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[chrisgixer]

... For Aaronjb

If anyone fancys posting up while we're running hoses...?


Needless to say, there's brown shite everywhere and the heater is week.

[Field Marshal Dr. Opti]

After my new cooler was fitted by Mark DTM......I repeatedly filled the cooling system with water and a cup full of washing powder. Eventually I managed to get all the shit out. 

[martin42]

Hope you used a decent brand of washing powder,you know how funny they get when using cheap and cheerful powder that doesnt get the engine clean internally 

[al brown]

On mine I used dish wash tabs as they don't foam as much. Also I took out as many of the sensors in the coolant system as I could get to and cleaned them as initially the fans didn't work, the sensors in the rad were covered in gunk. That got the fans working again so I was happier running the car with the cleaning solution in it. Took a few flushes, but had been fine for the last few years, coolant comes out clean when I renewed it as year after I had changed the cooler.

[aaronjb]

That's interesting - the fans in mine aren't running either.. fingers crossed it's as simple[1] as cleaning the sensors.. good to know!

There's a dishwasher tab in there at the moment and I'll run it up to temp tomorrow and drain it again, repeat ad nausea I suspect.

Still, as Al & Chris pointed out today this is probably[2] entirely my own fault for ignoring that little coolant leak (which turns out was likely the oil cooler cover plate and the radiator drain tap; the latter had been previously bodged[3] with a blanked off hose jubileed onto the drain outlet!) and topping it up for, erm.. four years 

[1] As simple as any of the jobs have been!
[2] Ok, not really probably
[3] Not bodged by me, and the last person to touch the cooling system would either have been the previous owner, Vauxhall or Mr Budden, the dealer it came from..

[Entwood]

When we flushed a mates omega some years back we used a "low suds biological" detergent that his wife "liberated" from the hospital she worked at ...took about 20 flushes but it was extremely clean at the end of that. we reckoned we could do a flush every 4 hours ...

sequence was, with the heater controls set to max heat throughout ...:

Fill with cold water plus detergent. Run engine with the cap off until the thermostat opened, "burping" and topping up as required. Once the 'stat opened fit cap and run engine until temp gauge at normal. Switch off. Leave to stand. After 30 minutes start engine and run for 2 minutes. Switch off and leave until cool. Drain. Repeat ......

Took a while but it worked

[TheBoy]

The chemist next door suggested a cupful of screenwash, after reading the labels on all the shit in my (then) garage.

IME, the rad switches fail soon after, and keep an eye on rubber hoses and seals...

[Varche]

I have never tried it but wouldn' t  a degreaser like gunk help?

Garages here have a device that presumably sits in the pipework and sifts out the oil over a period of running. Never seen one.

[zirk]

Ive tried just about everything including the reccomended Rad Cleaners, best Ive found so far is Industrial Oven Cleaner, which I borrowed from my local Pubs kitchen. 

[al brown]

The chemist next door suggested a cupful of screenwash, after reading the labels on all the shit in my (then) garage.

IME, the rad switches fail soon after, and keep an eye on rubber hoses and seals...

I admit I replaced a couple of hoses afterwards as they felt soft, but the temp switches are still fine several years after my cooler failed but they were cleaned the day after I changed the cooler so maybe I got lucky. Flushed mine on the dive a few times, then the next few times I ran it for a couple of days at a time with a dishwasher tab in it.
I am sure there are many ways to do it, main thing is to make sure it is clean after a few days With the same fluid in it, not just running clear while you flush it.

[tigers_gonads]

Dishwasher detergent 

[tunnie]

Omegatoy always recommended a cap full of bleach, but only at idle, never driven 

[chrisgixer]

Funny enough, the moment we put two, yes two, dishwasher tablets in the header tank, and sealed the rad drain properly by replacing the tap o rings, the temp came down and settled at 90(-95?) from the 100c it showed at various stages previously. It cleared a little, bubbled some air into the coolant tank and bought the coolant level warning on.

Engine off. Left to cool, tropped back up, and curry stopped play. Going in the right direction now hopefully. Even got some warm air from the heater.


Very interesting post on the rad fans. Al let some smoke out bridging the contacts to get them working but it made no odds to the temp, as the system wasn't sealed due to the rad drain tap leaking.

Re sensors and cleaning, we did comment that it might need every part of the cooling system dismantling. Hoses, rad, sensors, hbv, and cleaning all the shite out if them.

Unless one of these rad flush products is worth a go....?


...or just stick with the dishwasher tabs and flush daily for a fortnight...?

[Kevin Wood]

I wouldn't leave dishwasher tablets in there too long as they corrode ali parts.

Plenty of things dissolve oils but you want something not so volatile as to attack the rubber, so stuff like gunk and jizer are out, i reckon. Washing powder or TFR are probably the best, I'd say.

[biggriffin]

On DAF XF 430/480/530. Oil coolers and rear head gaskets are a common fault,thus allowing 10 gallons each of oil and water to mix and its like thick black sludge.

to clean use liquid dishwasher detergent,run round the system,drain and flush,re-do if necessary,.
try some detergent from local pub or restaurant,as that's a bit stronger (industrial).