Bloo Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) Some of you have probably heard of forum member @Grimy's trick of using a ladies stocking or pantyhose as a coolant filter to catch any particles of rust coming out of the block and head that would otherwise wind up clogging the radiator. It is the same thing a Gano filter does more or less, except the stocking catches smaller particles. @EmTee did this trick on his 1938 Buick and posted a picture of what he caught here. https://forums.aaca.org/topic/375456-weepy-stocking-filter/ I did this trick before taking off on my trip from Washington to Wisconsin in the 1936 Pontiac, and the other day I took it out. That represents almost 4700 miles, plus some driving around this spring. Here is what I caught. And, I don't believe my system is full of rust like a lot of them are. In my opinion this is definitely worth doing. The next thing was going to be @edinmass' trick of running evaporust as coolant for a while. Not because I think it is particularly full of rust (I don't), but after talking in a thread with @Rusty_OToole some time back, and a little checking with a temperature gun, I have become convinced my water tube is bad. The engine runs 185-190 degrees all the time, with or without a thermostat, and the gauge sender is at the very back of the engine. Rusty was talking about Chrysler water tubes as I recall, but Pontiac's "Gusher Cooling" is basically identical to a Chrysler water tube. I didn't dare do the evaporust thing last year before the trip because I figured if the tube is bad, removing rust is going to make it worse. It also might open up a hole in some inaccessible core plug. Anyhow I thought getting rid of the rust beforehand would make getting the water tube out an easier job. In case anyone does not know what the "water tube" I am talking about is, here is @1964carlito's picture from this thread about his 1939 Pontiac: No such constraints now, so I drained the system and rinsed it out with distilled water. Then I pulled the old sock out (first picture above) and put a new one in in and filled it the system up with evaporust. It really didn't like it. In fact, it boiled over and lost about a gallon the first time out. I topped it with distilled water. It pushed a little more out twice on the way back home, and by the time I got there I had 2 gallons of distilled water in the system. I don't know if diluted Evaporust does anything, but it did turn a little darker. Over the next few days I only drove it a few blocks to and from the store, and started it occasionally and let it get to 170 degrees or so before shutting it off. After about a week of that, there was an event I wanted to go to so I drained the evaporust and pulled the new sock out. It caught more crud. It is the one on the left. It didn't really come through in the pictures but the color of this trash is green. Additionally, there seemed to be an evenly deposited coating of dark olive green colored crud inside the head, maybe .030-.050" thick. You could easily wipe it off with a finger, it was watery and not solid at all. Weird. The antifreeze I have been using lately is yellow, not green. I refilled the system with distilled water and a new sock, and drove the car for a couple of days. It ran cool again. I drained it again and pulled the sock. It is the one on the right above. More crud. After running with distilled water the green crud was gone, but the dark green (when wet) color remains on the cast iron inside the head. I put in yet another sock, still in there, and refilled the system with G-05 coolant mixed 50-50 with distilled water. I drove it about 80 miles on a hot day yesterday to an event and back and it did fine. My main motivation for doing the evaporust now was that I thought it would potenitally make a rusted out water tube come out easier. I'll probably still do it, but after the water tube is changed. Edited July 11, 2022 by Bloo (see edit history) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) You need to run it with straight of Evapo Rust for the summer. Temperature cycling it is best. When the fluid turns black, drain and flush, then Phil would straight evapo rust again. You’re nowhere near close to getting all the junk out of that. The evapo will not hurt anything. But it takes a while to work through the entire radiator to break everything loose, and reduce it to iron oxide. Ed Edited July 10, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Count me as another big fan of the Grimy filter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) It’s a little known secret that George discovered that because he often wears ladies stockings. 🤫 I can’t tell you the rest of the story! You will have to ask him. 