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Radiaor Flush Question

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Have any of you guys ever flushed your radiator with **** & Span [4oz. powder] or Cascade dish washing powder?

My friend at the parts store said either one of those worked great.... better in fact than the "Radiator Flushes" that you could buy commercially now a days.

He said just put it in, drive it "a couple of days", and then flush the crap out of it till the water ran clear. At that point the radiator should be clean as a whistle.

Mine is not in too bad a shape, just a bit of white crusty crud and I have to replace a "weep hole dripping" water pump anyway. So I thought I'd flush it before I put the new pump on and refilled with new coolant.

I can't see where it would do any harm and he has been a reliable parts man for over 30 years at his own place and hasn't steered m wrong yet. But I have right at 300,000 on this 5.9 CTD an it still runs like a new one....... so I don't want t do anything to change that. :wink:

Anyone have any experience using either one of the above as a 'flush' and/or can anyone see any drawbacks to giving it a try?

Thanks in advance........ :thumbup2:

Chuck

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I just had mine rodded and flushed and IIRC it was under $60. Cheap enough that you dont have to run that junk through your motor.

  • Owner

202K on the clock and my radiator still looks new on the inside. I've never had to run any kind of cleaners or solvents to clean my system out. I only have a light surface rust in the block and the inside of the radiator is got a green film but thats it.50/50 mixture of Supertech Anti-freeze and tap water... :whistle:

  • Author

I understand completely. Mine is not even close to the point it needs to be removed and taken to the radiator shop.

It just has a small bit of white scale in the upper part of the radiator...... probably where I ran it low on fluid before I discovered the WP was dripping.

I don't even have to do anything to it.......... I'd just like to get some of that 'scale' out and was wondering if anyone had ever used either of products I mentioned for a radiator flush?

If anyone has..... please let me know.

Thanks again in advance.... :thumbup2:

202K on the clock and my radiator still looks new on the inside. I've never had to run any kind of cleaners or solvents to clean my system out. I only have a light surface rust in the block and the inside of the radiator is got a green film but thats it. 50/50 mixture of Supertech Anti-freeze and tap water... :whistle:

Of course it does... :rolleyes: ;)
  • 6 months later...

A little late to add ,but I thought I'd throw this out there. A looooong time ago my Cat/Cummins instructor said don't wast your money on commercial flushes, just use plain old "Iron Out".. Worked great back then on heavy diesels ,should work fine in this platform also.

A little late to add ,but I thought I'd throw this out there. A looooong time ago my Cat/Cummins instructor said don't wast your money on commercial flushes, just use plain old "Iron Out".. Worked great back then on heavy diesels ,should work fine in this platform also.

My recomendation is to buy the G05 "HOAT" I changed mine a few weeks ago with 151K, and the inside of the head under the stat does`nt even look like its even had fluid in it:whistle: Damn! I gotta start taken pictures like Mike..

My recomendation is to buy the G05 "HOAT" I changed mine a few weeks ago with 151K, and the inside of the head under the stat does`nt even look like its even had fluid in it:whistle: Damn! I gotta start taken pictures like Mike..

Where do you find the "G05 HOAT" coolant anyway? I gave up finding it where I live and just went to the dealer to pick some up. The service manager had never heard of HOAT,after I explained three times (including spelling it out) :pant:I gave up and just asked for whatever coolant is proper for a 06 Dodge with Cummins..All I got was "Oh you mean the red":thumbup2: 24$ for a gallon....yikes....

With close to 1/4 of a million miles I just don't see a reason for spendy HOAT coolants or special coolants. But its your truck and your money...

And I agree, I don't think there was ever a longevity problem with the old cheap tried and true. The flip side of the discussion is I've had two vehicle where the previous owner mixed the green in ,with in this case orange...Not good, sticking t-stats and created a nasty mess in both, took several flushes and thermostat changes to get them back on track,even then the waterpump on the truck started leaking shortly after,maybe co-incidence or maybe the ceramic seal wasn't compatible with the green-who knows?. So the extra cost ,at least in my case, is somewhat offset by the piece of mind that I'm not mixing anything that's not compatible..
  • Owner

When I change coolants I do a full flush of the system for over a good 10-15 minutes allowing the water to flow through the block, radiator, and heater core. I make sure the old coolant is completely flushed out water is clear then drain and fill. What good is it to just drain and reload with fresh if the old coolant is going to taint the new coolant pH level? Because in nearly 11 years now I've not had a single lime/scale build up in the engine/radiator at all. But I have seen where the pH level on MoparMom's truck had ate the thermostat housing quite well. Which was because the previous owners didn't care. Like everyone always says, " As long as its still green its still good." Not true at all by the time you see a color change in the coolant its way too late.

Mike, how do you hook up when your doing your coolant flushes? Being as I just bought my truck at Christmas and I'm not sure how long it has been since a flush so I would like to do one. I will also be pulling the rad at the same time to clean the oil slug from the fins. Gotta love the old puke bottle :wow: what a mess. Got your crank case vent mod on now and its working great. once its warmer out it will be time to clean the after math of the puke bottle tho.:cry:

  • Owner

Pull the thermostat out and stick the hose in the radiator and turn on high. Then fire up the truck and let the water pump through till clear. Shut off and drain the water out park it nose down on a slope. Then mix your coolant 50/50 and fill the block up till the coolant is level with the thermostat hole. Then replace the thermostat with a new one and install. Top off with coolant. Take it for a ride and allow to cool and check your levels again.

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    • Like 1

    What are you 3rd gen guys running for coolant? I just bought an 08 Mountaineer Premier and it is about due for a coolant flush. I've been roaming around on some different forums and for the most part everybody recomends sticking to the HOAT due to compatibility issues.

    Where do you find the "G05 HOAT" coolant anyway? I gave up finding it where I live and just went to the dealer to pick some up. The service manager had never heard of HOAT,after I explained three times (including spelling it out) :pant:I gave up and just asked for whatever coolant is proper for a 06 Dodge with Cummins..All I got was "Oh you mean the red":thumbup2: 24$ for a gallon....yikes....

    I had to spell it out as well at the Oreilly parts counter LOL! Evidently Zerex (Valvoline) are the only aftermarket that produce G05, or Hoat replacement.. It means Hybrid organic acid technology. Oreilly had to order it @ $17 something a gallon.. When I drained the old coolant it still checked good to - 30 degrees, and I was pleasantly shocked that there was absolutely no corrosion in the cylinder head or radiator after 151K:hyper: I have never seen a cast Iron engine look that clean.. So I`m glad I stuck with it:2cents: http://www.valvoline.com/pdf/zerex_g05.pdf
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