TimFX Posted April 15, 2022 Share Posted April 15, 2022 Hello all Wondering how to safely remove all the thick brown sludge that’s inside the rad. I ran my finger up under where the main cap is and it was pretty thick with crud Car has been sitting for a few years Thanks Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 It could be the wrong water pump grease. Try something like simple green and hot water. Take off the engine side covers and you will find the same stuff. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimFX Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 Would a pressurized backflush help? How about the Evapo-Rust stuff? Seems like it would work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Gregush Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 Could be radiator stop leak. Evapo-rust does not remove that type of stuff or grease. If you read the label, grease kill Evapo-rust. It was made to work on grease free rust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 1 hour ago, TimFX said: Would a pressurized backflush help? I personally would try and avoid pressure given you don’t want to blow out any of the solder joints (at least that’s what I was told) I’d probably scoop as much out as I could and test a few different options in some small jars 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 (edited) A friend of mine had the same problem with his radiator. He took his radiator to a local shop that we work with and had the bottom tank taken off. He then ran a rod through all of the tubes to clean out the tubes. Let the radiator then soak in the cleaning solution for the weekend and then power flushed all of the tubes from the bottom. So far it looks like he might have fixed his radiator. Before he did this, most of the tubes did not flow any water, or very little. The radiator shop then put the bottom tank back on. We will find out if it is fixed this summer. Edited April 16, 2022 by Larry Schramm (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 If the radiator is the original type you cannot run a rod through it. The best thing is to find what works best to break done what is in there. I had the same issue in my 1928 six cylinder, it had over a quart of the same crap between the cylinders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DonMicheletti Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 I have used automatic liquid dishwashing soap added to the water and then just run the engine for a while. That soap cuts grease very well and will not foam. After a while drain and flush very well. If there is any aluminum in the system, tred softly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viv w Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 If the car is a 4 cylinder it wont have a waterpump or block side covers to take off. I would take the radiator off and try back flushing it with hot water or steam, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickelroadster Posted April 16, 2022 Share Posted April 16, 2022 You might have to look hard for an old time radiator shop. Modern radiators are usually aluminum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimFX Posted April 16, 2022 Author Share Posted April 16, 2022 Flushed the rad and block backwards and forwards with really hot water till it ran clean. Pinched the outlet till pressure built up and released. Water flows great. we will see how the temp is once I get the car running Thanks all! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimFX Posted April 17, 2022 Author Share Posted April 17, 2022 I was surprised to see no thermostat when i removed the water outlet. there’s no mention of one in the instruction book Should i have a thermostat in the hose leading to the rad? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 3 hours ago, TimFX said: I was surprised to see no thermostat when i removed the water outlet. there’s no mention of one in the instruction book Fairly rare to have one so not that unusual Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintageben Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 The 1929 65 and 75 motors had a thermostat and a similar housing so I’m guessing the 27 models may have had one originally but it has been removed. I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hidden_hunter Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 2 hours ago, Vintageben said: The 1929 65 and 75 motors had a thermostat and a similar housing so I’m guessing the 27 models may have had one originally but it has been removed. I’m sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in. If it's not in the book I'd be surprised if there was one there though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom_S Posted April 17, 2022 Share Posted April 17, 2022 I once had a Farmall Cub tractor that had a head gasket problem allowing oil into water and not water into oil Owner had neglected for years and full of oil crap. That radiator is not easily removed I filled it up with kerosene and put cardboard over radiator and ran till hot. Junk ran out.. Same thing again and started looking clean. filled up with degreaser several times to rid of kerosene and then several water rinses. Clear water after that All this done after fixing the warped head and new head gasket. Never another problem. Tom 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28 Chrysler Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 There was no thermostat in these. I do like the dish washer detergent comment, the kerosene will work but it is a fire hazard. Back in the 1930s some people put kerosene in for coolant because it was cheaper and easier to get than antifreeze. The problem was it was hard on the hoses and flammable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bud Tierney Posted April 19, 2022 Share Posted April 19, 2022 On the point of running a rod thru radiator tubes, thatused to be called rodding it out, something every radiator shop was familiar with... But if you're doing it now, with a hard to replace radiator, be very delicate, tubes can spring leaks if already weakened (then you have to plug that tube---yes, I can hear the teeth gritting) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted April 20, 2022 Share Posted April 20, 2022 (edited) Hi TimFX, I had similar issue with my 1929 Chrysler 75 in the past. I have tried the flush as you did, but did not solve entirely the engine overheating. The solution was: 1) full internal cleaning of radiator in a specialized shop and 2) removal of the two water jackets you can se at the engine side, flush all water chambers from inside with water jet, an then replacing gaskets. I was very impressed to see the high volume of sludge/mud around the cylinders, when the jackets were removed. All this dirty stayed there even after the other flushes done before. After that, the water run clean and engine run cooler. I did this 11 years ago and it is still working well. Best JRA Edited April 20, 2022 by JRA (see edit history) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimFX Posted April 23, 2022 Author Share Posted April 23, 2022 Would a thermostat be wise tho? It would seem that coolant constantly running thru the block would not have time to cool in the rad. An inline hose thermostat might work at about 160deg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRA Posted April 23, 2022 Share Posted April 23, 2022 I live in Brazil, where the weather is wam most of the year, so thermostatic valves in antique cars are not easy to find here. They were probably removed in the end of first decade of car use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintageben Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 Yeah depending how hot or cold it is where you live you can probably get away with out it. It’s interesting that many say it was never fitted with a thermostat and they may very well be correct but yesterday I received a Manual for my Chrysler 72 October 1927 and it states in that model there was a thermostat. The 72 has a very similar top hose housing to yours, so did the 72’s older but smaller brother not get the same treatment ?🤔 For my 1929 model 65 I was able to source a new 160 degrees thermostat from my local auto parts store and on the advice from my radiator rebuilder I drilled three small wholes in it to allow some bypass and hopefully avoiding any air locks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intimeold Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 That sludge may be old stop leak. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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