cascade dish detergent coolant flush?

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How about using plain old vinegar? I know it does wonders in a coffee percolator for dissolving scale and I use it to clean the dishwasher every once in a while. Truly amazing stuff with no harmful chemicals, biodegradable and dirt cheap.

Could it hurt anything in the cooling system?
 
Cascade "Industrial/Commercial" dish washing detergent still has phosphates.

Shop for it online.
 
I used it to flush my system when switching the Grand Prix from dex to Prestone. Gunk in the overflow bottle made me think the whole system was similar. I drained the dex, filled with plain water, drained, then water with a cup of Cascade powder (green box)and ran for about an hour, drained, fresh water, drained and added Prestone 70/30; knowing a lot of plain water remained in the system.
If Cascade is safe for dishes and glassware, must be ok for a coolant flush that works in a similar manner to a dishwashing cycle.
Always been a little leary of chemical flushes and thought this was a better alternative.
 
The gasket leaks cause low coolant levels and loss of pressure, leading to some rust particles floating to the top of radiator and the reservior. And the gaskets were updated. The gasket will leak even if you run original Green, Peak Global, G-05 (or insert your favorite coolant) so yeah I'd say it is the gaskets.
 
Originally Posted By: maybehabitformin
That brown residue you know that the gaskets caused that not the dexcool right LOL!!!!


OK, now I'm calling troll alert!

At least he's not calling you names like he was earlier with me.

This Dex hysteria has to end sooner or later doesn't it?
 
Yes, but aren't the Simple Green applications for apply-and-then-rinse?

Simple Green HD has a form of ammonium chloride (salt), Sodium Carbonate, and two forms of citric acid (solvent), along with ethoxylated alcohols.

I assume the Sodium Carbonate is there to tame the acids.

If you do decide to use it, flush
grin.gif
twice.
 
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My answer from the Simple Green company about the HD Pro formula was that it is identical to their Extreme Simple Green (Aviation and Precision Equipment) formula. Both designed to be safe for all the components (metal,plastic,rubber)that it might come into contact with.

The problem with regular simple green is if it migrates to an area that does not get rinsed off, i.e. - riveted aluminum aircraft panels. I suppose that could happen on a vehicle too.

Equating the use of Cascade in an expensive car engine to dishes in a dishwasher doesn't quite jive with me either.

For what it's worth, I tried both Zerex cooling system cleaning products in a Ford powered generator and the weaker one appeared to do nothing. The stronger one removed a good bit of the bloom and light gunk. http://www.valvoline.com/products/brands/zerex/radiator-treatments/44

Personally, in the very rare occasion that I do use a cleaner, I will use one that's intended for that use.
 
"Equating the use of Cascade in an expensive car engine to dishes in a dishwasher doesn't quite jive with me either."

It's not that far fetched. Cascade is non-toxic, low sudsing, and able to remove baked-on lasagna without scratching by circulating the hot detergent water a few hundred times during the cycle. It won't remove rust but it should help get the gunk. It's a mater of how much cascade and how long do you run basically 100% water in your coolant system.
Since the coolant passages in a car are not that high tech, I think the two applications have more in common than not.
 
I've never used Cascade, but I have used Dawn a number of times, including in my pickup shortly after I purchased it. The heater wasn't blowing as warm as it could, and after a good flush through the heater core with Dawn it now will cook you out of the cab.

That's been 4 years ago and I haven't seen any issues yet.
 
Originally Posted By: maybehabitformin
Cascade used to work till they took the phosphates out of it.


I'll let you in on a little secret. If you have a Gordon's Food Service nearby, you can purchase this:

b6024937209859d72bc9fbd94159aa8331.jpg



Cascade Professional with all the phosphate lovin' included within. Also works AWESOME in the home dishwasher.
 
So, went ahead and did a flush using about 1/2 cup Cascade and one table spoon of TSP on my CAT 3208 Turbo engine. I've done three flushes (ten gallons of water/coolant capacity)...still seems to be some original residual coolant in the system (but majority of the ELC rusty red color is gone, got some nice dark stuff out and a few flakes here and there). Do you think this residual will have a detrimental impact if putting in new coolant? Think the alkaline from the Cascade & TSP will over power the new coolant, plan on four gallons (so a ratio of 2:5). Coolant has a PH of 10.

Thanks!

Second CAT 3208T waiting to get flushed...
Guys at the Hazardous Waste Dump sure hate me at this point...
 
Mercedes used to sell a Henkel-made detergent intended as the grease flush before citric acid years ago. In an ex-friend's Dex-Sludged truck, I used "hippie" dishwasher detergent first followed by a 3-lb dose of citric acid and plenty of back flushing. I got the Dex-Sludge out.
 
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