radiator removal

[Guest yimmortal]

well. thanks to everyone here for all the help wiht my fuel problem i put in the electric pump and it runs like a dream!!

so, it's a 49 packard standard 8

now i think i have to attack the radiator and take it to a radiator shop. it still is overheating more than i would like..

i've changed thermostat, flushed for about 3 hours, added that crap you buy at the store to help flush it.

any other ideas??

now, if i don't get any suggestions i'm going to pull the radiator the problem is that i looked at it, and it looks like i have to pull off pretty much the whole front end of the car? is that how insane crazy it is to get that thing out?? are there any tricks there???

[Guest imported_49packard]

Check a post down a bit-titled What is too hot-or something like that. You need to determine what is the actual temp. It maybe a gage issue. I believe the conclusion is 180f is where it should be.

[West Peterson]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: yimmortal</div><div class="ubbcode-body">i'm going to pull the radiator the problem is that i looked at it, and it looks like i have to pull off pretty much the whole front end of the car? </div></div>

Yup. Probably. That's what I had to do with my 1940. The good news is that it's really not that complicated, but you need to get about four friends to help you.

Please tell me exactly what fuel pump you put on and where you got it.

Thanks.

[Owen_Dyneto]

Radiator removal is pretty much of a snap. Just remove the upper apron between the radiator and grille, and of course the hoses. Takes a little effort to get the top neck above the cradle (wiggle & jiggle), and loosen the fan belt so the lower neck can clear the fan. Should take about 15 minutes.

[rybikowsk]

I found the radiator anything but easy to remove.even a citroen was easier, the mercedes was held in with a couple of rubber donuts, could not have been easier.

The packard has six bolts holding the radiator in. they are tough to get off, tougher to put back.no tech knowledge needed good luck

[Guest peter packard]

Hi Immortal and others, I would not pull the radiator out. I have been using a technique for a number of years and it is very cheap to do and does not wreck the radiator and does not require radiator removal. I use a car exhaust and an assortment of hoses and old exhaust shapes to connect the exhaust to the bottom of the radiator, then the top of the radiator, finally the top of the block. The exhaust flow is high but the pressure is low. It works great. I would be pleased to answer any questions and provide guidance. i shall try to post a picture of the set-up which i use.

RADIATOR CLEANING USING CAR EXHAUST PRESSURE

THE PRINCIPLE: The principle involved is that a PETROL engine of approximately 4 litres delivers sufficient heated exhaust pressure and flow to clear blocked tubes, and later the block, but if the radiator is completely blocked, the donor engine will stall due to the blocked exhaust and not damage the tubes. The beauty of the process is that it does not normally require the removal of the radiator. I can only really talk about Packards and Chrysler products but I would imagine that most Automobiles would be the same. In the 55-56 Packard, I found it too difficult to apply the technique to the block, so I installed an in-line filter in the top hose. I also removed a rear welsh plug on either rear block and hosed out about 2 pounds of silt from each side, even though the engine was showing no signs of hot spotting on the cylinders.

THE TECHNIQUE: In 1968 I had a delightful Chrysler Royal which I needed to take on 1,500 mile return trip, towing a car trailer. The radiator was getting hot so I removed the radiator unsoldered the tanks, plunged and cleared the cores, then resoldered the tanks. I thought I was pretty smart at the time as it all went smoothly. Well I got about 500 miles and the radiator started to get hot again . I thought WTF and by the time I had gone 1,000 miles it didn’t like any outside air temps over 85F at all. It was at this point that the car started to boil and closer inspection of the core revealed that the cores were indeed really blocked again. I drove on until I had no water in the system and the engine was starting to seize. I knew that I could not continue so when I pulled into a Service Station in the Boondocks, the proprietor laughed when he heard the engine sizzling like a steak on a grill.

THE RADIATOR: He directed me around the back where he had an old Ford V8 motor mounted on a sled with hoses. He disconnected the Bottom radiator hose from the block and connected it to a long fire fighting hose connected to the exhaust of the Ford V8 motor . He also removed the radiator cap and removed entirely the top radiator hose from the radiator and thermostat mount on the block.

He then disconnected the exhaust of his Ford V8 and thoroughly warmed the motor. When warm he stopped the motor , reconnected it’s exhaust to the Chrysler radiator bottom pipe and restarted the Ford motor. He let it burble for about a minute ( as much longer will melt the hose). He then used a hose to partially fill the Chrysler radiator until it started to run back over the guard and toward the Ford motor. He stopped the water, started the Ford motor and FLOORED IT. He didn’t hold it floored but gave it a few good revs at WFO to generate lots of flow. Well, the water spout went about 20 foot into the air and there were bits of junk everywhere. He repeated the process once by which time visual inspection revealed clear cores.

