I want to flush my engine and radiator with CLR. How much CLR do I want to use?? Also, will hot water make that much difference? Should I run the engine to warm the water/ CLR up?....Chip
From MTFCI forum of 5/15/05
Drain the water,
pour in a bottle of CLR & top off with water.
Go for a 10 minute drive & park it for 10 minutes.
Drain & fill with just water & go for another 10 minute drive & 10 minute cool down.
Flush it good with water & fill with your favorite anti-rust or anti-freeze.
You may want to run some DAWN dish soap through it first to get any grease out that might be in there. (Royce may want to do that to get his water pump lube out)!
I have used many quarts of CLR to flush many cars. I always mix it in a bucket with a couple of quarts of water before pouring it in the car. 25 to 50% water for the final fill works well.
It is important to get ALL of the CLR out.
Don't leave it in the car more than half an hour total.
I have been using it about 10 years in antique and modern cars.
So far I have never had a heater valve, water pump or hose leak soon after flushing with CLR.
I do not know if hot water helps, but I assume it does. I have flushed engines without starting the engine and it seemed to clean the crap out just as good, you just gotta pour in CLR and water already mixed.
On a modern I take a heater hose off and flush through the heater to make sure I get all the CLR out. be careful not to blow the heater core out.
When rinsing, you also put in a box of baking soda to neutralize the acid.
Slightly off topic, but I after the flushing I usually add 4 or 5 drops of dishwashing detergent to the final cooling water fillup.
In my T it seems to make a small but significant lowering of the running temperature of the motor. Might help you if the radiator is marginal.
Can't hurt!
schuh
I have always heard Tide is the best detergent to use in the radiator. It will get into the rust. Any brand should help.
It is also good to use washing detergent to flush the radiator first to get the oil & loose crud out so the CLR doesn't get wasted on the loose crap & grease.
I use only Palmolive or Dawn to wash my greasy hands. Easier on the skin and cheaper than hand cleaner & doesn't smell funny.
Dawn will kill fleas on dogs. Mix some up with water & spray where the dogs lay too to kill fleas. can And a little vinegar, fleas hate vinegar. Put 2 drops in the dog's water too.