Vinegar in Radiator

I have not had to use it in my cars. BUT I did do my tractor which was pretty cruddy. I put 100% vinegar left it a week, cut grass for about 3 hours, then drained and flushed a long time. Then went to fresh antifreeze, worked perfectly. Others' experience will differ.
 
I completely fill as well with 4%

then 4-6 weeks. start it up once or twice a week for 15 minutes, completely drain and add new water and antifreeze. Vinegar is a slow clean, but works great if youre not in a hurry.
Most people are in a hurry, why amazon prime is sold to most everyone.
Im in no hurry to get my mail.... who needs things in 2 days when it comes in 4 normally?
 
I too used 100% vinegar and took it for a fast drive. What a mistake. The radiator boiled and the vinegar went all over my nice paint job which turned it slightly cloudy. It took considerable time to buff it back with a cutting polish. It is still not as smart as it was prior.
 
Before I use vinegar, I put a couple of dish washing machine tablets in the cooling system for about 100 miles. That removed any oiliness that would prevent the vinegar getting at the rust and it does not foam. Once that is done, I fill the system with 4% (or there abouts) vinegar and do as ronn describes, then drain, flush and refill. I don't bother with neutralising it.
If you are serious about cleaning the cooling system, you won't do better than this http://liquidintelligence.com.au/product/liquid-intelligence-239-engine-cooling-system-cleaning-kit. I have no interest in the company. For you guys in the US. the exchange rate makes this quite economical for what it does. It has been around (here) for years and you guys won't believe the results.
 
:Synchro,
I used the dish washer soap on a 110 mile tour yesterday and drained and flushed the rusty gunk back home.

A couple of posts mentioned 4%. My vinegar from the market is marked 5%. Does that indicate I should use it 100% in the radiator or 4%/5% vinegar from the bottle and 96% water? I suspect straight vinegar from the bottle but just checking :D
 
Richard in Anaheim CA said:
:Synchro,
I used the dish washer soap on a 110 mile tour yesterday and drained and flushed the rusty gunk back home.

A couple of posts mentioned 4%. My vinegar from the market is marked 5%. Does that indicate I should use it 100% in the radiator or 4%/5% vinegar from the bottle and 96% water? I suspect straight vinegar from the bottle but just checking :D
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I've never tried it but suspect you assumption is correct. Found the following online:

4% acidity - This is the minimum legal acidity level for vinegar in almost all countries
5% acidity - The standard acidity range for most vinegars
10% - This is a high strength vinegar

Any solution with more than 11 percent is strong enough to literally burn your eyes and skin.
 
I used vinegar and left it in for about a week.....long story short you need to let it work for 3 to four weeks. I found this out by placing a rusty bolt in a glass and it was clear that over time vinegar works very well on rust removal. Second time I let it sit for a month and got good results.
 
Richard, straight from the bottle.......

this method has worked out very well for me in all applications.
I idle my cars in the yard and dont drive them about. as woofa says, that could be a big mess.
because it activates so slowly, I dont worry about over "curing" my radiator. I have never left vinegar in any over 6 weeks and never will. If that doesnt work, time to get another rad. use it in old gas tanks as well, for same periods of time, when a new tank cant be bought.
 
Vinegar is an acid and the radiator is brass with lots of tin solder. How long does it take for vinegar to corrode these metals?
 
I’ve used Prestone super flush on modern’s and my A with good results! One modern had 270,000 miles, 10 years old. After flushing and running straight water it run to cold, so a changed back to antifreeze and the coolant temperature was back up to the normal temperature
 
I had an experience with vinegar I shall never forget. I drained the water out, put in the vinegar. It was in for about an hour when I dumped it and flushed it. OK so far, then I reassembled the car and put new coolant in and noticed a leak, not much of a leak, but a leak nevertheless less. It wasn't there before. It was in the tubes, not the solder joints. But I want to say that if the metal was that thin, it probably would have started leaking there soon away. All then acid did was speed up the process.
Terry
 
I have an old radiator that holds water but tends to overheat and has a lot of fin damage - it's ugly. I use this radiator for running vinegar to derust and for running block sealer through the engine. Then, after a water flush, the good radiator goes back on.
 
I'll NEVER use vinegar again!! It's been a complete disaster. After driving it, the water pump stayed leaking, which caused rust on the motor. After I neutralized it, I overfilled it and stained the paint and drove me crazy.
 
Dawn will clean the heck out of a radiator, removing the grease. But only use a Tablespoon or so. Again. The voice of experience speaks here.
 
ETAModel said:
Dawn will clean the heck out of a radiator, removing the grease. But only use a Tablespoon or so. Again. The voice of experience speaks here.
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Does Dawn (whatever that is) foam? In post 5 I mentioned I use dish washer tablets - they don't foam.
 
Dawn does foam, but not in a crazy manner. it is an anti colloidal.
created by a local MIT graduate, for I believe Proctor and Gamble.

original intention was to degrease engines...... the guy is a motor head.

he had a suit against his former employer, is now filthy rich and creates similar compounds for the likes of Home Depot etc. nothing seems to degrease better, and is supposedly good to the environment.
 
ronn said:
Dawn does foam, but not in a crazy manner. it is an anti colloidal.
created by a local MIT graduate, for I believe Proctor and Gamble.

original intention was to degrease engines...... the guy is a motor head.

he had a suit against his former employer, is now filthy rich and creates similar compounds for the likes of Home Depot etc. nothing seems to degrease better, and is supposedly good to the environment.
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It is a good product, but it is in no way good for the environment. No soap is. What they really should say is that it's less harmful to the environment than similar products.

That Dawn claim is what is called in the advertising world as "greenwashing". In other words, making an environmental claim in order to sell products.
 
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