Guest shadetree77 Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 So after cleaning and/or replacing everything in the entire cooling system, my car is still overheating. I'm thinking there is some crud in the block passages gumming up the works. I think I'm going to try a "CLR flush" as recommended by a fellow forum member here. My question is, how can I do this block flush without contaminating my freshly cleaned and rodded radiator? I don't want the loosened crap from inside the block to flow into my clean radiator. Would a pantyhose filter on the top hose work? I'm thinking it might clog up the panty hose too fast as you're supposed to run the engine for 15 minutes each time. I've also heard of hooking the bottom rad. hose to the top rad hose somehow but wouldn't this overheat the engine pretty fast? Any suggestions guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JZRIV Posted June 28, 2012 Share Posted June 28, 2012 You could look into something like thisAeroflow Performance Products - Professional Fluid Transfer Systems and Performance Products Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Robert,I'm the guy that posed the CLR flush, based on the advice of my local radiator shop.I did this to my '40 buick LTD shortly after the purchase, to help w/ the overheating.drain radiatoradd one can of CLRfill with pure waterrun engine for 15 minutesdrain @ block (behind distributor) and @ bottom of radiatorflush radiator and engine w/ garden hoseRepeat all above a second time. This is important....refill w/ 50/50 water and antifreezeJust to be on the safe side, I replaced my funky looking 4 bladed fan with a Hayden 6 bladed fan ($38.00).So far she is staying cool @ 180-195 FThis process will take an afternoon, and if the stuff gets on the grass it will kill it.Mike in Colorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slyhog022056 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Robert,I'm the guy that posed the CLR flush, based on the advice of my local radiator shop.I did this to my '40 buick LTD shortly after the purchase, to help w/ the overheating.drain radiatoradd one can of CLRfill with pure waterrun engine for 15 minutesdrain @ block (behind distributor) and @ bottom of radiatorflush radiator and engine w/ garden hoseRepeat all above a second time. This is important....refill w/ 50/50 water and antifreezeJust to be on the safe side, I replaced my funky looking 4 bladed fan with a Hayden 6 bladed fan ($38.00).So far she is staying cool @ 180-195 FThis process will take an afternoon, and if the stuff gets on the grass it will kill it.Mike in ColoradoI have done about the same thing except to keep from ruining my new radiator i ran the top hose into a 55 gallon drum laying on its side at 45* angle on the bungs top hose into the top hole and bottom out of the bottom one, yeah it takes some 2" firehose to hook it all up but it worked great and all the crud was in the drum and made it easy to flush and flush as much as i wanted if it got hot i let a little bit out and put some cold water back in. i kept the water level around half way full. it surprising how much crud gets into a block and heater core. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FLYER15015 Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Slyhog,Leave it to a Texan to do things in a BIG way. Ha, Ha. just kidding.So what's a guy with a Z car doing lurking in a Buick forum ? We could set you up with a Buick. www.carsonline.comWe'll take any info from any source, and be greatfull for it.Best Regards,Mike in Colorado Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CheezeMan Posted June 29, 2012 Share Posted June 29, 2012 Robert,I'm the guy that posed the CLR flush, based on the advice of my local radiator shop.Mike in ColoradoHOT ROD Magazine Buick Barn Find Rescue Part 2That '66 Buick video that Hot Rod Mag did, showed a local rad shop adding Wisk laundry detergent into the Rad to clean it out. Check out the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slyhog022056 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Well actually i spent 3 years building the datsun, found a 1952 olds 98 for $2000 and sold the datsun for $5000. Its for my grandson we are raising, he is 11 and when he turns 16 its his. I am a fabricator and mechanical engineer so i will find a way to do things myself. now just to figure out how to do at home chroming.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadetree77 Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 Ok guys. I need some help here. My Dad and I attempted the clr flush today. We were not successful. We rigged something up to bypass the radiator and it didn't work for some reason. I'll try to describe it. We filled a large pan with clr/water solution and set it on the ground partially under the car. We ran extensions from the top and bottom radiator hoses down to the pan thus replacing the radiator with the pan. We then started the car and let it run for a bit. We were expecting the water pump to start pulling coolant from the pan. This didn't happen. The engine would not pull ANY coolant. Shouldn't the pump be able to do this? It pulls from the bottom of the radiator so why not from the pan? I'm really starting to suspect that my Dad's earlier suspicions were correct and we have a bad or incorrect water pump. To test this theory after the first failure, we rigged up a container that was suspended above the engine. We filled it until the engine completely filled with coolant. Then we turned the car on and waited for the water pump to pump all the coolant out of the engine and container through the outlet hose and.......nothing. It gave a few weak squirts when revved. Shouldn't the pump have quickly pulled all of the coolant out of the block and the container? We also figured out that we do have good strong flow through the block by running water through it with a water hose, so I know there are no significant blockages keeping the pump from doing its