😎 Edited July 10, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted July 10, 2022 Author Share Posted July 10, 2022 8 minutes ago, edinmass said: You need to run it with straight of Evapo Rust for the summer. Temperature cycling it is best. When the fluid turns black, drain and flush, then Phil would straight evapo rust again. You’re nowhere near close to getting all the junk out of that. The evapo will not hurt anything. But it takes a while to work through the entire radiator to break everything loose, and reduce it to iron oxide. Ed Ed: That was my plan but the trouble is it can't seem to get 10 miles without boiling over with Evaporust in it. It does fine on water or G-05 coolant. I'll probably try again after I change the water tube. That will mean taking the water pump off so I will have an opportunity to check the impeller clearance. I'll probably have questions about that when the time comes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 Thank you @Bloo and @edinmass. I don't remember where I got the stocking tip (pun definitely intended!) but began using it 20 yrs ago on my 1922 Paige which had "sludge" (for lack of a better term) from decades of Iowa's lime-water and the previous owner's overuse of soluble oil, coupled with the fact that the cost of making a new vee-ed herringbone-fin radiator would be more than the car is worth. Every time I look at the debris in one of those stockings, I think that all that crap would be pretty well stuck in the radiator if it were not for the stocking. So far my experience has been that (without Evaporust) it will take about 1,500-2,000 miles before there is but very little debris in the filter. At the PAS meet last month, the >20-yr-old poppet thermostat stuck closed in my 1930 roadster, and I removed it and continued. I was surprised to find that running temps of about 180* remained the same even at cooler times of day. So now I'll do Ed's Evaporust treatment for the rest of the summer before replacing the t'stat. Has anyone used Evaporust's Thermocure product? Bloo, please keep us posted on your experiments! 1 minute ago, edinmass said: It’s a little known secret that Jorge discovered that because he often wears ladies stockings. 🤫 No, it's just that when I was younger, I enjoyed removing stockings, but not from myself.... 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 10, 2022 Share Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) Just thermal-cycle it right in the yard. 2,3,4 times a day. When you get up. When you get home from work. Before you go to bed. The heat cycle activates it and makes it work much quicker. You may have to do four or five treatments. I actually do it to all cars before I rebuild the engine now. It’s easy to clean it before you take it apart. Edited July 10, 2022 by edinmass (see edit history) 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Bruce aka First Born Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 1 hour ago, Grimy said: Thank you No, it's just that when I was younger, I enjoyed removing stockings, but not from myself.... Showing your age, young man! Younger, indeed. Ben 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 This was my last 'harvest' after a couple of months since last check. I'm guessing something like 250~ 300 miles... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 1 hour ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said: Showing your age, young man! Younger, indeed. Ben You got me, Ben! Touche! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 51 minutes ago, EmTee said: This was my last 'harvest' after a couple of months since last check. I'm guessing something like 250~ 300 miles... Thats what’s in your radiator now………on a car with that much in the filter, I would run straight evapo in it for six months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 2 hours ago, Bloo said: Ed: That was my plan but the trouble is it can't seem to get 10 miles without boiling over with Evaporust in it. It does fine on water or G-05 coolant. I'll probably try again after I change the water tube. That will mean taking the water pump off so I will have an opportunity to check the impeller clearance. I'll probably have questions about that when the time comes. Bloo, I did similar recently, 32oz evaporust added to 2.25 gal distilled water with 1.5 Zerex green in the 32 Buick system, total of 4 gallons of 'coolant'. Ran 72mi Thursday in 90+F ambient, foamed out, overflowed, temps up to 180-200F, not normal, starting to get concerned... Normal should be 140-160F, and I NEVER had this kind of overtemp or foaming issue before, but I don't yet dispair... Concerned, on Friday I drained, flushed, ran engine to temp with only water in driveway. Refilled with 1gal Zerex green, 3 gal distilled water, all seemed ok at home. Yesterday my wife and I ran 112mi, overflowed again, added 1gal distilled water halfway during drive due to overflow and foaming. Today Sunday, drove 5mi after idle testing on a hot engine, still foaming and purging a much smaller amount from the overfill tube, better, but still a little bit more than I want (zero is my target). Prelim conclusion, chemistry doesn't lie, the hydraulic system is still unsettled, the residual evaporust is still reacting in quantities substantial enough to impact with the cast iron oxide, the added Zerex and water fluids. My prelim prognosis is to be more patient with this straight 8 casting until its properly cleaned out. If I get bored tonight, I might calc the total surface area, and oxidation reduction potential of the iron mass vs evaporust concentration. My wife says