I read that I can. And I see bubbles in my radiator.
Shall I have at it?
I want to shoot this van.
Shall I have at it?
I want to shoot this van.
I can use dish detergent to flush my radiator?
- Thread starter maketracks
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I spose that it will remove any oil in there. Just open the drain and put a hose in the top and let it run until it stops foaming and comes out clear.
This is when the question asked in 8th grade chemistry class, "When am I gonna use this stuff?" is answered.
I ain't got Cascade, all I got is Rite Aid Green Apple dish some from Home Essentials or something and I am broke and want to flush out my bubbly radiator.
Can't believe I get the smoke show and bubbles when I put the antifreeze in.
And FWIW, my upper hose has a leak in it, so, maybe that is where it is all going.
Can't believe I get the smoke show and bubbles when I put the antifreeze in.
And FWIW, my upper hose has a leak in it, so, maybe that is where it is all going.
Originally Posted By: yonyon
Maybe flushing isn't the right way to deal with this problem.
IIRC, the bubbles in the radiator mean one thing and one thing only: Head gasket. Could that also explain my stalling issues?
Also, if that is the case, I wanted to try a sealer first.. then go the Head Gasket route. For all I know, I have a leak in my radiator as well as upper hose.
Is it true that you know it seals when you can use the sealer, and the car doesn't put out a cloud of grayish smoke in the morning, or when first started from overnight?
Maybe flushing isn't the right way to deal with this problem.
IIRC, the bubbles in the radiator mean one thing and one thing only: Head gasket. Could that also explain my stalling issues?
Also, if that is the case, I wanted to try a sealer first.. then go the Head Gasket route. For all I know, I have a leak in my radiator as well as upper hose.
Is it true that you know it seals when you can use the sealer, and the car doesn't put out a cloud of grayish smoke in the morning, or when first started from overnight?
You used to be able to use powdered dishwasher detergent...
Then they took the good part out of it, TSP.
You can get TSP inexpensively on amazon.
Then they took the good part out of it, TSP.
You can get TSP inexpensively on amazon.
I could be wrong, but leaking coolant produces white smoke (steam), oil produces blue smoke (from experience), and unburned fuel produces gray/black smoke.
I am also certain that the head gaskets is creating those bubbles.
What kind of van do you have? FWD GM vans are extremely prone to HG failure. Use Fel-Pro problem solver gaskets to hopefully prevent further trouble.
What kind of van do you have? FWD GM vans are extremely prone to HG failure. Use Fel-Pro problem solver gaskets to hopefully prevent further trouble.
Yes.
Yes.
Nothing but yes to what you have said there.
Yes.
Nothing but yes to what you have said there.
OK, let us narrow down the suspects.
Firstly, this could be my imagination. I may be seeing grey smoke, almost black-ish. This would be consistent with an engine that needs a tune.
Secondly, the upper hose DOES have a leak in it. Could this be why I see steam from hood whole driving, and also a possible source of coolant to be pressurized out of?
Thirdly, what if the radiator is done for. Any other tests that I can do?
The exhaust smoke smelled more acrid than sweet, if it did at all. Do I see correlation between adding coolant and smoke?.. unsure. It IS really cold out here, maybe it is just heat.
All the coolant mix with the dish detergent is at a lower level than when I put it in last night, I did not even have to take off the lower hose.
Also, just took it for a drive.. Still afraid to come to a complete stop, but once it gets up to temperature it seems to run stronger, and the SES light stays off most of the time, sometimes it comes back on.. scratching my head right now.
Firstly, this could be my imagination. I may be seeing grey smoke, almost black-ish. This would be consistent with an engine that needs a tune.
Secondly, the upper hose DOES have a leak in it. Could this be why I see steam from hood whole driving, and also a possible source of coolant to be pressurized out of?
Thirdly, what if the radiator is done for. Any other tests that I can do?
The exhaust smoke smelled more acrid than sweet, if it did at all. Do I see correlation between adding coolant and smoke?.. unsure. It IS really cold out here, maybe it is just heat.
All the coolant mix with the dish detergent is at a lower level than when I put it in last night, I did not even have to take off the lower hose.
Also, just took it for a drive.. Still afraid to come to a complete stop, but once it gets up to temperature it seems to run stronger, and the SES light stays off most of the time, sometimes it comes back on.. scratching my head right now.
Seriously, if you think you have a head gasket problem causing bubbles in the radiator you need to address that first. There are test kits that you can use to find out for sure. A test kit will cost a small fraction of the money a guess can cost.
If you do have this problem and do not fix that first:
As you drive more and more gasses enter the cooling system taking away from the volume of coolant and reducing the capacity of the system until overheat occurs. Any attempt to fix a leak such as from your leaky hose is pretty much a waste because your engine can pump exhaust faster than the radiator can release coolant and the result will be that a new leak forms...somewhere.
If you do have this problem and do not fix that first:
As you drive more and more gasses enter the cooling system taking away from the volume of coolant and reducing the capacity of the system until overheat occurs. Any attempt to fix a leak such as from your leaky hose is pretty much a waste because your engine can pump exhaust faster than the radiator can release coolant and the result will be that a new leak forms...somewhere.
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