Hi gang,
This seems to be my annual post about using flushing compounds. My TR3B sat
for more than 18 years before I rescued it. After making it roadworthy and
getting it legal I flushed the cooling system over and over and over again.
I was always getting more junk out of the system. After enjoying the car
for about 800 miles I decided to try using a chemical coolant flush. I used
the stronger of the two Prestone products, the hour of the morning
precludes me from remembering which one that is!
I followed the directions carefully. I flushed all the product out in my
driveway, and kept flushing and flushing... It never really ran clear. Then
I reinstalled the thermostat, topped off the radiator and within 1/2 mile
blew the head gasket.
Upon removal of the head I found incredible amounts of crud clogging the
coolant passages around the liners and in the head. And I mean incredible.
The coolant passages to the head and in the head were packed pretty tight
with rust and debris between cylinders 3 and 4. I was shocked the engine
ran without any real overheating problems before losing the head gasket.
The hot spots around numbers 3 and 4 must have been _really_ hot. BTW, the
head did not warp.
So, I learned two things. First, never try to run a wet liner TR engine
(TR2-4A) that has been sitting for a long time without at the very least
pulling the head to clean out the coolant passages. Second, I won't run
chemical flush in any engine that I am not sure is pretty clean to start
with. One big chunk of rust can really ruin your day.
As to how this relates to Bob and his TR6, well... I'll tell you when one
of the '250's actually see's the road! ;-)
At 08:37 PM 5/25/99 -0400, you wrote:
>
>
>I have one of the Prestone Flush N Fill Kits and plan on flushing the
>cooling system tomorrow. The directions say to insert the Tee into the inlet
>hose and with the heater on high and the engine running to begin flushing.
>I'm assuming (always dangerous to do) that the inlet hose is the hose
>between the heater control valve and the firewall. Am I correct? Any
>recommendations or experience on using their Super Flush or Super Radiator
>Cleaner products?
>Thanks
>Bob Danielson
>1975 TR6 - current status at
>http://pages.cthome.net/BobD
>
>
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Henry Frye - thefryes@iconn.net - Connecticut, USA
Stag MkI Getting Sorted Out
TR3B Driver
TR250 X 3 The BIG Project - Will Be Worth the Wait
Homepage http://members.iconn.net/thefryes/
|