we need to go for a ride to clean out the cooling system, I vote yes, as soon as the t-storms pass...maybe 100-200mi from now I will have some new tech data to post... Mario 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 I was trying Ed's method (running it full strength). The reason it wound up diluted was I only had distilled water with me and had to add it to get home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Run 100 percent straight evapo and nothing else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 Gentlemen……..after your done flushing the system with Evapo, just run straight tap water with cutting oil in it to check for results,foaming,leaks, ect. It’s clean, cheap, and easy. Don’t cheap out on the cost of Evapo when doing this…….it’s fifty times cheaper then pulling the head, water jackets, blocks, and radiator. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 6 minutes ago, edinmass said: Thats what’s in your radiator now… Well, it would have been in my radiator, but was trapped in the stocking filter. I'm a little leery of the Evaporust treatment since the car seems to be running well now and the temp is running right at 180* now, following the ignition timing correction made last week. My short-term plan is to keep monitoring the stocking filter. If crud volume decreases, I'll be happy. If, on the other hand, the crud volume seems constant, that would indicate time for Evaporust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 3 hours ago, edinmass said: You need to run it with straight of Evapo Rust for the summer. Temperature cycling it is best. When the fluid turns black, drain and flush, then Phil would straight evapo rust again. You’re nowhere near close to getting all the junk out of that. The evapo will not hurt anything. But it takes a while to work through the entire radiator to break everything loose, and reduce it to iron oxide. Ed Ed is correct in my opinion, regular cooling system draining and flushing (annual, 2x annual) is critical to car health, like bourbon is to blood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 180 is too high for a regular temperature in the summer……..it should be at 160 in 90 degree heat at normal driving speeds………35-40 mph. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, EmTee said: Well, it would have been in my radiator, but was trapped in the stocking filter. I'm a little leery of the Evaporust treatment since the car seems to be running well now and the temp is running right at 180* now, following the ignition timing correction made last week. My short-term plan is to keep monitoring the stocking filter. If crud volume decreases, I'll be happy. If, on the other hand, the crud volume seems constant, that would indicate time for Evaporust. Wow, 180 seems hot, my 32 normally only reaches 160 when driving 45-50mph for many hours. It gets to 180 when its been running for a while and then turned off when going into the store. Do you run ethanol gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 It’s running hot because the radiator is most likely plugged up………..Evapowill take a long time to clean a radiator. The block cleans quickly…….the radiator takes weeks to months to work it’s way clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 And the key is to drive it often...these expensive chemicals are most helpful when the driver is smiling behind the wheel as their car rolls under power down the road... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 The radiator has a new high-effeciency copper core. The old core was plugged with crap. The block was flushed during the restoration of the car while the core plugs were removed. If I'm going to do the Evaporust I'll have to do it now, because I'll need antifreeze in it for winter... Is the Evaporust less efficient than glycol/water for cooling? At what temperature will it boil (at sea level)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 1 minute ago, EmTee said: The radiator has a new high-effeciency copper core. The old core was plugged with crap. The block was flushed during the restoration of the car while the core plugs were removed. If I'm going to do the Evaporust I'll have to do it now, because I'll need antifreeze in it for winter... Is the Evaporust less efficient than glycol/water for cooling? At what temperature will it boil (at sea level)? The anslysis is one-off because each engine has a unique amount of iron to oxidize, so the best answer is to try it, have a flushing back-up plan in your driveway to start, and then take extra water for the next few longer drives until you feel comfortable. Its a simple matter of chemistry, but all of our engines and cooling systems have individual chemistry profiles, so its hard to say what is best for your engine. I too will be focused on antifreeze in about 3 months, our first hard frost will arrive in about 60days, blech, ugh. Mario 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeC5 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 What's really amazing is that he keeps finding a quarter in there! Ha ha... I use the stocking filter too and it has gradually caught less crud over the years. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted July 11, 2022 Author Share Posted July 11, 2022 3 minutes ago, MikeC5 said: What's really amazing is that he keeps finding a quarter in there! If I do this enough, maybe I can afford some more Evaporust. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
