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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 21 Stud Coolant Flush Tips & Tricks Needed

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 21 Stud Coolant Flush Tips & Tricks Needed     nelsb01 06-19-2016 @ 12:19 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 983 Joined: Oct 2009 Jeff; There are several opinions on radiator removal. Some say you can do it without removing the grille, others say to remove at least the grille. No matter which way you go, do yourself a favor and cut a piece of cardboard to cover the fins toward the engine, and tape it to the radiator (duct tape, the handyman's helper to the rescue here). The black stuff you show in your hand in one of the pictures sure does look like decomposing rubber. I believe that Tom is right when he says that the radiator looks like it should go to a radiator shop to be cleaned. You may try to flush it yourself when it is out, but some of that 'slime' that your pictures show may not be water soluble. Either way, you will have something to work on. Hint for hose installation when that time comes-- smear a little grease on the inside of the new hoses -- but just enough to cover the distance that the hose covers the radiator, block, and water pump connections. CharlieStephens 06-19-2016 @ 11:08 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 893 Joined: Oct 2009 Jeff, Remember that there should also be two drains at the front of the block. They may have been replaced with pipe plugs. Your first picture looks like someone has been overlubing the water pumps using water proof grease. Charlie Stephens This message was edited by CharlieStephens on 6-19-16 @ 11:09 AM VT/JeffH 06-19-2016 @ 10:12 AM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 153 Joined: May 2010 Photo of underside of radiator, no drains. How hard is it to get the radiator out and back in? -VT/JeffH This message was edited by VT/JeffH on 6-19-16 @ 10:13 AM VT/JeffH 06-18-2016 @ 3:59 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 153 Joined: May 2010 Hi Tom, Thanks for your helpful comments. If I'm correct we crossed paths most recently at Motorfest last year. Yes on rad drains. There are 2 holes in the crosswise piece the radiator sits on, but no drains in those two holes like the '36 Phaeton I now own. All I could figure to drain it was yank the lower hoses. They are done, badly done. Radiator seems to have original type mounting, but no large tank at top like the '36. I wasn't really looking, and this car just found me least week. Every other old car I've ever been involved with (about 100!) has been owned by my Dad, Henry. He passed in 2013 and this is the first one I've ever actually paid for with my own money! I've taken it from the garage it's been in for 53 years. It's really tired. And even though Wife and Mom like the paint colors, I don't. Yes I said colors. Metal-flake Green body and Black fenders. But because of the long ownership, it's 90% there and original, but needs all systems evaluated and almost all rebuilt. Not sure about the future for it but certainly would like to NOT blow it up or break it. I figure if the engine starts and runs well, and it does, and the cooling system is kaput, that is first on the list. The car doesn't overheat, as I'd call it. But the visuals are more than disturbing! As you guessed, being unfamiliar with the car, I don't want to begin by taking it off the road, hence ideas for in-place, well, band-aid's to keep it going through the summer safely, is what I'm trying first. -VT/JeffH This message was edited by VT/JeffH on 6-18-16 @ 4:13 PM TomO 06-18-2016 @ 8:05 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7256 Joined: Oct 2009 Jeff, if it were mine, I would remove the radiator and flush it from the bottom to remove the debris at the top and then turn it over to flush from the top to remove the debris at the bottom. If that did not work, (and it did not on my radiator), I would take it to a radiator shop. They had to rod mine out in order to remove the debris. If you did not want to remove the radiator, you could use a hot water heater adapter in the upper hoses and a flushing T to force water in the reverse direction. You would have to block off the hoses above the adapter to force the water through the block and bottom hoses. I would not try this until I had flushed the block and the bottom of the radiator and installed the new lower hoses. Did you look at the bottom of the radiator for the drain petcock? You could not reach it from above. Flush the block from the top. Good luck. Tom This message was edited by TomO on 6-18-16 @ 8:11 AM VT/JeffH 06-17-2016 @ 6:21 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 153 Joined: May 2010 Photo 3 VT/JeffH 06-17-2016 @ 6:20 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 153 Joined: May 2010 Photo 2 This message was edited by VT/JeffH on 6-17-16 @ 6:22 PM VT/JeffH 06-17-2016 @ 6:19 PM reply profile send p.m. New Member Posts: 153 Joined: May 2010 Hi Everyone, I've gotta do a cooling system flush. I'm looking for a clever way to force water upwards from the lower hose out the filler neck with the radiator in the car. Car is a '35. Engine is a '37-ish block with earlier heads w/pumps in heads and blockoff plates. Radiator doesn't have drain cocks at the bottom. Sorta seems like a '35 small radiator but not certain. Pulled lower hoses to drain earlier this week. Hoses deteriorated from probably decades of oil dripping on them. I put them back on. New hoses coming. So I'm draining it again and looking for suggestions for flushing the radiator and if possible block. The debris seems like it may be from the hoses. -VT/JeffH

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