Hi peeps, decided to rebuild my head cos the gasket had gone and was using water even though this was said to have been done a few months before I bought the car. The car has not been overheating although my temp gauge stopped working possibly due to the low coolant level.

Having initially emptied the rad I noticed the coolant was very orange and rusty despite the fact that I had flushed the system not long before due to the same problem being present. Have since repalced water pump too.

However, inside my hoses is orange and crusty and so are the channels inside the head. I plan to remove the stat and check it over too. The fan has been wired up to a switch inside the car, not sure if this is a great idea or not cos its not the best job.

Question is how can I clean all this crap out, would prefer to clean out the hoses first before re-assembling the engine, would carb cleaner be sufficient for this?

Also once back together would a rad flush suffice or is there something in particular causing it to go orange i.e is the rad fooked? Or is there something else that needs looking at whilst am at it that could be a simpler fix?

CheeRS

 

Hi ya,

I have been doing this today.

Used garden hose to flush system thur, then used rad flush(ran engine for about 20 mins @ 2k RPM) to clean all the rust and cr*p out, then ran the hose thur again.

Have repeated the process again but have left the rad flush in the system over nite and will then flush thur with hose again.

Hope this helps.

cheeRS Barney

 

i had this on my old engine, it was a right pain in the arse, i spent ages cleaning my header tank only for it to turn orange every time the engine heated up and the thermostat opened

the best solution i found was empty the rad, and to run clean water in it every day with a dishwasher tablet in it. after 3 or so days you will notice a big improvement, do it for a week then run it with the proper antifreeze mix

 

Use some WYNNS cooling system cleaner, leav ein for a few hundred miles, this is what I always do prior to a freeze changes etc, the crap will form as a congealed mess in the ex tank, so will need cleaning out, as it's a jelly like sunstance, but cleans anywhere the water goes perfectly.
The cleaner does say let it fast idle etc, but my way works far better.
tabetha

 

thanks folks, the car doesnt get used much as I bought it for doing track days so will take me ages to actually cover a few hundred miles.
I take it I can just add normal water adding some rad flush or dishwasher tablet and run it with the cap off the expansion tank at fast idle before flushing again and do this a few of times before filling it properly?
I think I will try the rad flush approach first followed by a couple of runs with dishwasher tab and see how it goes.
Whats the volume of coolant required, is it 2litres water, 2 litres coolant for a 50/50mix?

 

yes to the above question, but every antifreeze has a different mix ratio, its on the back of the bottle.

 

forte bio degreaser, when the cars all back together fill the system up with just water then put the bottle in, run it for 15 - 20 mins then drain it out, you may have to do this twice, its not cheap but really good stuff.

 

thanks, not heard of that fote stuff before where do you get it from?

 

Just run a hose until clean water comes out, then add antifreeze which will clean the engine out. Run it like that for a bit, then drain and refill with antifreeze.

Rick

 

whoops,meant forte..

 

CheeRS Rick but already done that twice now and its getting orange in no time.

 

were a forte dealer where i work so i just get it off the shelf lol, but most good motor parts places should be able to get it for you.

failing that theres something called the good garage scheme which is run all over the country, forte own the scheme so the garages are generally stocked up with a fair few forte products like we are, look on the website and see where the nearest good garage scheme garage is to you, pop in and ask them for a forte coolant bio degreaser, it should have a greeny colour lid.