32buick67 Posted July 11, 2022 Share Posted July 11, 2022 5 minutes ago, MikeC5 said: What's really amazing is that he keeps finding a quarter in there! Ha ha... I use the stocking filter too and it has gradually caught less crud over the years. I found a quarter, a dime, and two buttons doing laundry here at home this weekend, can I keep them? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 Well... I had another go with the evaporust. Winter hung on for a long time, and I didn't even get the 36 Pontiac out until early April. It had the Evaporust in it for maybe 3 weeks. I had been intending to do it last fall, but ran out of time. I should mention that the car is running cooler since changing the water distribution tube (the thread about that is here). The evaporust came in a bucket, and when I was transferring it to jugs to pour it in I noticed it is extremely susceptible to foaming. The jugs were half full of foam. I know this car does not do well with foamy coolant. Anyhow, it wanted to push out. I just ran short trips and managed to keep it under control for a while, but eventually it pushed enough out to get hot, twice. The first time I had enough evaporust with me to top it off, but the second time I had to put in distilled water like last time. It ran around with diluted evaporust for the last 3 or 4 days. So I drained it and filled it with distilled water, and took it out and drove it and.... it got hot. Could the sock be full already? It's not been driven that much. In this car the radiator is crossflow, and the upper hose connection is oval shaped and bifurcated. The sock has to hang down through a really small hole compared to a normal car. I puled it out, and it was like pulling a string of sausages out of there. I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to get it out. I'm not really trying to solve any problem at this point with the evaporust, although it just about has to cool more efficiently if the water jackets get squeaky clean. I'm not really sure what this crud I filtered out is though. It doesn't quite look like rust. The pics are deceiving. It is yellow. Initially when I ran evaporust last year, there seemed to be a thin coating of something green inside the head, and the only theory I could come up with was green dye from antifreeze. That might be it because I have been recently been using an antifreeze that is dyed yellow. There is a yellow coating on the inside now. Anyway, it has a fresh sock and a load of distilled water in it.It stays reasonably cool and is not pushing water. I've not put the antifreeze back in yet, I'm calling this another rinse. I probably have enough evaporust left to run it one more time, but if I do it will be in a week or two. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 17 minutes ago, Bloo said: The sock has to hang down through a really small hole compared to a normal car. I puled it out, and it was like pulling a string of sausages out of there. I wasn't even sure I was going to be able to get it out. That's why you don't want to wait too long between changes. On my Paige with the sludge, once I had to reach down the filler neck (mercifully, straight down from the top) with a pair of chopsticks and squeeze the large quantity of sludge into a sausage configuration before I could ease the bloated stocking out through the upper neck of the radiator. All these experiences convince me even more than each piece of crud found in these stockings would otherwise be stuck in our radiators! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stude Light Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 @Bloo or @Grimy, Would you explain how/where you run the stocking? Is it just placed inside a coolant line? How do you hold it in place? Maybe a photo. Thanks. Scott Oh. Do you prefer nude, tan, black, white, red 😀? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryB Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 I never thought of looking in my radiator or radiator hoses for quarters but going forward when I’m running low on cash I have a new place to look! Kidding aside, I must say that you guys sure do everyone a service to take the time to report on this stuff with all the details and pictures you provide. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 (edited) 14 minutes ago, Stude Light said: @Bloo or @Grimy, Would you explain how/where you run the stocking? Is it just placed inside a coolant line? How do you hold it in place? Maybe a photo. Thanks. Scott Oh. Do you prefer nude, tan, black, white, red 😀? I prefer black... 