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Thread: Coolant Flush

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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Coolant Flush

    The recent cold weather affecting much of North America has brought focus to the Mirage heater core, and how it develops problems with delivering heat. Daox has opened his heater core and found it contaminated.

    Let's use this thread to discuss various coolant flush practices. Share your experience and concern. Hopefully we can find a easy solution (get it?)


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        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    I'll use this post to gather the various products mentioned in the thread for easy reference.

    Name Picture Notes
    Prestone® Radiator Flush + Cleaner
    Performance Chemicals PN: AS105Y
    Amazon link
    Designed to help defeat heavy rust and scale deposits in neglected cooling systems.
    • Premium 2-in-1 formula designed for either a quick flush or for a heavy-duty cleaning.
    • It removes rust, corrosion, scale, and solid materials from the cooling system to help prevent overheating, a leading cause of engine failure.
    Prestone Radiator Flush & Oil Degreaser
    Performance Chemicals PN: AS110Y
    Reference Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Prestone
    Introducing Prestone’s NEW Radiator Flush & Oil Degreaser. An innovative and easy to use cooling system cleaner for the most contaminated systems. Just one use helps prevent overheating, a major cause of engine failure. Perfect for blown head gaskets!.

    Part 1 is an acid cleaner that dissolves corrosion and scale without damaging metals.
    Part 2 is an oil encapsulation system that strips grease and oil from all surfaces and flushes it away.

    Features & Benefits:
    Performance:
    • Eliminate oil & fuel contamination.
    • Strip away corrosion by product from metal surfaces.
    • Remove aluminum corrosion, silicate gel, and rust.
    • Restores cabin heat.
    • Fast and easy to use.

    Safe for all:
    • Antifreeze/Coolants.
    • Metals.
    • Gaskets.
    • Hoses.
    • Plastics.
    Zerex Radiator Super Cleaner
    Amazon Link
    Zerex Super Cleaner has a heavy-duty patented formula that removes radiator solder bloom, rust, scale and corrosion deposits that flushes cannot. It is safe for all cooling system metals including aluminum.
    • Heavy-duty patented formula helps remove radiator solder bloom, rust, scale and other deposits that flushes miss
    • Reduces engine coolant and engine oil temperatures for cooling systems with initially plugged radiator tubes and passages
    • Compatible with all antifreeze coolants
    • Safe for use on all cooling system metals
    Penray 200264 RTO Cooling System Cleaner
    Quote Originally Posted by Penray
    Penray 200264 RTO Cooling System Cleaner is specially formulated to remove oil, hydraulic and transmission fluid from heavy duty cooling systems. It disperses dropout, and helps remove silicate gel, scale, build-up and other deposits. Requires less flushing than other cleaners, Penray RTO Cooling System Cleaner will not harm seals and metals.
    Cummins Fleetguard
    Restore cooling system cleaner
    Reference post
    Restore™
    • Alkaline-Based Cleaner
    • Most effective cooling system oil/fuel contamination-cleaning agent available
    • Removes silicate gel
    • 10 times more effective than automotive distributor detergent powders
    • Safe for use in aluminum radiators and heaters
    Cummins Fleetguard
    Restore Plus
    cooling system cleaner
    Reference post
    Restore Plus™
    • Mild Acid-Based Chelating Cleaner
    • Safely Removes Rust, Corrosion, Scale, and Solder Bloom - Without Disassembling your Cooling System
    Evapo-Rust
    THERMOCURE®
    Cooling System Rust Remover & Flush
    Reference post
    Quote Originally Posted by Evapo-Rust
    Remove the rust that causes overheating

    Treat the overheat with Evapo-Rust® THERMOCURE®. THERMOCURE® Cooling System Rust Remover & Flush uses the latest technology in rust and corrosion removal to completely revitalize any water cooled engine. THERMOCURE® removes rust scale and deposits from radiators, water pumps, water jackets, engine blocks, and heads. Rust and corrosion act an insulator and cause vehicles to overheat. THERMOCURE® clears away that rust and restores your cooling system to normal working condition. THERMOCURE® cooling system flush is safe, simple, and easy to use. This product restores the engine’s ability to transfer heat to the coolant allowing engines to run cooler and essentially last longer!

    ✓ Non-toxic
    ✓ Non-flammable
    ✓ Non-corrosive
    ✓ Biodegradable
    ✓ Easy to use
    ✓ Use on: ATVs, Automobiles, Diesels, RVs, & Tractors
    Last edited by Eggman; 02-11-2024 at 06:18 PM. Reason: Added to the chart

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    May I suggest trying these products specifically on the gunk found in a clogged heater core? If it disloves the gunk, great! If it doesn't, its not much use.

    The PH value of my coolant is checked yearly, and replaced if PH drifts off. That way, nothing gets clogged or needs to be flushed out in the first place.

    The coolant in my Mirage needed replacement after the first two years, and now three years later the second filling is still OK.

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    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    May I suggest trying these products specifically on the gunk found in a clogged heater core? If it disloves the gunk, great! If it doesn't, its not much use.
    That is the intent here - to cover the products and practices that can be used to address this problem and hopefully find a solution that works.

    Daox has opened up his old heater core - that could be used for testing. There's got to be something out there that can either dissolve or otherwise flush and remove the stuff.

    One concern of mine is if the coolant flush chemicals dissolve the gunk, would it also dissolve other parts of the cooling system?

    I suspect that the goo found in Daox's heater core is a silicone substance, possibly an additive used for lubrication and as a seal conditioner. Just a guess.
    Last edited by Eggman; 02-01-2019 at 10:30 AM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
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    I took the lazy man's approach to flush my coolant at 100k miles when I converted from blue Mitsubishi coolant to green Prestone.

