> So, is my radiator toast, or can I do something like pull the radiator and
> flush it upside down to wash out the "crumbs"?
Skip, it shouldn't overheat that easily even without the water wetter and
antifreeze; sounds like you've got a major blockage. My guess would be that
the Fast Flush loosened up some pretty bad scale inside the engine block and
radiator, which is now clogging the finer passages in the radiator.
My suggestion : remove the radiator and thermostat, flush the block directly
with as much water as you can. Alternate directions and repeat until you
don't get any more flakes. I believe there is a plug into the water jacket
near the rear of the block, remove it and make sure you can get clear water
through it. You may have to poke some stiff wire through the hole to break
up the pile of scale behind it.
Take the radiator to your local radiator shop, and have them examine it.
Most likely, it needs to be "rodded out", which typically costs around
$50-$75. What they do is remove the tanks, soak the core in an chemical
bath to loosen the scale, and force rods through the tubes to clean them.
Then they reattach the tanks, pressure test, and paint. If it's too far
gone for that, usually they can install a new core for significantly less
than the cost of a whole new radiator, and the result looks more original
than the repro radiator.
Of course, you could continue trying multiple applications of Fast Flush, it
should eventually dissolve the scale and let you flush it out. But I'm
personally not fond of the stuff, I regard it strictly as an avenue of last
resort. I have a suspicion that it contributes to corrosion of aluminum
parts.
Randall
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