Radiator Cleaning-Tips wanted

[shady]

I've already used Liquid Plumber. Seemed to work OK. You just have to rinse real good after the soaking.

[RustyCrankshaft]

[quote author=cjshaker link=topic=8815.msg97771
Same in my area. There used to be one in every town. Now, there is only one small garage within 50 miles (at least) that still does it, and it is NOT cheap to get them recored. I spoke with the guy a few times for jobs I had him do for me at work. The price was pretty expensive, but less expensive than replacing the radiator outright (oddball equipment that you can't get generic pieces for). He told me that the cores are really expensive for him to purchase.
[/quote]

I live close to a reasonably big city and same here, only a couple of rad shops that do repairs and it isn't inexpensive these days. Just paid 1100 bucks to recore a rad out of my FMC Wayne chipper. Labor was 140 bucks and the rest was the the core and the top tank.

Only 2 real shops that had the ability to do it and they're 60 miles apart and they were both within 100 bucks of each other so I went to the closer shop.

[sideoilercat]

I remember the radiator shops used to unsolder the tanks, then boil it clean in a tank, then run brushes through the tubes and then solder the tanks back on. They called it "rodding" out the radiator. Too much labor cost these days except for specialty stuff. DIY flush saves you a lot of dough unless you find someone to do it for 30 or even 50 bucks or so as mentioned earlier.

[Diogenes]

The shops to look for are those that deal with class 8/heavy-medium duty trucks. Re-coring truck radiators and air-to-air coolers is still profitable. These shops likely have the necessary equipment. Check with the parts guys at your local Kenworth/Peterbilt/Freightliner/Mack dealers, they may be able to help or point you in the right direction.

[wsu0702]

love the FE Ford FoRum.

[RustyCrankshaft]

The shops to look for are those that deal with class 8/heavy-medium duty trucks. Re-coring truck radiators and air-to-air coolers is still profitable. These shops likely have the necessary equipment. Check with the parts guys at your local Kenworth/Peterbilt/Freightliner/Mack dealers, they may be able to help or point you in the right direction.

The trouble is cores for big truck radaitors and CAC's are common and inexpensive, relatively speaking. I've got to 1800 sq ft cores for my old Kenworths sitting in the shop and they were about 500 each for the cores and were on a shelf in town. The core for my 73 F250 was 700 and had to be ordered.

And some stuff you can't get cores for anymore. I recently did some work on a 68 D200 sweptline recently and they don't make a core for it anymore. My only choices were custom build or make a Charger rad fit. I made the cheap Charger rad fit!

[Yellow Truck]

I agree about shops that do truck radiators. The one I used had a steady flow of medium and heavy truck radiators coming and going.

They suggested that I may have overheating issues with a 500hp engine with a stock rad, and suggested a multi-tube re-core for $500 to $900 depending on the number of rows and material.

I just had them clean it, check it, and paint it. They would have unsoldered it and cleaned it had it needed it for $150.

Since it was a rad out of an F250 with a tranny cooler that I repurposed to cool my power steering I didn't want to swap it out for a new one. So far it has run in a very happy temp range.

I think my point is a few phone calls will find you an answer - either you have a suitable service or you don't.

[HarleyJack17]

Late as usual but here are some pics of what I was describing, just for record.  You can click to enlarge and see the "growths".
Going to used vinegar and let it sit for a bit/slosh it around, then repeat with a baking soda/water mix to neutralize the acid.

[RJP]

That appears to be "solder bloom"  You can try the vinegar but IMO it will take a lot longer to dissolve. I stand by my recommendation of using CLR, full strength until the deposits stop foaming. Drain then flush completely with clear water.

[Heo]

In the past i have used hydrochloride acid to clean radiators and
heater cores. Worked fine, clean as a whistle.

[HarleyJack17]

To follow up and update.

Used right at 2 gallons of white vinegar. Radiator laid down and full and soaked for about 18 hours. With help from my son, we agitated it a bit before draining. Then flushed with a baking soda/water mix, then flushed twice with normal house water.

Came out pretty darn clean. No solder bloom nor the minor rust residue left, good clean metal. Time will tell but I am happy with the results. I would recommend letting it "stew" maybe for an additional 24-36 hours if you want it as new. Hopefully there will be no long term ill effects.
 

[wayne]

Go to a jd or other tractor dealer they have some one who fixes them.