

Guessing from the picture the tubes are vertical, if there was an obstruction where it shows red I would think the blocked flow should cause heat to build up above the restricted area as well.

Would expect to see hotter at the top and cooler at the bottom right across it when running and slightly warmer on the side the hose comes in on.

Being only about a 10 degree difference from cold to hot in the image is it possible the fan is not moving as much air in the center?
Alternately maybe dirty or bent fins in that area causing it to be showing hotter.

red=hot. It is most of right side of picture that is clogged, thus no coolant flow, no heat.

I put 140 deg water in it looks good to go for me...
I put an exhaust system on a NAA today while I had the camera out my air compressor fired up so took a pix... I pix from a brake rotor after I ran a test drive on it to break in the pads/rotors...