Radiator question?

[HotRodPC]

True about those ZEP products. Good Stuff. Started out as Commercial/Industrial strength products. Many many years ago, you'd have to go to a Janitorial Supply house to get those products. Good **** and a good price too at HD.

 

[chengny]

is that going to push enough volume to get the job done?

Consider the ID of the fittings you are going to use to connect your hoses to the block drains. What is the ID - maybe 1/8" max.

So even X 2 - they will most likely be the restricting factor to total flow rate.

5 gallons per minute is a pretty good flow rate for flushing. Picture a full sized drywall mud bucket filling up in 60 seconds - that's moving some water.

A pump of similar capacity has worked well for me doing this procedure.

Little Giant 360:

You must be registered for see images attach

http://www.pexuniverse.com/little-giant-360-utility-pump-555502

I also use it when working on my forced hot water heating system.

Here is a cheaper one that moves about the same amount of water and runs on 12 volts:

You must be registered for see images attach

http://www.pexuniverse.com/little-giant-BPLA-utility-pump-556001

 

[89Suburban]

Posted From Hell

 

[Gramps]

Posted From Hell

a little edit here ...

I'm a little slow, but getting there, we got company this weekend, but I still made it to Home depot, and got all the fittings, plugs, ZEP CLR, ect, that was needed but still need to pull the bilge pump out of the boat, also waiting for another brass fitting to show up that was bought through ebay, watching the mailbox closely, should be here soon.

 

[Gramps]

I haven't been able to put any time this weekend into the truck, but i did make it to Home Depot.

going off of chengny's idea to plug up the block except for where the fluid is going to come in, and go out, I got the following stuff

the flush drain is going to come off the 5/8 inch heater inlet off the manifold, so I got a 1/2 inch iron pipe plug to put in the heater return line on top of the water pump.

I also found that if I leave the lower and upper radiator hoses on the engine, an 1-1/4 inch abs pipe plug fits perfect in the end of the radiator hose, so that plugs up all the outlets except the one I'll use for the drain.

I also dug through some junk in the shop and found a garden hose "Y" adapter, so I got some fittings for it so I can butcher up some old garden house, and make an adapter that will fit those two lower drain ports on the bottom of the block, plus I need to cut a length of hose to go from that 5/8 fitting in the manifold and run it down into the bucket I'll be pumping the cleaner into and out of.

everything came from Home Depot, so I didn't have to drive all over town gathering stuff up.

I figured I'd show a picture of what I got just in case someone else gets the idea of doing a back flush like I'm about to do on mine.

I think I still need to locate some junk garden hose (maybe from the free section off craigslist?) and also want to work something out for a water pump ....I'm still thinking on that one.

and it wasn't more than a month ago I hauled a bunch of old trashed garden hose off to the dump, now I'm thinking I shoulda held on to it just a little longer.

 

[chengny]

and also want to work something out for a water pump ....I'm still thinking on that one.


What about that bilge pump from your boat that you've mentioned previously. That would probably work fine.

It is worth the little extra effort to mount the pump on a piece of plywood. It keeps the pump nice and stable for the duration of the cleaning process. Depending on the degree of fouling that exists in the coolant passages (and it looks like you have a lot) to get the block really clean could take quite a while. Figure on several flushing solution changes and a couple of days.

When you have it securely mounted on a piece of wood, lay it on the floor next to your return bucket.

That way, after the initial priming is done there will be no suction lift - actually there will be a slight suction head if the bucket is half full.

I hate to keep upping the ante here but you seem to be on board with doing a good job;

Consider mounting a couple of heat lamps so that they are directed at the block. The solution works much more effectively when hot.

 

[Gramps]

and also want to work something out for a water pump ....I'm still thinking on that one.


What about that bilge pump from your boat that you've mentioned previously. That would probably work fine.


Consider mounting a couple of heat lamps so that they are directed at the block. The solution works much more effectively when hot.

the bilge pump is in the back of the boat, under the floor, under the fuel tank, a lot of work to pull it out for this job, then have to put it back in the boat, plus I'd have to pull the fuel tank out just to get to it, I didn't realize it was quite that buried back there, so that takes me back to plan B ...gonna have to buy one, so I'll probably make a trip to Harbor freight this week and get one.

as for the hot water, I think for this job, I can just use the hot water from the washing machine.

I'm going to be using a 35 gallon plastic trash can for the job, so I'm thinking 10 to 15 gallons of hot water in there should do the trick.

for everyone else reading this ...sorry I'm so slow, but I'm doing this on very limited free time, and a limited budget, so it's a slow process for me, but stay with us, it's slowly getting done and I'll post everything I do, every step of the way just in case someone else wants to do this.

