cooling system spring cleaning

[Valor]

Distilled water is better cuz it doesn't have any minerals in it. Minerals cause build up of deposits.

 

[Redneck of Enon]

thank you Valor ...makes since... so in your opinion its ok to flush with hose water until clean and then drain and use distilled water to mix with the coolant ?

 

[Ajax MD]

thank you Valor ...makes since... so in your opinion its ok to flush with hose water until clean and then drain and use distilled water to mix with the coolant ?

For flushing, hose is fine. For filling, use distilled.

 

[Brutacus]

One thing you can do after catching your coolant in some buckets is use a garden hose adapter to flush out the system. I found the garden hose adapter at Autozone for about $9. After I drained my NHC-250, I flushed it with the garden hose adapter. Water came out of all the open petcocks, and the top of the coolant tank. Some nasty looking sludge floated out of the tank, but other than that the water looked clean and clear.

 

[charlesmann]

Another good petroleum absorbing material is blown glass mats or pig mats. They wont absorb water, yet will soak up any petroleum product mixed in the water and will wick it away as more is absorbed.
I replaced my hydro tank drain valve bc it was weeping, added in some stabilizer and serviced the tank. I laid down several blown glass mats to catch the oil out of the water and to also act as a type of anti-slip.

 

[US6x4]

When you use the Dawn dish soap how much are you using? A full bottle? Half bottle?

 

[Ajax MD]

When you use the Dawn dish soap how much are you using? A full bottle? Half bottle?

I used about a cup. I didn't want to much suds to cause cavitation. I drained soapy solution twice before I got all the soap out.

 

[charlesmann]

One thing you can do after catching your coolant in some buckets is use a garden hose adapter to flush out the system. I found the garden hose adapter at Autozone for about $9. After I drained my NHC-250, I flushed it with the garden hose adapter. Water came out of all the open petcocks, and the top of the coolant tank. Some nasty looking sludge floated out of the tank, but other than that the water looked clean and clear.

where do you tie in the hose adapter? I'm running into a possible flow issue and started a new thread, but id like to try and flush as much as possible tomorrow before leaving for 3 wks.

 

[Brutacus]

I tied it into in-let/out-let for the heater core. I had some 5/8" hose on hand, and hose clamps so attaching it was no big deal. Then I opened all the pet cocks, and open the coolant tank. I didn't run the engine while doing this, so the flow really didn't matter. It just took about 10 minutes for all the water to look clean.

 

[charlesmann]

I tied it into in-let/out-let for the heater core. I had some 5/8" hose on hand, and hose clamps so attaching it was no big deal. Then I opened all the pet cocks, and open the coolant tank. I didn't run the engine while doing this, so the flow really didn't matter. It just took about 10 minutes for all the water to look clean.

I'm running into issues opening all the petcocks up. i guess I'm gonna have to brake the ears off and do as someone else mentioned, take them out with a socket.

 

[jasonjc]

When you use the Dawn dish soap how much are you using? A full bottle? Half bottle?

Not DAWN, use Cascade for dish washing machine , dawn will foam up too much.

 

[US6x4]

Not DAWN, use Cascade for dish washing machine , dawn will foam up too much.

Thanks for the correction! I remember my college roommate flooding the kitchen with foam by using the wrong stuff. It puts on quite a show - a show I would like to avoid

 

[Grond]

I am curious about adding a filter when I do flush my coolant though it looks great right now and have no issue with temps. But I rarely hear the cooling fan come on at start up sometimes what exact causes the fan to come on just sending units for coolant and trans oil temp or is there another part in the system that decides this for a M939A2. been trying to dig through the TM's but I must say it is sometimes difficult to get a clear answer. And finally are there any other points I should check on my service to the cooling system that haven't been mentioned in this thread?

 

[74M35A2]

I am curious about adding a filter when I do flush my coolant though it looks great right now and have no issue with temps. But I rarely hear the cooling fan come on at start up sometimes what exact causes the fan to come on just sending units for coolant and trans oil temp or is there another part in the system that decides this for a M939A2. been trying to dig through the TM's but I must say it is sometimes difficult to get a clear answer. And finally are there any other points I should check on my service to the cooling system that haven't been mentioned in this thread?

I say flush it with Cascade, change the thermostat, and be done with it.

-or-

Fill it with Dawn, drive it, and post the video.

 

[Grond]

I say flush it with Cascade, change the thermostat, and be done with it.

