Radiator Flush

[Bendar]

Hey there, I just picked up my car from the mechanics yesterday after getting a major service done and he told me that the radiator cap was stuffed which has left my radiator full of rusty water which he said that has gone through the block, he told me that he got most of it out but he mentioned that I should flush it again after a couple of hundred kms.

Now what I would like to know is if I should use some radiator flush and then put in the coolant or should I just empty it and fill it back up with coolant.

Also would anyone know that with this rusty water running through my block would it cause any major issues for my engine??

[lighty01]

rusty water going through the block is not a good idea.

it can lead to jets being blocked etc.

just dump it and refill will quality fluid.

[Bl4cK32]

if you wanna make sure its done good, use one of them flush bottles first, drive round then dump and refill with coolant.

Or just go to a radiator place, and get em to power flush it, and do a leak test...that way u know its clean, and u wont have any troubles.

[GTAAAH]

Cost me $120 to get it pro flushed, but my block still had some of the water in it so i flushed that myself with a hose.. you'll need to remove the thermostat or heat the car up to flush the block tho

[Bendar]

if you wanna make sure its done good, use one of them flush bottles first, drive round then dump and refill with coolant.

Or just go to a radiator place, and get em to power flush it, and do a leak test...that way u know its clean, and u wont have any troubles.

Thats what I was thinking of doing, but I wasn't to sure as to weather or not I have caused any damage with letting some rusty water run through.

[Jmaac]

It'll be fine, if its been sitting for years with no inhibitor you might have some problems elsewhere but not the block itself (i.e. thermostat spring, w/pump bearings etc.) it'll eat the alloy head but . There are no jets that will get blocked, the passages/galleries are huge anyways however its probably not too good for an old radiator full of muck.

Driving around now after its been cleaned should dislodge anything thats been left behind

Just flush the block properly (bolt under exhaust manifold) with water, and either pressure flush (~30 - 40$) or reverse flush the radiator with a hose and fill with distilled water and some glycol inhibitor

[MrStabby]

Remember that RBs have an air bleed for the cooling system, as the engine is higher than the radiator. Its at the top of the motor at the front on the drivers side.... you probably need a photo if you dont know where it is already.

[Bendar]

Remember that RBs have an air bleed for the cooling system, as the engine is higher than the radiator. Its at the top of the motor at the front on the drivers side.... you probably need a photo if you dont know where it is already.

Photo would be handy. Excuse my ignorance but what is the air bleed used for?

[Jmaac]

When you fill the radiator, a big air bubble gets trapped in the top of the alloy head. This means that the head, which is very sensitive to heat changes, has less water circulating around it thus less heat is being removed. W/out doing it you may find the car overheats alot easier/warps heads etc.

This happens because the radiator is sitting at the wrong height. I know the Rb30's had two bleed screws, one near the water temp sensor and one ontop of the plenum. Head cracking from air being trapped is very common in VL's and they tried remedying it by dropping the s2 Vl frontend and inch i believe (if anyone noticed the inch difference between s1 + s2 front bumpers)

[Bendar]

When you fill the radiator, a big air bubble gets trapped in the top of the alloy head. This means that the head, which is very sensitive to heat changes, has less water circulating around it thus less heat is being removed. W/out doing it you may find the car overheats alot easier/warps heads etc.

This happens because the radiator is sitting at the wrong height. I know the Rb30's had two bleed screws, one near the water temp sensor and one ontop of the plenum. Head cracking from air being trapped is very common in VL's and they tried remedying it by dropping the s2 Vl frontend and inch i believe (if anyone noticed the inch difference between s1 + s2 front bumpers)

ok, so I guess that would be the last thing you would want to happen... Any chance for some pics as to what it looks like?