A window into a rusty head

guyatou

guyatou

Junior Member
My radiator is being recored, and while it's out I decided it was time to clear the block of rust so I don't plug up the new core.

I'm out of metal, so I used a piece of acrylic to seal off the water pump hole while the Evaporust coolant cleaner does its job. I bought a concentrate that's diluted with about 1.25 gallons of water in this case, but it would make up to 3 gallons.

It's kind of nice to be able to see inside while it's working. Before adding the chemical, I flushed the system with a garden hose.

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For those who may want to try this in the future, I used a 1-1/2" rubber cap to block off the inlet (the kind you might use on a sewer line), and a 1-1/2" test plug on the outlet at the top (as seen below). I used some Permatex on the acrylic, but not enough since it leaked a little when the outlet was open to the air. Plugging the outlet stopped the leak.

This particular test plug can also be drilled out, and a garden hose threaded on to flush the system afterward. So convenient!

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I'll let it sit about 2-3 days with the rust remover in there and update the photos. Also adding a temperature gauge and a new fan while it's all apart. I've heard a lot of horror stories of old fans losing their blades through the hood or radiator. Didn't want to take that chance!
 
Interesting you just posted this. I'm just fixing to clean a head myself, and was contemplating how to block off the holes. Thanks for posting
 
That's a great idea, but I'm not sure we can get those this far south. But I have family in your neck of the woods, maybe they can bring one down when they visit next week.
Tom Wesenberg said:
A magnetic block heater will keep the liquid warmer, so it works better. I like what you've done.
Click to expand...
 
Here's the update after about 48 hours. It's getting cloudy and hard to see farther into the head, but the area around where the impeller would be appears to be nearly rust-free. I may leave it until the end of the week to make sure it's completely clear of rust. If I had heat on it, I'm sure the process would be much faster.

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Anyone ever use Thoro-Flush from Snyder's? I was thinking of trying some but please let me know if y'all have used something else better.
 
Here we are at about 4 days (96 hours or so).

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It's so dark now that I can barely make out the piece of structural metal just behind where the water pump shaft would be. And that's only a few inches from my window.

So, clearly a big change in the last 2 days. Before I could see quite a ways into the head, but no longer.

I'm not in a big hurry, so I'll leave it in there a few more days to make sure all the rust is dissolved. Unfortunately there probably won't be any more photos unless enough of the iron oxide settles to the bottom and the solution clears up.
 
I would like to suggest that a Gano coolant filter should be used in the upper hose for some time after completion of the chemical treatment. The rust buildup at the rear of the block is usually more than what anyone would imagine. More rust will come loose once coolant is added and the engine is run out on the road, heading,of course, right into the radiator that has been "cleared" of rust. The filter will catch the rust and can be seen and flushed out until it stays clean. Try a search here for Gano. Flushing after treatment can't get to the rear of the block enough to get it all. That's why it builds up there and causes heat issues.
 
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