When checking the engine for the T I am assembling, a fair amount of crud fell out of the water jacket while rolling it over on the engine stand. All of it was orange flakes. The engine has set for at least the last 10 years or more. We found the engine to be usable for now, the short term, but a total rebuild will probably be necessary 3 or 4 years from now. It probably is in it's third trimester of life, but the journal clearances with no shims left were right on. That's another story. I just sent the check for a new radiator this last week. What methods are recommended to purge the water jacket of this crud before I mount a new radiator? The engine is currently sitting in the frame.
I would fill the engine with vinegar and let it sit overnight. Then flush with plain water. If you have a pressure washer it would be even better. Tons of crud will come out.
After that be sure to use at least a gallon of green ethylene glycol anti freeze so you don't ruin the block and the new radiator.
How much fluid does the water jacket hold? Is a gallon enough, or will it need more? What is the total system capacity of a low radiator car?
If you put a foot off of the bottom of your wife's panty hose in the top radiator inlet it will catch all the crud that floats up there.
You have to watch the temp because it'll restrict the flow enough to overheat.
Just leave it long enough to catch the garbage.
If the head is on and tight with gasket, power flush with a hose from the top head outlet and let it rush out the lower opening of the block. Roll it out of the shop first and flush away. Some have posted nice ways to improve the process, but that is a good way to decrud the block before the new rad goes on.
Here's a flusher to use after the vinegar soak. It's just a rubber plug with a hose fitting through it for water, a nozzle for compressed air, and a 1/8" hole drilled through for a vent.
Here's how it works: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ3nkPm87X0.
We had a tool like this in the Service Stations that we used on the lower hose in a continuous fashion. The water was forced backward to the normal flow. It worked really great to remove the crud that collects in the water jacket around the base of the cylinders.
Fred
I should add if you do this to your Radiator you have to be very careful or you can Pumpkin the tanks or blow out the tubes.
You can't use full force on the Radiators. Be careful or it might be better not to use this method at all on the Rads.
Yes, I ruined a Radiator with too much pressure this way.
Fred
I wouldn't apply any pressure at all to a Model T radiator. They're not built for a pressurized system. Fill the radiator with Simple Green, let it soak overnight, and flush with hot water.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSLn4KeT3do
We are talking about flushing the block on Doug Wilson's car. Not the radiator.
Correct. Doug's radiator is new. But we (I) don't want anyone seeing that flusher to get the misapprehension that it would be OK to use on a radiator.
The "trick" with using the air flusher, as Steve found out, is having the block full of water when giving an air blast. I use a restricted old piece of rad hose. Restricted by a C-clamp that is. You need those Scrubbing Bubbles to get the stuff loose and out. This will absolutely clean your block if properly done.
Actually, if you've got enough projects going already you can wrap an open garden hose and an air nozzle in a rag jamb it in the upper connection and get the same results as long as you restrict the out-flow some how.