mxcrazed

i have been considering running various detergents through my engine including dish soap and calcium lime rust remover you know the one (available at these fine outlets...) what do you guys think when i was like 10 i suggested to my neighbor who was restoring 2 lotus specials that he do it to flush his cooing system and you should have seen all the crap that came out i am only nervous about it reacting badly with coolant which is unlikely if i flush it with clean water a few times when it is hot one of the reasons that i want to do this is because i had used motor oil in my water jackets once upon a time and don't know how much plus the block is over 10 years old

scooter500

iTrader: (1)

umm, sounds possibly like a real interesting time for your radiator... guess you could compare the labels of calcium-lime-rust-remover to prestone super flush?

Apeiron

Flushing the radiator periodically with appropriate chemicals intended for that application is a good idea. Doing it with household lime remover is not a good idea, as it'll remove the aluminum, copper, brass and plastic from your cooling system along with the scale.

mxcrazed

CLR is a detergent that will remove calcium lime and rust (oxidation) from cast iron plus calcium and lime from aluminum oxidation. if there is calcium or lime scale plugging a hole in my radiator it isn't particularly reliable and probably should be replaced.my friend and i pulled the radiator from his jeep and we ran extra strength drain-o through it, that was probably a worse idea (his) and it is fine


do i run the same risk when using prestone's product?
what about dish soap prestone may not break down oil which may still be in there

Apeiron

It's not a detergent, it's a collection of acids that will attack soft metals.

Drano contains lye, not an acid, so it would have been safer as long as it wasn't an aluminum rad.

Prestone's product may be safe, or may not. You'll have to check the label to see if it's compatible with the materials in your cooling system.

slow_90firebird

So what were you gonna do, put a bottle of CLR in then fill the radiator with water and run the car?

mxcrazed

that is the plan but i wont drive it then ill put coolant back in after i flush it with water a couple times