CLR in radiator ?

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A few years back a buddy of mine dumped his radiator on a Eclipse telling me it was running hot, and there was a obvious brown rusty look to the coolant. He told me he believed the previous owner had used water and nothing else in the radiator (thus the rust) and asked me to run him up to the grocery store, he came out with 3 jugs of CLR "Calcium Lime Rust". Upon returning to his garage
I watched him dump all three into the core and then topped up with water. He put the cap on and we took the car for a 15 minute drive,He then parked and let the fan cycle a few times he shut off the car and pulled the lower hose. I have never seen anything that foul come out of a cooling system... After draining he continued to refill and dump the core (starting and stopping the car).. When he got to the point that the water ran cean and clear out of the lower hose he finished letting it drain, mixed propper coolant and installed a new thermostat. topped up and declaired victory. He traded the car off within the year so i have no idea if there may or may not have been any longterm adverse effects.. I do know the car continued to be his DD for atleast 8 months after this little venture, and i never seen or heard another thing about the cooling system..

something i read in another post reminded me of this, thought id share the story.. I would have probably never thought to run CLR through the cooling system to clean it out..

think there was any damage from running this chemical in the system ?
 
I'd use real rad flush myself.

I HAVE used CLR to backflush a heater core that was clogged and it worked great. I've heard people using bleach and even oven cleaner to unclog heater cores.

However those fall under the "may aswell because if the heater core is clogged your screwed anyhow so try it" deals.

It never damaged anything though. I'd still never run it through an entire cooling system myself.
 
Quote:
Do not use CLR on natural stone or marble, terrazzo, colored grout, painted or metallic glazed surfaces, plastic laminates, Formica, aluminum, steam irons, leaded crystal, refinished tubs or any damaged or cracked surface. CLR may etch older sinks, tubs and tiles. CLR is corrosive. Avoid contact with wood, clothing, wallpaper and carpeting. Some laminated surfaces (counter tops) are coated with a synthetic surface which may be affected by rust removers; clean spills immediately.


I'd probably avoid using it in a radiator based on that, especially based on aluminum being mentioned.
 
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
CLR is corrosive.





It may work BUT what if you don't get out enough of the residue?
whistle.gif
 
I've used automatic dishwasher powder, diluted with distilled water, for multiple drain and fills on the cooling system in older vehicles that I had owned. You know it is clean when the hose water comes out just as clean as when it entered the system.

Just run a few drain and fills of distilled water after the "hosing", refill with coolant, top it off and your good to go.

I never had any adverse effects from using the Automatic Dishwasher POWDER....don't use the liquid.
 
Originally Posted By: antiqueshell
Originally Posted By: Bluestream
CLR is corrosive.





It may work BUT what if you don't get out enough of the residue?
whistle.gif

That's why you do the multiple flushes after, to get rid of everything.
 
Wonder what the difference is between the citric acid flushes that Mercedes and others sell and CLR? If you could rinse it out well enough or neutralize it I wouldn't think it would hurt-but I've seen CLR EAT bare aluminum.
 
Citric acid or vinegar will will eat the aluminum too, if you leave them in long enough. They're acids. If there's an old-timey radiator shop in your area you could probably convince them to hot-tank a radiator overnight and show you the result the next morning for gits ang shiggles.

The key to doing this sort of chemical cleaning is to know when to say when. Done right like OtisBlkR1's buddy did, it's fast easy, and cheap and can salvage parts that would otherwise be scrap. This means that depending on the situation it can be the most effective way to make a repair and can have a better result than brand new fresh parts.

Try to get to know a little about yuor chemicals. I'm just a beginner with learning to handle these but already have had some fun. Do it enough to get a feel for it and there are other benefits. As an example: a few years back my ex-wife was dying her smokin' hot best friend's hair. The friend started complaining about a burning sensation on her scalp. Being familiar with this sort of thing I told her to stand with her head over the kitchen sink while I dumped a gallon and a half of milk on her head and massaged it in for a while. Massaging it in was pretty much unnecessary but she's the kind of girl...well...just say her name and I can't sleep through the next few nights without waking up covered in sweat. Water would have done the job just as well as milk, but I still had a grudge against her for something she'd said a few years earlier. In the end I saved some really nice hip length hair and stopped a bit of pain right quick. As A bonus, she sidn't call the cops on me and my ex (we were married at the time) didn't complain because she thought it was pretty hot. Then there's the story with the Grand Prix from Venezuela and the story about the Russian Kia Sportage, but it's getting late. Sleep tight.
 
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