"burping the Radiator"

Originally posted by Pete D:
I use 50/50 white vinegar in the coffee pot. Does a nice job

Well, I have some obvious hard water deposits in my radiator that I can see just looking through the radiator cap opening. Not that I have any problem with cooling, but I don't like the thought of that crap breaking loose and floating around in my motor, even if it is pretty fragile. The vinegar should disolve even the big pieces.

Ever done the vinegar trick in a coffee pot without putting a filter in, then watch the little pieces of hard water deposits bubble and disolve? I always got a kick out of that when I was a kid... Hell, I still do!

-asi



------------------
1986 TC, k&n, [email protected], timing set at 12.5 (spout out) Very restrictive exhaust at the moment (sloppy cat delete by prior owner)

hum. I have the obvious buildup too.. I'm tempted to run out to the store right now and get some vinegar [Image: biggrin.gif]

[This message has been edited by Ryan H (edited 01-28-2005).]

the heater core is not the highest point. the radiator cap is.. flush and fill the rad with the proper mix of coolant.. and keep the cap off.. let her run at idle till the thermo opens up.. you should see the coolant in the rad go down.. etc.. you should have two buddies doing this.. keep an eye on the temp gauge.. etc.. once the thermostat opens you should see the coolant drop in the radiator if there is a pocket of air.. if so.. add coolant when the radiator drops to its lowest level. fill it to the top and don't be afraid to let some spit out... once your done.. you should not be able to see any bubbles and you should be able to see the coolant with cap off just flow through the rad.. try that.. and see what happens.

The only thing that scares me about using vinegar is that is might weaken the head gasket. After all it is an acid.

I've taken off the heater hoses many times at the fire wall and they are empty. Dry. No coolant draining out.

At the same time the coolant is right at the radiator cap. And this is after the car has been run, not right after the system was drained and refilled.

I haven't done any scientific tests to verify the height, but it seems to me that if the hoses are dry then that point is higher than the radiator cap. Right? Try it if you don't believe me.

It is widely known that these cars have heater core issues, since they need to be replaced very frequently. It might be possible that the trapped air can be contributing to some of the problem.?.

I really enjoy my TC, but this is one of the things that could have been designed better.
A few years ago I changed a 27 year old heater core on my old convertible. I replaced it because of age, it wasn't actually leaking. I wish I could say that about my TC.

------------------
'88 TC 5sp, K&N cone, t3.60/.63, ported head, Felpro 1035, Walbro 255 hi pres., Kirban FPR.

Originally posted by TCorBUST:
The only thing that scares me about using vinegar is that is might weaken the head gasket. After all it is an acid.

Simple way to easy your mind. Heat up some vinegar on the stove to just under the boiling point, and put scraps of old head gasket in the pan, along with anything else you fear it might come in contact with, like (insert your favorite gasket sealer/maker here)

I think you'll find that vinegar is a rather weak acid that happens to react strongly to mineral deposits.

I've taken off the heater hoses many times at the fire wall and they are empty. Dry. No coolant draining out.

At the same time the coolant is right at the radiator cap. And this is after the car has been run, not right after the system was drained and refilled.

I haven't done any scientific tests to verify the height, but it seems to me that if the hoses are dry then that point is higher than the radiator cap. Right? Try it if you don't believe me.

Park on a hill!


-asi


------------------
1986 TC, 132k pretty well taken care of miles. k&n, gillis@17, timing set at 12.5 (spout out) Very restrictive exhaust at the moment (sloppy cat delete by prior owner)

[This message has been edited by Asimov (edited 02-02-2005).]