201 runs hot

[Los_Control]

Yeah back in the day 5 years ago, a coffee pot would last 5 years and we would clean them with 50/50 vinegar.

Today they wear out before we can clean them.

 

Vinegar certainly will not manually remove minerals from a vehicle .... It certainly would not hurt it either .... Is a long & slow process.

 

[capt den]

so you are saying that running vinegar in the system is a waste of time and money? i tried beet juice. it did nothing but the car smelled nice.   capt den

[Los_Control]

Just now, capt den said:

so you are saying that running vinegar in the system is a waste of time and money? i tried beet juice. it did nothing but the car smelled nice.   capt den

I'm not a expert in anything .... I feel and have created my own opinion ... More then I know from proven facts.

IMHO, anyone that knows how to remove a distribution tube would want to slide a flat bar through it with a hook on the end to catch the tube and pull it out.

 

When you find the minerals are so thick through the tube you can not slide a bar through it. I'm kinda guessing it is dissimilar metals that may aggravate the the issue.

Same time here in West Texas we have the hardest water I have ever seen ... Moved here from New Mexico which also has hard water ... not like this though.

The real issue I had to use a hammer to drive the bar through the minerals .... Then hook a chain to it and some weight to pull the bar back out.

Then manually chiseled away at the minerals to clean it out the best I could.

 

I do not think any chemical would remove those minerals. The tube needs replaced .... I feel more then I know, I would need to hollow out the tube in order to pull it out anyways. .... I would like to drive it a bit and access the engine before I pull it out .... In my mind manually clearing the tube was not a waste of time ... the engine now runs cool.

 

Has been known for decades about the casting sand left over in engines from when they were poured in the foundry.

A quick simple test is to open the petcock on the side of the block to drain the coolant. Typically the sand gathers here as it is the lowest point of the block.

If you open the petcock and have good flow, probably no sand in the engine. .... If you remove the petcock & still have no flow, is full of sand and vinegar would not fix this.

You need to manually remove the soft plugs and remove the sand.

 

If you have a stuck T-stat, vinegar will not fix this.

 

On the other hand, the vinegar I use is 4% acidity ... sold at the grocery store more for a cleaner then something you want to cook with at 2% acidity.

I think it was $2 a gallon.

I "feel" if a person goes through the process of making sure all the mechanical's of the cooling system are working as they should be .... The vinegar will be a great asset to help remove any loose rust & scale in the block just to complete and finish off your hard efforts on cleaning the cooling system.

 

Vinegar will not fix your T-stat, I feel it is worthwhile using because it will not damage our Brass or aluminum radiators.

[FarmerJon]

In my experience, chemical cleaners work best as a maintenance item, but usually are ineffective once things are fully clogged. Cooling systems and fuel systems both.

The cleaner needs to be able to flow through all the passages, removing buildup as it does. If stuff is broken, cleaners won't fix them.

 

[Los_Control]

I agree 100% @FarmerJon.

 

I bet I could pour some muriatic acid in that block and clean it up, clean as a whistle.

Same time it would destroy all the machined bearing surfaces & cylinder bores.  .... Destroy the engine.

 

Same time we have newer products available ..... They will be easier on the engine ..... not necessarily on our brass radiators or heater cores.

 

So we have vinegar .... It takes longer, we need patience .... but it will not harm our old cars.

 

Next week we will be talking about 15% ethanol in our gasoline .... Sigh!

 

 

[Bryan]

Ahem..? ?..

[Los_Control]

Yeah Vinegar wont fix that  

Yet again, get er did and Vinegar will be a nice icing on the cake.

[keithb7]

That block looks about ripe for its age.

 

Nice glob of Blue RTV Silicone to stop a leak! Hard to believe any water could get past that clay, to leak past the plug.

[Davidmccabe]

On 6/3/2022 at 7:40 AM, FarmerJon said:

How hot is "Hot"? 180? 200? 250? 

How does it act when it is "Hot"?

We can't see what you are working with. A lot of good questions already asked, until they are answered, not much more help we can give.

 

It buys the gauge at 220  I took the pump out it looked good I have bypassed the heater core

[Merle Coggins]

9 hours ago, Davidmccabe said:

…I have bypassed the heater core

 

If you have a hose connected between the heater connection at the back of the head and the return connection at the water pump then you have created a radiator bypass as well. Coolant can now circulate from the head back into the water pump to circulate through the engine again without being cooled by the radiator. This can cause your engine to run hotter than it should. It’s best to block off the connections of not using a heater. 

[belvedere]

Have you verified that the gauge is telling the truth? I like to shoot the thermostat housing with an IR thermometer.