I have a 100 mile a day round trip commute to work every day which keeps me away from home 13 to 14 hours a day, plus family and kid stuff keeps me busy on the weekends, so it's slow going but promise I'll have this done before winter

 

[Gramps]

ok, here's what I'm goning to do for a pump, I think this is my cheapest way out.

this little bad boy will pump up to 650 GPH, costs less than 12 bucks, and I can pump just about anything with it, and chuck it up on my 1/2 inch wrist twisting high powered drill.

and if i bust it doin the job ...hey I'm only out less than 12 bucks.

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-drill-powered-pump-98384.html

first a word about Harbor freight, knock them if you will, but there's some bargains to be had at that place and you can't really go wrong with them. although i wouldn't recommend buying parachutes or birth control devices from them, just about everything else is a safe bet at least through the first use.

I never go into that place without a pocket full of coupons, you can always get something for free, and at least a 20 to 25% discount, which would bring that little pump down to $11.25, I think that's a fair price for something if it works, and the pump has some good reviews to.

I always go here for the coupons, print them up off the computer, then hit harbor freight on my way to work. the current coupons are always located at the bottom of the first post.

http://slickdeals.net/f/1276399-Harbor-Freight-Coupon-Thread

 

[Gramps]

Ha! ..I got that pump for $10.49 today, it was on sale, plus I had me one of them 25% off coupons ...score! ...oh yeah!!

I think I just about got everything I need now ..well, except a few odd chunks of old garden hose

 

[dhamp]

yup, I definitely need to get crank'n on this truck.

here come some more pictures of the new vs old radiators.

one of american eagle claims to fame is that their radiators have more rows of cooling tubes then the copper brass counterparts, so I counted the tubes in both radiators, and yeah, their right

the old 3 row brass copper radiator had 40 rows of 3 tubes, and the new aluminum had 42 rows of 2 tubes, but as you will see in the picture, on the aluminum radiator, the very bottom tubes are blocked off, which leaves the aluminum radiator with 41 rows of working tubes. still 1 more then the copper brass radiators it replaces.

Does the one you bought have the tranny cooler provision? Even if you're not using it now, it's possible to cap it off for future use, right?

 

[Gramps]

Does the one you bought have the tranny cooler provision? Even if you're not using it now, it's possible to cap it off for future use, right?

oh yeah, I actually wanted one without the transmission cooler, but they all come with them these days unless you have something custom built without the cooler, mine came with the tranny cooler, I have a 4 speed manual transmission so I won't be needing it, so I'm just going to to leave it capped off and forget about it, but the tranny cooler is built into the radiator and very well sealed, so capped off or not, it won't make a difference.

personally thinking about it now, I kinda like having the cooler plumbing in there because at some future date, I might experiment around with it, maybe try to turn it into a hot water heater or something? might work to heat up some water for a quick cup of coffee? who knows? but I'll do some internet searching and see what other ideas people have come up with for it.

meanwhile, looking at the two photos I posted, you can see it's a well sealed unit.

 

[HotRodPC]

oh yeah, I actually wanted one without the transmission cooler, but they all come with them these days unless you have something custom built without the cooler, mine came with the tranny cooler, I have a 4 speed manual transmission so I won't be needing it, so I'm just going to to leave it capped off and forget about it, but the tranny cooler is built into the radiator and very well sealed, so capped off or not, it won't make a difference.

personally thinking about it now, I kinda like having the cooler plumbing in there because at some future date, I might experiment around with it, maybe try to turn it into a hot water heater or something? might work to heat up some water for a quick cup of coffee? who knows? but I'll do some internet searching and see what other ideas people have come up with for it.

meanwhile, looking at the two photos I posted, you can see it's a well sealed unit.

You could also use the trans cooler provision for an engine oil cooler too.

 

[dhamp]

 

[dhamp]

meanwhile, looking at the two photos I posted, you can see it's a well sealed unit.

It most definitely looks tightly sealed. I'll definitely be going with either AE or Champion for my rad replacement (which should be over the next few months)

 

[Gramps]

You could also use the trans cooler provision for an engine oil cooler too.

I thought about that, but would it be effective at all? any benefit to doing that?

on another note, while up at the gas station today, I found a truck identical to mine, right down to the color combo, and the guy let me take a few pics, I'd be happy if mine came out half as nice as this guys