Interesting And Simple Way To Flush And Engine Block

[pflaming]

A fellow church member was a long time mechanic. He said in years gone by that when he worked on the old flatheads, he opened up the bottom outlets on the block, removed the water pump and put a high powered steam cleaner to the opening and let it steam and wash til the water came out clean on the bottom. Certainly should help and certainly cannot hurt anything.

 

Since I have the engine out of the car, I removed the freeze plugs and went inside. The block was quite clean, only rusty water not sludge,  but the benefit to me was knowing what the inside is like. 

Edited August 8, 2013 by pflaming

[Young Ed]

I did basically that to my engine for the 40 ply. Only it was just a pressure washer not a steamer. Pulled the drain and both lower core plugs and sprayed. The first couple minutes the pile looked like a bowl of chili.

[knuckleharley]

Sealing the bottom hose,removing the thermostat and pouring vinegar down the top hose is another way to clean the rust out. Just make sure you don't let it sit longer than 24 hours before you flush it out. You may have to repeat if the rust is really thick.

 

Make sure you immediately refill with a mixture of anti-freeze and water after draining it because it will immediately start to rust again if you don't.

[Cpt.Fred]

that's what i did, too, plus a lot of flushing afterwardsthrough the upper radiator hose.

citric acid and 80% vinegar is what i used. i left the plugs in since they weren't leaking

and i wanted it to stay that way. never had any heat problems anymore

[Robert Horne]

Recently I drained the coolant out of my 38 Coupe.       Coolant did not look very bad.

 

I had the Coupe pointed downhill so the drain would be lower.       Let the engine warm up

 

to around 200 with a piece of cardboard in front of the radiator, before I opened the drain.

 

I filtered plenty of rain water to pour in as it drained, and the engine still running.    With this

 

being cow country, tap water is not fit to drink, or put in a radiator.  

 

With the drain downhill, I did get a little rust & green color, and very soon coolant was clear.

 

I will do this again soon before winter, and then fill with new 50/50.......

 

 

[50desotocoupe]

Can I ask a probably dumb question.  Where is the drain for a 50 Desoto engine?  I replaced the water pump and cleaned the radiatior but didn't think to drain the block.....

[Niel Hoback]

 Just below the distributor.

[50desotocoupe]

Great, thank you!

[Robert Horne]

Can I ask a probably dumb question.  Where is the drain for a 50 Desoto engine?  I replaced the water pump and cleaned the radiatior but didn't think to drain the block.....

 

That is not a dumb question, I am glad you ask, I had forgotten about that drain.

Edited August 9, 2013 by Robert Horne

[desoto1939]

Note: When draining the engine block and then putting in new water and ANTIFREEZE since are cars are PRIOR to the 94 models you should only, and I will state again ONLY USE THE STANDARD GREEN yes the GREEN  old style antifreeze.  Do not used the extended stuff that you can get in WALMART, Wally World.  NOT the new YELLOW OR ORANGE products.

 

The chemical makeup is not compatibale with the internal of our older cars.  The auto supply stores do carry the OLD Standard green that we all are familar with.  They might not have a full shelf of them but they should carry it since there are still alot of vehicles that still need and use it.

 

I spoke to  a factory rep from one of the major Antifreeze manufacturer and he provided me with this information.  He stated that over 45% of the vehicles on the roads today still use the old green style, so we donot have to worry about hording the green antifeeze.

[Robert Horne]

I have been hording the green stuff this summer.      Quick as the cold weather hits, the price will go up, and up....

[Don Coatney]

Can I ask a probably dumb question.  Where is the drain for a 50 Desoto engine?  I replaced the water pump and cleaned the radiatior but didn't think to drain the block.....

The block drain petcock is located just to the left of the distributor.

 

[Captain Neon]

Note: When draining the engine block and then putting in new water and ANTIFREEZE since are cars are PRIOR to the 94 models you should only, and I will state again ONLY USE THE STANDARD GREEN yes the GREEN  old style antifreeze.  Do not used the extended stuff that you can get in WALMART, Wally World.  NOT the new YELLOW OR ORANGE products.

 

The chemical makeup is not compatibale with the internal of our older cars.  The auto supply stores do carry the OLD Standard green that we all are familar with.  They might not have a full shelf of them but they should carry it since there are still alot of vehicles that still need and use it.

 

I spoke to  a factory rep from one of the major Antifreeze manufacturer and he provided me with this information.  He stated that over 45% of the vehicles on the roads today still use the old green style, so we donot have to worry about hording the green antifeeze.

I flush the cooling systems on all of my vehicles every fall.  I've always used Prestone from Wal*Mart and never had a lick of trouble.

[wayfarer]

Yeah, just wondering how the antifreeze/coolant knows that the engine is a 1993 and not a 1994 model????????

[knuckleharley]

Yeah, just wondering how the antifreeze/coolant knows that the engine is a 1993 and not a 1994 model????????

Me,too. AFAIK the newer coolants have been upgraded to allow it to be used in newer engines that use a lot of aluminum heads and blocks,but I fail to see how the newer coolant for aluminum engines wouldn't do the job in cast iron engines. After all,some of the engines it was made for originally had cast iron blocks and aluminum heads.

 

However,I HAVE been wrong before.

[greg g]

We were just out your way.  Returning to DIA on Sunday we passed a very large carshow at what looked to be the campus of a Tech or Community Collage right next to I 70.  Looked like a lot of cars in the show plus a lot out in the adjoining parking lots ad streets surrounding .  Seemed to be a lot of vendors of parts etc thee also.  Seemed well in excess of 300 cars.  Didn't have time to stop what with returning the rental car and doing airport security, but Denver and its environs looks like a car hobby friendly place.  Saw a lot of oldies out and about as we traveled around.  Lots of old pickups and quite a number of vintage bikes, and not just HD's.  Saw Norton's, Enfields, BSAs, Triumphs, even a Matchless with a side car.  Older BMW and Moto Guzzi's.

 

Enjoy your DeSoto.

[50desotocoupe]

Yes, I think the car culture is growing quickly in Colorado.  I remember about 8 years ago it seemed to die off. Now there are multiple car shows each weekend and several cruises.  A good thing!  I like the fact that I can show up with my Desoto and people haven't seen one before. 

[White Spyder]

Ok another question on this.  For those that have removed the welch plugs to flush the block.  Have you done this while the engine is in the car?  If so, how did you get the new plugs in place?  When I replaced the distrubition tube I looked into doing this but coulld not see how I could drive the plugs back in.  There did not seem to be enough room to swing a hammer to drive them in.

 

TIA

[captden29]

I have heard of people using an impact hammer. I used the core plug by Dorman, part no. 568-010 which go in using a wrench or socket. I put them in my flathead about 2 years ago and they work fine. they can be left in permanently, but are also good for a roadside fix. capt den