We might want to stay away from powdered citric acid, Nate's favorite cooling system cleaner. Turns out this was used in the latest bombings in NY/NJ. The feds will probably be watching all purchases. "Honest officer, I just want to get the rust out of my 216."
Really ? . That's weird . I thought they (the whack jobs) always used fertilizer.... I just came back from two weeks in the Navajo Nation and stopped in Flagstaff and began flushing the cooling system with Citric Acid, I left it in there for three weeks and suddenly all manner of crud broke loose and it's clean as a whistle again now = . The beauty of using this to clean the cooling system is ? you can use it in alloy cooling systems without fear of damage .
I have a 235 that I cannot for the life of me get the rear drain to flow. I know I need to rebuild the engine and of course we then remove the freeze plugs, etc and get it done, but I would like to get a few more thousand miles out of this engine. Where do I purchase Powdered Citric Acid? You say three weeks of just putting HOW MUCH in the radiator is enough? Is longer not advised? How do you then flush it out exactly? Sounds like a nice Tip of the Week. Just need to know everything about it. Thanks!
O.K. ; I use one pound of powdered Citric Acid powder to each Gallon of Distilled water . First you need to flush the cooling system with non sudsing laundry detergent ( think " Shout " brand) and then rinse that out . Sometimes the small hole leading from the threaded drai9n cock bung is plugged up with silt and a coat hanger vigorously applied will break through it . It's important to not just let the mix sit there ~ you need to DRIVE the darn thing so it circulates and works the old rock hard silted up rust loose . It's been a few weeks since I cleaned the Mercedes and it remains clear as glass in the radiator . I'm using G-05 coolant mix 50/50 with distilled water .
Didn't know. I want to try it out. But, I am one of those who laughs at the instructions. For example Liquid Plumber. Directions say leave it for 20 mins and flush with cold water. Uh Huh. NO. So, I let is sit for about 6 hours, then flush it with cold water. Works every time. I want things to actually work. I will give this a try. Coat hanger through the drain hole is a no-go after days of trying and retrying. First one that I have ever had this problem with. Usually, just as you are about to give up it works. Not this one. Thanks!
I've seen a few that were never drilled through into the water jacket but much more often the hole was just so dang tiny it was near impossible to find it ~ once you get the tip of the coat hanger in the right place it usually goes pretty quickly . Using a drill motor often helps.....
I know. I practically wrote the book on how to break that drain open. Not this time. Of course this engine is an unknown in many ways. If citric acid could break things loose, I am willing to give it a try. There is no problem really. I get 180 on the thermostat every day, but it's just the principle of the thing.
Understood ; You alls know by now that I'm over the top about the little details, things I should ignore but can't . The longer you leave it in and drive it, the better it'll clean when it all suddenly comes loose .
Some large feed supply warehouses. I bought a 50 lb. bag for $50. Great for cleaning shiny alum. semi trailers, without burning the alum., white. Steve.
Just so ~ The beauty is Citric Acid for cleaning the cooling system is you cannot over do it and if you have one of those older Imported cars with an aluminum tin foil radiator (Mazda,VW,Honda etc.) it's just the ticket to make it stop blowing head gaskets .
Saying hello again to you guys and ladies I have been away for some very long time but still have the intrest in reading posts about the " Chevy world " . Found this a very interesting topic with Nates good old mechanic solutions and i tried it out after my truck engine had not been started up after almost 2 years. It works really well using citric acid or "baking powder" which is of the same substance. As Norway is a cold winter country we normally use blue or red coolant here in all vehicles which have some cleanser in it to. The old coolant color was a kind of rusty so i flushed the engine with warm water first of all taking the thermostate out before i started cleaning out ! A 50 % red coolant mixed with 50 % water protects the engine up to 36 Celsius minus degrees. ( around 33 minus Fahrenheit ) I think a total of around 12 liter ( 3. 17 gallons) of fluid is needed in the 235 Cid engine + radiator volume. Its nice being back again thanks Martinius.
WELCOME HOME MARTINUS ! . In the U.S.A. ' baking powder ' is Bicarbonate of Coda ~ the baking Citric Acid is called " Sour Salt " and is used when making hard candies and some baked goods . I hope all is well with you .
Close, but no cigar Nate. Baking SODA is sodium bicarbonate, a chemical compound with the formula NaHCO3. It is a salt composed of sodium ions and bicarbonate ions. Baking POWDER is a mixture of baking soda, cream of tartar (a dry acid), and sometimes cornstarch
Thank you both Nate and Bil for your excellent review . Yes i read on the box with baking powder its sodium bicarbonate. Cleaning the metal quite well over some days , but citric acid works much better. Has anyone tried coca -cola in these water rusty systems ? I wanna thank you for the welcoming Nate , appreciate that very much. Everything is just fine here on the farm with my family and me. I will send you a private p.m. very soon. Martinius.