He then reversed the process and blew down the radiator to clear any junk which may have been in the bottom tank, ready to go into the block. Only once in this direction was necessary.

THE BLOCK : He then removed the thermostat from the block , replaced the thermostat housing and partially filled the block, whilst lightly blocking the lower block hole with a piece of wood before reconnected the V8 exhaust. He then blew out the block and piece of wood in the reverse of the normal flow direction. A lot of muddy junk and crud came out and he was satisfied ( I WAS TRULY AMAZED !) He did not repeat the block blow-out in the normal flow direction.

He asked me if I wanted the thermostat back in and I said No, as I was still concerned about the overheating. The result was that the Temp gauge never even got to Low on the way home. I was hooked and have taken a blocked radiator out. HOWEVER: THE TECHNIQUE IS NOT A CURE FOR A BLOWN HEAD GASKET CAUSING OVERHEATING. – CHECK FOR AIR BUBBLES IN RADIATOR BEFORE BLAMING CORE. HOWEVER, CLEANING OUT THE CORE MAY ALLOW YOU TO USE A GOOD QUALITY RADIATOR SEALER, REMEMBERING THAT YOU LOSE 10% RADIATOR CAPACITY EVERY TIME YOU USE A RADIATOR SEALER.

PACKARDS AND ABOUT 40 YEARS ON: Well, I have used this technique on all of mine and my mate’s cars ever since and have not had anything but amazement and cool running motors. I have done about 20 Packards with great results.

WHAT GEAR TO USE: I do not use a separate motor, I use a driveable car ( Ford ) costing about $100 ( which should last about 20 years as it will do about 20 hours work and maybe 1 mile) with a four litre motor so I can manoveur it to reverse up to the front of the blocked vehicle. It should have a single round exhaust of approx 2 to 2.25 inch to fit a regular radiator hose.

The car to car connection involves very little expense as I use second hand hoses from my cars, plus some exhaust pipe bits and pieces of the same 2 to 2.25 dia. I always use a blanket over the guard of the “patient’ vehicle. You can mix and match the metal and hose bits but you generally find that the radiator and exhaust connections are rubber hose and longer bits are old exhaust ( which the local exhaust shop is pleased to give to you for zip ), with rubber hose joiners. I also like to have a bit of the exhaust pipe joiner over the guard as you can instantly tell when the water gets to the guard level, before it starts to run into the exhaust of the donor car.

CAUTIONS:

DO NOT USE A DIESEL DONOR , BECAUSE IF THE DONOR EXHAUST HOSE COMES OFF YOU WILL SPRAY PAINT THE WALLS BLACK. I CAN ATTEST TO A 30 MINUTE RADIATOR CLEAN, FOLLOWED BY A FOUR HOUR CLEAN OF THE SIDE OF THE HOUSE.

BE AWARE THAT THE EXHAUST IS HOT SO DON’T MELT THE RUBBER CONNECTION HOSES. DON’T TRY TO USE POOL HOSES AS THEY MELT VERY EASILY – OF COURSE I HAVE TRIED IT!

Good luck and after a bit of experimentation you will get the hang of it. It works great for me and is very cost effective. Peter Toet

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[bernardi]

That is the darnedest story I've ever heard. Thanks for sharing it with us. The next time I suspect a cooling problem, I'll try it. Sounds simple enough that it might be a good "five year" annual maintenance item.

[rybikowsk]

WOW

[Rusty_OToole]

Recently had a plugged rad problem in a 51 DeSoto. It turned out someone had left the rad cap off and mice had built nests inside the top tank.

With the engine running I picked out a few pieces of shop rag floating around. But after taking the rad off and standing it upside down on a milk crate I flushed it with a garden hose and out came enough stuffing to make a nest the size of a football!

With all the junk out of the rad it works fine now.

Never heard of the exhaust method of rad cleaning but it sounds like fun.

[Twitch]

Ya know I've been going to a radiator, A/C place for over 20 years, before I had a vintage car. Of course my old 63 Volvo had a zillion miles on it and was about 25 years old when I sold it. They re-did it probably 4 times.

Anyhow I have pulled various rads and dropped them off numerous times. For $50 they rod them out and steam clean them plus guaranty their work for 12,000 or 12 months. Now how can you beat that? I've had plastic modern ones done and a couple gas tanks. These people are quite accustomed to working on vintage vehicles and there is always at least one in for some sort of service whenever I drop in.