sludge

[hotrodin4me]

i need some ideas how to remove the sludge(oil &water mixed together)
from the engine block and rad. this car was drivin for awhile with a
cracked head. the antifreeze is so thick i cant get to run out of the
drain plug in the rad. any ideas????

[sasquatch]

take out the T stat and put it back together, stick a garden hose in one of the rad hoses, put a clamp on it so it dosnt fly out and turn on the tap... it should blast all that junk out...

[ejp2fast]

^yep.. and also, when you refill the radiator, used distilled H2O as regular has mineral stuff and will crystallize and will be much dirtier.

also, put garden hose H2O in, run it for awhile, flush, and then when its clean go to distilled and leave it in there.

[Pu241]

You need to use some kind of surfactant to break the oil/water emulsion.
Believe the use of tide was recommend in the past.
But then need to flush all of it out, garden hose works fine for this.
Then refill with distilled or deionized water and run for a day or so and then flush again(repeat as necessary) till it is clean.
Final fill with coolant and water (distilled or deionized) at a 50/50 ratio.
Just a suggestion.

[Mike McKown]

I'd use the Tide method.

[FB71]

Ford specifically calls out Cascade dishwasher detergent to strip oil contamination from cooling systems.

[bhazard]

Ive heard running vinegar thru the cooling system is good for flushing.

[fastiva1988]

DRAIN-O lol j/k i dont think thatd be a good idea. But Cascade does sound like an good idea. i just used the water hose and then added 50/50 when i got done. Man it was funky but now its a very radiant green.

[shampooking]

Ive heard running vinegar thru the cooling system is good for flushing.

a mild solution, i guess. oxalic acid is better.

[MTec007]

i've been doing a flush and fill every couple days for a few weeks now, at first with garden hose, then with a bottle of flush and fill, and i just put another bottle of flush and fill in last night. every time i drain the radiator, it looks just as cruddy as it was on the very first drain...

[bhazard]

Keep going. Let it run thru longer, like a week or two.

[MTec007]

i just let the first bottle of flush and fill run for the recommended "x to 10 hrs" so i should let the second bottle go longer?