Hi all,
When I bought my 23 it came with a water pump.Well it started to leak ,so being as it had one on it and never over heated,I decided to replace it with a new one.After the new pump showed up I removed the leaky one and noticed LARGE pits and missing aluminium from the main casting....Took me a sec to wonder where all that oxidation or missing "stuff" went.Looking down the radiator fill hole solved that one.My missing water pump is now plugging the tubes in my core.Question is, can this be cleaned out with any kind of vinegar or solvent its a white paste like goo.And should I throw the new pump in the trash,its also aluminium.Any thoughts?
Steve, was the T running water only in the cooling system or 50/50 Anti-Freeze? Plain water provides no protection for electrolysis and the aluminum was the sacrificial anode. I'm not a proponent of water pumps and when I get a T with one thats the first thing I get rid of. Ideally if you took your radiator to a radiator shop to be cleaned that would be your best option. The other cleaning methods can be tried, but as slow as the coolant circulates, I don't think the results will be great.
A few oz. of soluble oil or a gallon of regular antifreeze should prevent it from happening again.
I would run it without the pump but keep the pump for in case the car overheats.
Your radiator may not be up to par so running a pump could get you by a few years.
Take the rad off and set it upside down with no rad cap (support it so you don't damage anything. Stuff a garden house in the lower connection (which is now on top) and kind of seal it up with rags and/or duct tape. Turn the hose on full blast and go have a coffee (or two). When you get back hopefully you will have washed out the worst of the crud.
If that does work then the lower tank will need to be removed and the tubes will need to be "roded". Probably a job for a radiator shop unless you have the soldering skill.
Once the rad is thoroughly clean it will likely not need the water pump as well.
A water pump should not be needed on a Model T, which was designed to run without it. The presence of one suggests that the radiator may not be up to snuff. Two reasons are common and likely. One is "crud" in the radiator and water passages.The cure for this is cleaning. The other common cause is the ravages of time. Decades of vibration cause the fins to separate from the tube, causing the radiator to not radiate. The cure for this is to have the radiator recored or replace it with a new one. The former option costs less than the latter.
Some thing along the lines of what Les suggested with a slight variation: Possibly letting it dry completely then with the rad up side down tapping the top tank with a rubber mallet or a block of wood might knock most of it off the tubes. I think letting it dry completely might be the key as it might just be laying on the tube tops. See what come out (if any thing) and follow with a good hose flush. the gizmo shown is something I rigged up and Steve Jelf used his version to flush his system. Use it with the rad upside down with the cap on and slightly restrict the top outlet as the rad needs to be as near full of water as possible. Use short blasts of air into the bottom inlet. You might need to block the over flow outlet pipe also.
Steve Jelf used a setup similar to Charlie's on his car, see video link below, it's one of several.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnOZ2MZt5FY
If you just toss the water pump you will be doing yourself a big favor. All they do is cause trouble.
uh o and I just bought one, I was thinking hot
water heater.
Since acid attacks aluminum, any small remaining particles of aluminum stuck in the tubes should be able to be loosened with a weak mixture of acid and water that will attack the aluminum and dissolve it or at least reduce its' size so it can be flushed out. I would see if I could retrieve several pieces of the aluminum from the radiator and experiment with different mixtures of acid mixed with water by making small sample solutions of several ratios 1:4 1:6 1:10, etc. and drop in the aluminum. If the aluminum bubbles, the solution is strong enough to dissolve the aluminum. Use the weakest solution that still bubbles and mix up a batch that will fill the radiator. The acidic solution will also dissolve the calcium in the tubes so by the time you're done, the radiator should be clean as a whistle. Good luck. If the tubes in your radiator are aluminum, forget it. Jim Patrick
PS. I seem to recall once seeing some sort of metal insert that could be inserted into the Model T water jacket that would stop it from corroding. Am I imagining this or is there such a product?
When a water pump is installed on a Model T, most times a thermostat is also installed in the "outlet" fitting on the top front of the engine block. If you remove the water pump (which I suggest you do), don't forget to remove the thermostat if it's there. You can probably see it inside the fitting, if the radiator is off the car, but otherwise it's best to remove the fitting (2 bolts, and a new gasket).
Usually the old water pumps with packing leak because they need greased! Bud.
dumb question why not a 165 thermo and a pump?
aint we making things more normal????? cooler oil
temp cooler block temps. V8 flathead's runs hot
vapor lock all that stuff. soo cool it.And V8's
do not run hot and vapor lock 'out of the box" thats
yrs of river scumm. has to be cleaned....
Thanks for the replys,I am going to remove the radiator and back flush with it upside down.I did remove some of the white goo and placed it in a cap with some CLR.It just set there no bubbles.The good thing is when i removed the stuff from one of the tubes I could see that tube is clear.The goo is just at the opening.The cooling system did have antifreeze in it but I do not know if it always did with the pump as the car came with it.
After I get the radiator clean ether with flushing or the shop I am going to run the car without the new pump and see how she does.
I think years ago someone said to use Calgon diswasher powder.Run untill hot several miles and flush maby 2 or 3 times.I did it and it seemed to help.Bud.