job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old-tank Posted June 30, 2012 Share Posted June 30, 2012 For an auto water pump to work the whole system has to be full of coolant. They will not work as a bilge pump to pump out of a pan or pump the block dry. Change the water pump --- it does not look that hard from your pictures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest slyhog022056 Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 A water pump is used to circulate water not suction it up and it will take more than a just a quick running thru. it needs to circulate in the system and if possible shut it off and keep it filled to let it sit and do its work. Did you remove the t-stat? you need to remove it so you arent sitting waiting for it to heat up then come rushing out of the top hose. Turn on the heater control valve, not the fan switch, to circulate it thru there also. Believe me it will clean if given enough time. There is a chemical called evaporust that works even better and will completely dissolve the rust. 1 gallon in a cooling system works great. It can be put in and left in for a few hours or days of driving then flushed out, with tis stuff make sure you change the t- stat afterwords because it will even loosen up chunks that can get lodged in the t-stat and cores of the radiator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambulldog Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 (edited) HOT ROD Magazine Buick Barn Find Rescue Part 2That '66 Buick video that Hot Rod Mag did, showed a local rad shop adding Wisk laundry detergent into the Rad to clean it out. Check out the video. OK. But, it did NOT work. It caused bubbles (who would think clothes detergent would cause bubbles?), bubbles don't transfer heat from the engine to the coolant. They continued to have problems with over-heating until they realized the radiator cap wasn't right. Edited July 1, 2012 by bhambulldog (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avgwarhawk Posted July 1, 2012 Share Posted July 1, 2012 I recommend the old pump be reinstalled. We know it was at the very least keeping the engine cool while in motion. The needle would go to hot when shut down but never did boil over. Although the ambient air temp is hotter than a two months ago. This might be the cause. My needle in this 100 degree temp is climbing to the H but is not burping up. At any rate, we know the old pump worked for whatever reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted July 3, 2012 Share Posted July 3, 2012 I liked the removal of the a/c condenser with a sawz all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 (edited) Robert, Can you remove the water pump and post pictures of the impeller sides next to each other? It might help to understand why you thought the new pump's impeller was different from the original and if that might be of relevance to this thread. If you decide to do this, please check to see if the impeller on the new one spins freely while holding the pulley side, to determine if the impeller is on there incorrectly. Also I would measure the width of the original pump's impeller blades and compare that to a measurement of the new pump's blades. I have heard that if the impellers blades are too far away from the back wall of the pump's housing cavity, then the pump will not be able to function properly.Lastly, when you remove the thermostat there should be a hole in the bottom of the housing for recirculating the coolant back to the pump. Not sure if I have this part right either, but apparently after 47, this hole was a 1/2" in diameter. Prior years have a larger hole and a check valve of some sort. In any event, please post a picture of this hole in the housing so we can see if there is anything of relevance in there as well.Thanks Edited July 4, 2012 by JohnD1956 (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadetree77 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I have heard that if the impellers blades are too far away from the back wall of the pump's housing cavity, then the pump will not be able to function properly.Hmmmmm....interesting info. John. If I do end up taking the pump back off of there I'll make sure to get pictures. Going from memory, the impeller in my new pump had more narrow looking blades than my old one. I do remember checking to see if it would spin good and it did. No binding or scraping. I might not have to take the pump back off though as you might have read by now on my "Me and My Buick" thread. I still need to take it for a true test drive before I know, but I'm hopeful that the large amount of flushing we did corrected the problem. I wasn't able to test drive it today. Had a lot of business to take care of. As for the thermostat housing, it does have a hole in the bottom for re-circulating. A small piece of rubber hose goes on the end of it to connect the housing to the water pump. I'll include a few pictures. I didn't measure it or anything, but it appears to be around a 1/2 inch or so. There was no check valve in there. It goes straight through to the pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnD1956 Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 I read the other thread after posting to this one. I am anxiously awaiting your report on the test drive. If it worked for you I know a certain 56 which will be subjected to the same treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest shadetree77 Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Results of the test drive on "Me and My Buick" Thread Here: http://forums.aaca.org/f163/1952-special-deluxe-project-315000-11.html#post1054343 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhambulldog Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I watched the videos. Very Smoooth! And, I like those head doors, very snazy!!I would think the addition of a fan shroud would improve cooling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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