Vinegar

A

ABento

Senior Member
I'm starting work on a 32 BB 4 cyl, it likes to blow water out of the radiator under load, no water in the oil, I'm thinking possible rad or block plugged,pulled the hoses, ran water in both,it is pretty much instant coming out the other side, of block or rad from both directions, somewhat cruddy after flushing, I've seen threads on here about vinegar in the system, I used it in the 34 gas tank and it cleaned up nicely, any reason I can't put it in and leave it for a week. I really think it could be a cracked head, head gaskets usually put water in the basement but wanted to clean things a bit before I pulled it apart.



Thanks



Aaron
 
Non pressurized systems like the Model A & B 4-cylinders loved to blow coolant out when they are under stress. Coolant expands as it gets hotter. You can check for coolant pressure problems by just letting it warm up at idle and watching the coolant in the radiator. If it bubbles up and blows foam than there likely is a compression leak into the water jacket. It should be just flow. The fan belt can be removed too to see if it is blowing bubbles with no water pump in action although it will boil if the temp gets up high enough. The Model T didn't use a pump at all since it was designed for the thermosyphon cooling principle.

Getting a good seal with the radiator cap and installing one of Skip's 4 psi pressure valves may help. Sometimes the addition of a catch bottle or overflow tank will do the trick on keeping the coolant from going overboard.
 
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you need a three pronged approach, Block rust, Radiater scall and grease. Vinger is not strong enough to do much unless its in for a while .
(1) degrease the radiator Washing soda
(2)soke the radiator Vinegar one week
(3) Block head removed , Vinegar two to three Months
(4) reverse flush by water blaster
 
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I described in a previous post a method I used to see if the radiator is partially blocked. i'll repeat it here if it might help.

When the motor is hot, wet the radiator with a hose. if the radiator dries in stripes in some places and remains wet in others, the stripey parts are where the hot water is flowing through the radiator. The wet parts are where the radiator is blocked.

I found this by accident, but it was worth sharing.

Mart.
 
put the vinegar in and run thru at least three heat/cool cycles. really works good and be sure to flush with baking soda to nuatralize. I had to do this twice to clean out a 46 Plymouth wagon
 
There is a bunch of good tips there gents, thats a few things I'll try, I like Marts idea on the cold spots on the core.
I had it running in the shop a couple days ago after flushing the system and no bubbles in the tank, I did put a good gasket and brass plate in the cap and it seals now, next I'll put it on the road and see what it does,it usually will blow water under load and hot, I can test for exhast gas in the water also.


Thanks
 
I was reading a post on how it cleaned carburetors ,so i tried it on a stromberg 97 and a 94. I checked after on day ,nothing so i gave it another day both carbs turned to mush and powder .. Talked to a buddy that put vinegar in his 34 gas tank and developed pin hole thru out the bottom . It was a good tank that held gas but just wanted to clean out the dirt and grime..
 
Everyone must remember that vinegar is an acid (albeit a mild one), not some miracle elixir. For that, you need a chellation agent (Evaporust):D.
 
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The other thing is to run a nylon stocking filter on the radiator inlet hose after any cleaning efforts.

I didn't and my sequential treatments of dishwasher detergent and vinegar busted loose some block crud and ended up clogging my radiator worse.

Took it to a pro and for (another) $150 got the radiator cleaned.

Stocking filter is in place now until periodic checks show a clean mesh.
 
keep in mind , for every 10 degrees F you heat vinegar it gets more acidic and its not close to 7 when you start with it cold, rinse very well with water.
great advice on this thread
cliff
 
More good tips.
I used the vinegar in a 34 1 1/2 ton under seat gas tank it was real crappy, left it in for a couple weeks hauled the truck to a show 6 hrs each way, on CA highways that works as a pretty good agitator,it cleaned the tank back to clean galvanize, I steamed cleaned it for so long you could not hold on to the tank with out welding gloves coated it with marvel mystery oil for grins a sit sat for a few days and put ti back to work its been fine so far.
 
How much water are you putting in the radiator? Fill it to the top and it will puke it out until it reaches the level it likes (just above the tubes). After that it will remain at that level.

Charlie Stephens
 
I still haven't run it since i put the new gasket and brass washer in the cap,and I'll watch the level when i do.
 
tubman said:
Everyone must remember that vinegar is an acid (albeit a mild one), not some miracle elixir. For that, you need a chellation agent (Evaporust):D.
Click to expand...


You can also buy critic acid food additive from amazon for about 8$ for 2 pounds. 10 to one with water. A natural chelating agent.


Side note: Ospho is 15% phosphoric acid, also in coca-cola (check the label).
 
Tinker said:
You can also buy critic acid food additive from amazon for about 8$ for 2 pounds. 10 to one with water. A natural chelating agent.


Side note: Ospho is 15% phosphoric acid, also in coca-cola (check the label).
Click to expand...

This is not true. I did a lot of research on citric acid a year or so ago because I was led to believe this same thing. I bought some and experimented with various strength solutions and never experienced much success. In the end, I bought some litmus strips (remember them from chemistry class?), and the citric acid solution tested out with a pH of 1.5, which is highly acidic. When I tested some Evaporust with the same strips, it yielded a pH of 7 (neutral), the same as distilled water. In the end, I was very disappointed with citric acid as a rust removal agent.
 
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