    I drained the coolant from the radiator and topped the system off with distilled water. I drove around for a day or so, drained the coolant system again, and topped off with distilled water again. I repeated this for a week or so, until nothing but beautiful clear water came out of the system.

    Once I was confident the blue stuff was out of the system, I topped it off with concentrated green Prestone. I did this procedure in the summer. If you do this during the winter, you risk the pure distilled water freezing and causing engine damage.

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    ...drained the coolant from the radiator
    ...topped the system off with distilled water
    ...drove around for a day
    ...drained the coolant system again
    ...topped off with distilled water again
    ...repeated this for a week or so, until nothing but beautiful clear water came out
    That is also what I do. The capacity of the Mirage's cooling system is so small (I think it's only 1 gallon?!?), that you could probably do this method for $3 worth of distilled water.

    Any flush product you can buy over-the-counter is generally going to be really mild...and engineered for removing mild corrosion. I don't hold out a lot of hope for the usual flush products. Even the "Super-Mega-Ultra-Heavy Duty" flush chemicals you see at the auto parts store are pretty mild. Remember Doax tried 100% CLR in his heater core for 24 hours and it had zero effect.


    So let's talk about a more aggressive possibility...


    Back in the early 2000's Prestone specially developed an aggressive radiator cleaner for GM (Part Number 12346500 - Heavy Duty Cooling System Cleaner) when DexCool was causing issues. Improperly maintained DexCool could result in some really nasty sludge formation in radiators and heater cores (search Google images for "dex cool sludge").

    Anyway...this cleaner came in a POWDER form and contained 2 materials:

    • 9 dry oz of Oxalic Acid (acid/cleaner)
    • 2 dry oz of Sodium Carbonate (neutralizer)

    This product has since been discontinued. However, the following 2 materials can be used to duplicate Prestone's product:

    Acid/cleaner: Wood bleach (Oxalic Acid)
    Neutralizer: Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

    You clean the radiator with the acid...then follow it up with the soda to neutralize it.
    Note: Sodium carbonate is popularly known as ash or washing soda.


    If Doax wants to test this on his old heater core, I will pay for the materials.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Take care with oxalic acid! Inhaling small amounts of oxalic acid fumes causes formation of oxalic acid crystals in the blood vessels of the lungs, and gets caught in your kidneys...!

    Edit:
    The 3A90 / 3A92 engines are Mitsubishi's first high-pressure diecast engine blocks. High-pressure diecast tells us something about the complexity of the alloy.
    The gunk formed within the aluminium-alloy heater core is created by an acidic reaction with coolant and "auxillary products used in manufacturing" as one coolant maker wrote.
    The magnesium-based alloy of the motorblock reacts with acids (low PH value eats magnesium), but also reacts with a strong lye (high PH value eats aluminium), so please be careful.
    Last edited by foama; 02-01-2019 at 07:28 PM.

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    Still Plays With Cars Loren's Avatar
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    I did the same thing once just using vinegar.

    Drained and water-flushed the system. Added about a half-gallon of vinegar and drove it for a couple days. Then water-flushed again, and baking-soda flushed to neutralize.

    Vinegar is great mild acid for dissolving rust and various other things. I wouldn't leave it in there forever, as it would probably eat into some aluminum. And you absolutely want to neutralize any trace of vinegar that is left. But, after this kind of treatment, you should have a squeaky clean cooling system.
    Simplify and add lightness.

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    The gunk formed within the aluminium-alloy heater core is created by an acidic reaction with coolant and "auxillary products used in manufacturing" as one coolant maker wrote.
    The magnesium-based alloy of the motorblock reacts with acids (low PH value eats magnesium), but also reacts with a strong lye (high PH value eats aluminium), so please be careful.
    That's great info foama...and it explains why I wasn't a chemical engineer.

    Maybe this explains why VW doesn't have an easy solution for their problem. Their fix is to replace the heater core and flush the old coolant out.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Senior Member fc321's Avatar
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    My coolant is getting close to the Low mark (at the very top of the letter L):



    My car only has 15,800 miles but it is a car that sat on Dealer lot for 1 year before I purchased it in 2016 so it is 3 or maybe 4 years old. Should I drain the coolant and put new coolant?

    I watched a video from Scotty Kilmer the mechanic on YouTube and he recommended to drain and refill all the fluids at least every 1 year (or every 2 years] (brake, coolant) and to use an auto-siphon (aka transfer pump) to get the old fluid out for reservoirs that dont have a drain valve and to do this regardless of when the owners manual says they need a-changing.

    But is that "not worth bothering with" for a car that doesnt get driven very much like mine?

    What do you think about this stuff from Walmart for 7.99$ Says safe for 'ANY' car

    https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Tec...e-Mix/16928010

    Super Tech 50/50 Antifreeze/Coolant Pre-Mix:

    Compatible with any antifreeze/coolant
    For any vehicle with aluminum and other engine metals
    Meets or exceeds ASTM D3306 and D4985
    Corrosion protection
    Super Tech antifreeze provides freeze-up and boil-over protection
    Provides protection from extreme hot or cold for up to 5 years or 150,000 miles
    Super Tech coolant comes ready to use
    No water needs to be added before placing in vehicle


    Last edited by fc321; 02-01-2019 at 11:42 PM.
    2015 Mirage DE 5 speed Manual - 30k miles

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 44.9 mpg (US) ... 19.1 km/L ... 5.2 L/100 km ... 53.9 mpg (Imp)


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