Cascade as radiator flush?

[pontiacgp]

On the 94 it had the mechanical fan so I removed that and had to remove the shroud to get the fan out. The come out at the same time. The power steering pump also has to come off to get to a bolt. Also the pipe that the heater hose attaches to is sometimes rotted and damaged trying to remove it. I had a new one on hand just in case I needed it, the pipe is about $14 new.

 

[axisg]

Old School and maybe not EPA friendly but I was shown at a young age to use A&H Washing Soda or Tide powdered Laundry Detergent. Drain the cooling system and replace it with a mixture of 2 cups of powder mixed in a gallon of hot water ( washer fluid jug works great as you can see if all the crystals are dissolved ). Top the system off with straight water. Run it for a couple hours. Prefer to get it going for a run on the highway then flush until the water runs clear. Reverse flow the heater core while you are at it. Amazing the gunk that comes out. It does take a couple flushes to get all the crap out.

 

[Bonnewagon]

I could not find the liquid so I got the powder. But I did make sure I dissolved it in a pot of very hot water before I mixed that into a bucket of hot water. Poured it in, topped it off, and let it circulate a while, then after it cooled, I drained and flushed it. Yes, the heater core hose seemed clogged so I made sure I blew that out well. I'll say this, it did not foam, and in fact rinsed out pretty well. It was 55 degrees and rained cats and dogs all day so it was a perfect time for this operation. Tomorrow I tackle the pump. Steve, I had to pull both fans, and I managed to break the shroud on the clutch fan. I epoxied that back together today too. I then put the fan belt back on so I could run the pump for flushing. What a racket from the pump, like rocks grinding. I will be using the old fashioned green anti-freeze this time. I think the orange stuff caused the muck.

 

[pontiacgp]

what engine do you have with the hydraulic fans, I have an 04 Grand Cherokee special edition 4.0 which has the mechanical fan. My 03 Limited with the 4.7 has the hydraulic fans

 

[Bonnewagon]

It's a 2000 Cherokee with the 4.0 straight six. Two fans, one with the clutch and one electric. I also just noticed that the electric fan's shroud was busted at the tabs on the bottom. I'm epoxying it as we speak. What I will rave about is the state of the inside of the block. With the pump off I siphoned out the remaining water and wow is she clean inside. Looks like I hot tanked it. Now I have to wonder was there crud left inside when I last worked on it or did the orange coolant muck it up? I THOUGHT it was clean, but.....

 

[jeremyandthemonte]

i have put my radiator into our dishwasher since we dont use it and what the other guy said the packs work very well 😛

 

[FirstClass 383]

I have had an aluminum radiator in my 87 cutty now for going on 7 1/2 years ,it is as clean now as it was the first day i used it, i put distilled water in mine ALWAYS, and the antifreeze fluid is is still clear and clean like it did when i put in straight out of the jug, it is not a daily driver , i never drive it in the winter , just on the week ends and to the drag strip in the summer, even then it has never been flush and it is like i said clear and clean, a old man told me this trick with ditilled water long time ago. who needs all that hard water crap in your power plant

 

[jiho]

Now I have to wonder was there crud left inside when I last worked on it or did the orange coolant muck it up?

Three questions. 1) Is that a cast iron block? 2) Was the orange coolant like Dexcool, featuring "OAT" ("organic acid technology")? 3) Was the crud brown in color?

If the answer to all three is yes, then yes it was the coolant. It's the result of a chemical reaction that forms carbonic acid in the coolant, which attacks the cast iron, which causes rust, which appears as brown crud in the coolant.

(If I remember correctly from when I looked into this a few years ago, anyway. Always give yourself an out. 😀)

 

[Bonnewagon]

Jiho- yes, yes, and yes.

 

[pontiacgp]

If you read up on Dexcool the "experts" always say it is user error when Dexcool breaks down because it is left in too long. But they have never had an answer to what happens to the green antifreeze if it left in for over 80,000 miles.