Vinegar cleanout?

L

lotsagas4u

Well-known member
Decided on running straight vinegar in my 8BA last week. I left it in for several days, running and driving it several times to reach operating temps of 160 to 170 degrees. Drained it this afternoon and flushed it well. The drivers side head cleaned out very well, the right side head was not as well. The vinegar was very red stained with oily blobs floating in it. I plugged the water pumps and flushed from the top of the head (thermostat housing removed) until water ran clear. How much baking soda would you use in each head to neutralize the vinegar? The engine runs well and uses very little oil. Thought's
 
Send a pm to Cecil Polan and ask him that same question. I remember reading a post he made on the old Fordbarn and an article he wrote in our EFV8C/A RG36 newsletter on how to do a vinegar clean out.
 
I should have left it in for at least a week, another idea is simple green. They use it all the time at my local ford dealer for removing oil and crud from the 6.0 diesel engines. It would remove the brown soot left in the heads I bet.
 
A good flush is all you need. No need to neutralize the vinager. If your using tap water, especially in the west, the pH is enough to neutralize it.
 
I run 100% vinegar when cleaning out an engine. I too run it for a week. I had one that took three times to finally clean.
 
52merc said:
are you talking white vinegar?
Click to expand...

Yes, just the vinegar you get at the food store. I left mine in for about 2 weeks and only flushed it with water and really got the crud out. Here's a pic of what I drained out.
 

Attachments

  • DSC00745.JPG
    DSC00745.JPG
    140.6 KB · Views: 75
We use vinegar to clean household items like faucets, nozzles, etc. and it won't hurt the finish on chrome, stainless or steel. It might discolor polished cylinder walls if on too long.
 
I sure would nuetralize it. It is an acid, which you would not want to blow out onto your paint. It would, probably, spot it.
MIKE :)
 
I use vinegar to clean rust off of sheet metal all of the time. Soak the parts for about three days, then rinse of with a hose, then neutralize with soap and water; which eliminates the flash rust. I would imagine that if you put coolant into the system after flushing, it would do the same to neutralize any acid.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top