Vinegar in the Model A cooling system.

B

Bigphil

Junior Member
I'm using 3 gallons of vigegar ( temporarly) in the cooling system to dissolve
the rust in the block of my model B engine. It's been there 4 days, and the
radiator is starting to leak, at a rate of 1 gallon in 8 minutes, right in front
of the fan. There is no physical damage to either side of the radiator.

I have run the engine for a total of 20 minutes, once on Feb 9 and once on
Feb 13, when the leak started.

The vinegar marked 5% acid on the label. I thought brass is acid resistant.
Can the vinegar cause this radiator to leak?

Bigphil
Anaheim, CA
 
Vinegar will etch copper, but all I could figure is that you had a weak spot. I'm really guessing, but I don't suspect the vinegar would start a leak in good metal.
 
Yep, it sounds like the radiator was shot, but kept from leaking by deposits. I ran vinegar for 30 days in mine and removed a lot of rust flakes from the block. My original radiator is still fine.
 
I agree with Tom and Tiny that the acetic acid (vinegar) will clean out mineral deposits and if that was the only thing "plugging" a small hole, water will start leaking from the radiator. I had a similar experience with "shocking my water well". Our well is quite high in iron, so the iron deposits need to be removed on a regular basis. You pour chlorine breach in the well (about 4 or 5 gallons) and let it pump through the house piping. Usually it is left in the pipes over night. You then let the well pump purge the bleach for a few hours out in the yard to clean it out. This worked several times, with no problems. However, after doing it once a year for several years, I got a pinhole leak in the laundry room immediately after the breach operation. I replaced the leaking copper pipe, thinking it was a faulty pipe. But when I chlorinated the well a couple years later a different pipe developed a pinhole leak. Now I started to worry. I replaced that copper pipe, but being a slow learner, again thought maybe that pipe was from the same batch as the first pipe I replaced and was faulty, however I was getting suspicious. I chlorinated the well a couple years later and another pipe leaked. I cut the pipe where the leak was and saw there was severe erosion of the copper where the leak was. The pipe was clean as a whistle from the breach. The only thing keeping the pipe from leaking were the mineral deposits that were removed by the bleach (you could still see some whitish deposits on the outside of the pipe). I have not chlorinated the well since and guess what - no more leaks and that was 10 years ago. I believe the same thing is happening in the radiator with vinegar dissolving the mineral deposits. The radiator probably needs to be recored, but maybe it can be repaired. Sorry for the long post.
Rusty Nelson
 
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It sounds like your motor was running hot hence the vinegar ,so it maybe past its useful life .As a temporary fix You could try a very small amount of Bars leak a 1/4 of the container .about 1/4 cup .For around town driving
 
I was wondering if Bars leaks wrere already in ther and the Vinagar flushed it clear and exposed the damaged area, just a thought.
 
I use a product from Gunk called Gunk Anti Rust and Water pump Lube. It has worked very well with no problems or leaks. It comes in a small plastic bottle and I buy it from Farm and Fleet. I drain all Model A radiators in the fall and fill with fresh water in the spring. The Gunk product is added with the water and there is no rust all summer. It is cheap and works very well,
Ken
 
I let mine set for 30 days. Then I drained it and refilled with water and baking soda. Then drained and flushed it several times before refilling with water and Prestone anti rust/water pump lube. I drove it about 75 miles today and everything is ok.
 
Gaskets have as much chance as your radiator tubes ,I prefer to have it in the Radiator only if its a concentrated mix .
 
after 30-40 days of having vinegar in my rad, I flush it with the garden hose, let the engine run for a good 10 minutes and fill with antifreeze and new water. Never a problem.
 
With the vinegar treatment you will find every pinhole you didn't know you had. The only car I have had a problem with using vinegar is in my shop now. The owner started the job himself and had bad results. He had so much buildup in the engine and radiator, the vinegar broke it loose but instead of him draining it shortly after running the engine he let it sit for several weeks. Now all the junk broken loose has lodged itself in his original honeycomb radiator(Not an A).
 
jkeesey said:
With the vinegar treatment you will find every pinhole you didn't know you had. The only car I have had a problem with using vinegar is in my shop now. The owner started the job himself and had bad results. He had so much buildup in the engine and radiator, the vinegar broke it loose but instead of him draining it shortly after running the engine he let it sit for several weeks. Now all the junk broken loose has lodged itself in his original honeycomb radiator(Not an A).
Click to expand...

I would try backflushing with a sump pump, the way I did with my original Model A radiator. You need lots of flow, as well as moderate pressure, and a garden hose just doesn't have the needed volume.
 

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