🙂 I use the calf-high stockings women wear with slacks. Maybe $7-8 for a box of 20 at Walgreens and they may look at you funny at checkout. Remove upper radiator hose(s). Using a blunt tool (screwdriver or ratchet handle), insert TOE of stocking through the upper neck into the top tank of the radiator so that crud will accumulate in place and will not try to fall back down the hose. Then fold the selvage (open end) over the OUTside of the upper neck so it will be held captive by the upper end of the hose. I find that I need to fold the loose end over against itself to prevent bunching that will cause leaks. [Edit] Once you're satisfied there are no leaks, use a razor blade to remove excess stocking material visible above the top end of the hose. For a new installation, I run about 200-300 miles before draining off enough coolant to remove the upper end (at least) of the upper hose. Note the amount of debris and wash out the stocking under a faucet before re-installing. Whenever you have used a chemical cleaner or flush, replace the stocking; otherwise you can re-use it for several years. The amount of debris found each time lets you guess how soon the next inspection should be. My experience is (1) 200-300 miles, (2) another 500 miles, (3) 800 miles from the last. When I changed a hoses for old age on my 1930 Pierce, there was but minimal debris in the stocking, which was still in good shape after 8 years and 5,000 miles. Edited May 3, 2023 by Grimy added a sentence (see edit history) 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 George…….please don’t tell us the color of the thong you are wearing. I’m not sure I could handle it. 😱 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted May 3, 2023 Author Share Posted May 3, 2023 The first time I did it, it was easy. After that I could never get them to seal up, as the coolant soaks it's way out. The secret might be to tack it down so it doesn't follow the hose... uhhh.... COOLANT hose..... all the way out. One time I used shellac. It made the sort of sticky mess you might expect, and still somehow didn't tack up enough to do the job. Not recommended, but when it came time to take it out it was OK. Lately I've been using Permatex anaroebic gasket sealer. It is absolutely godawful to get rid of when it is time to take the sock out. Not recommended either, but for the moment I don't have a better idea. Maybe someone else in here has an idea. Cut off pantyhose worked best on this car (which has a screwball cross flow radiator). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArticiferTom Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 Blue RTV embedment . Cleans off easy when changing . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 2 hours ago, Bloo said: The first time I did it, it was easy. After that I could never get them to seal up, as the coolant soaks it's way out. The secret might be to tack it down so it doesn't follow the hose... uhhh.... COOLANT hose..... all the way out. One time I used shellac. It made the sort of sticky mess you might expect, and still somehow didn't tack up enough to do the job. Not recommended, but when it came time to take it out it was OK. Lately I've been using Permatex anaroebic gasket sealer. It is absolutely godawful to get rid of when it is time to take the sock out. Not recommended either, but for the moment I don't have a better idea. Maybe someone else in here has an idea. Cut off pantyhose worked best on this car (which has a screwball cross flow radiator). Not scientific, but it seems to me that if you leave stocking material exposed above the upper end of the hose (i.e., haven't yet cut off the excess with a razor blade), the wicking effect is much more severe. Folding the excess axial material over onto itself is hard to explain, but I'll try again. Since there's much more diameter in the stocking than the upper neck, pinch on two sides 180* apart and fold material over onto itself. If you have a helper, perhaps have the helper temporarily add a small cable tie above where hose will end up. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 3, 2023 Share Posted May 3, 2023 2 hours ago, edinmass said: George…….please don’t tell us the color of the thong you are wearing. I’m not sure I could handle it. 😱 Ed, I hear the couturier for *your* thongs is Omar the Tentmaker..... 🙂 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 14 hours ago, Grimy said: Not scientific, but it seems to me that if you leave stocking material exposed above the upper end of the hose (i.e., haven't yet cut off the excess with a razor blade), the wicking effect is much more severe. Yes, this ^^^ is what I observed. The trick is to not have any fabric sticking out past the end of the hose. That's easier said than done, but I basically folded it as Grimy described. I guess it's time for me to check the one in my '38 which I haven't inspected since returning from the Glidden last fall... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edinmass Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 14 hours ago, Grimy said: Ed, I hear the couturier for *your* thongs is Omar the Tentmaker..... 🙂 No thongs for me....I run commando! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grimy Posted May 4, 2023 Share Posted May 4, 2023 1 hour ago, edinmass said: No thongs for me....I run commando! Where is the "horror" emoji when we really need it? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now