-or-

Fill it with Dawn, drive it, and post the video.

I will definitely try out the cascade clean when the time comes

 

[Ajax MD]

@74M35A2 Due to all the suspended iron and stuff in the cooling system, the Dawn did not foam up anything like you'd think. It came out barely sudsy. The Dawn quickly broke down when emulsifying all the garbage. The second flush with plain water got the suds out completely, then I refilled with coolant and SCA.

I bought a jug of Cascade for the job. When I got home, I discovered that it was some sort of fancy Cascade with a scrubbing grit (pumice or plastic microbeads) in it. I was afraid to put that in the cooling system, didn't know what the grit would do to the water pump so I said "F-- it" and used a little Dawn.

 

[74M35A2]

@74M35A2 Due to all the suspended iron and stuff in the cooling system, the Dawn did not foam up anything like you'd think. It came out barely sudsy. The Dawn quickly broke down when emulsifying all the garbage. The second flush with plain water got the suds out completely, then I refilled with coolant and SCA.

I bought a jug of Cascade for the job. When I got home, I discovered that it was some sort of fancy Cascade with a scrubbing grit (pumice or plastic microbeads) in it. I was afraid to put that in the cooling system, didn't know what the grit would do to the water pump so I said "F-- it" and used a little Dawn.

I was kidding about the Dawn.

 

[frank8003]

Just some comments

Testing your Antifreeze/Coolant - Important Antifreeze Facts

Does anyone know of any places where I can mail in a sample of my antifreeze to test the additive and protection levels? For that matter, has anyone done that on a regular basis? I assume a full service truck center could do that, but I live out in the boondocks and the nearest full service...

www.steelsoldiers.com

 

[charlesmann]

The vinegar and CLR flushed out completely clear, so I think the Cascade did all the dirty work itself. Just FYI.

I did it by yanking the lower hose off. I’m impatient.

how much CLR did you use in the system?
i did another drain of my system to try the vinegar and it is still heavily contaminated with sediment and rust. i did allow the after cooler vent tube to discharge 3 gallons of coolant, replacing the vented coolant with distilled water and a gal of fresh AF.
after letting the 3 1 gal jugs to sit for an hr, the gunk separates and falls to the bottom and i have a brown/green (more green than brown, but not fresh green) coolant left over. i tried straining through a blue shop towel, but no luck. if i shake the jugs up, the gunk mixes and looks like fresh bubble gut discharge.

my 3 gal collection looks about like the pic in post #9

I drained my A3 into 5 gal buckets through petcock.
Removed lower/upper hose and T-Stat housing (replaced T-stat).
Flushed through upper hose T-Stat housing and any other orifice until clear.
Reassembled and ran just water up to temp.
Black again. Repeat til clear.
Filled with Peak FleetCharge with SCA.
Drove and it was still dirty. Drained the new dark coolant into clean buckets +/- 32 qts.
Most of the heavy black particles fell to the bucket bottom.
Installed an inline coolant filter and refilled with the used, now cleaner A/Freeze.
It's been a month and 3-400 miles and the coolant has cleared up dramatically.
I will do another drain/flush/fill at 1000 miles. I'll cut the coolant filter open to see what
I've caught.

have you changed your coolant filter yet?


I'm just wondering how many filters i'll have to go through before getting a better green color all the time, not just after an hr or so of letting the system settle.

 

[URSATDX]

how much CLR did you use in the system?
i did another drain of my system to try the vinegar and it is still heavily contaminated with sediment and rust. i did allow the after cooler vent tube to discharge 3 gallons of coolant, replacing the vented coolant with distilled water and a gal of fresh AF.
after letting the 3 1 gal jugs to sit for an hr, the gunk separates and falls to the bottom and i have a brown/green (more green than brown, but not fresh green) coolant left over. i tried straining through a blue shop towel, but no luck. if i shake the jugs up, the gunk mixes and looks like fresh bubble gut discharge.

my 3 gal collection looks about like the pic in post #9



have you changed your coolant filter yet?


I'm just wondering how many filters i'll have to go through before getting a better green color all the time, not just after an hr or so of letting the system settle.

Have not changed the filter yet.
IMO you must flush the heck out of every and all components of the cooling system.
I flushed through every hose in all directions with a garden hose. (Radiator/heater core/block, etc.)
Ran with just water and flushed again until clear. Then a complete drain and refill and filter install.