Cooling system cleanliness

[freedom_in_4low]

I've started disassembly for a water pump/thermostat/hose replacement. I just did a thermocure flush and the system was spotless when I closed it up, so I had planned to reuse the G05 (5 year) but was disappointed to see this. When I opened it up.

Brown and cloudy under the cap.

Rust? Mud? Sediment in the bottom of the res.

The little bit of coolant I drained from the bottom of the radiator looked relatively ok except for some dark junk that settled into the bottom of the bucket.

I typically thought of thermocure as an occasional thing for neglected systems, not a biannual event. Do I need to do it again already? Just flush with distilled and put in new coolant? Let the junk settle out and put this stuff back in?

 

[Crom]

I saw a similar condition with my original 2006 OEM reservoir tank. The easiest solution is to replace the reservoir tank, flush the system, and not think about it until the next time you see a lot of sediment in the bottom of the tank.

Do not try to take the cheap way out and clean the reservoir tank. I tried that route and could not get the tank clean enough. Besides new reservoir tanks from Rock Auto are relatively inexpensive and ship quickly.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I saw a similar condition with my original 2006 OEM reservoir tank. The easiest solution is to replace the reservoir tank, flush the system, and not think about it until the next time you see a lot of sediment in the bottom of the tank.

Do not try to take the cheap way out and clean the reservoir tank. I tried that route and could not get the tank clean enough. Besides new reservoir tanks from Rock Auto are relatively inexpensive and ship quickly.

Yeah....I know how inexpensive they are...cause the old one had a hole in it and was one of the things I replaced two years ago.

I've definitely seen worse than this...it just surprised me that it would be at this point just two years from being clean enough to eat off of. I buy and sell cars so quickly im not sure I've had more than one or two long enough to replace the coolant twice, so I don't have a frame of reference on how quickly it should degrade in appearance, or how to tell from appearance how bad things really are.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Bump, because I know there are people here that have looked at their coolant approx 2 years after a flush.

It's funny the stuff school doesn't teach you. I have half a dozen books on my shelf that tell me how to account for fouling in a heat exchanger but I don't have the experience to look at some coolant and use my calibrated eyeball to decide how close it is to the point that it should be thermocured or just flushed and replaced or filtered and put back in and that frustrates the hell out of me.

 

[red02tj]

I had the same questions. This was mine. Thermocure in Sept - pic from June. Found Thermocure on clearance for $0.35 so I did it again.

 

[L J]

Bump, because I know there are people here that have looked at their coolant approx 2 years after a flush.

This is my '06 today and going on five years of GO5. (I've never done a chemical flush and this is a P.O.S. Griffin)

 

[JPHikr]

Not sure why you call the Griffin a POS?

We have one in the Rubican and it cools even when I leave it idling for 20-30 minutes while I an in the store on 115 plus days.

You could plumb in a coolant filter in to the heater lines.

https://www.fleetfilter.com/filter/24070.html

 

[freedom_in_4low]

This is my '06 today and going on five years of GO5. (I've never done a chemical flush and this is a P.O.S. Griffin)

View attachment 442962

Wth. So mine is definitely not normal for 2 years then. Guess I'll grab some thermocure.

Unfortunately no one stocks it in my area so I have to order, but O'Reilly can supposedly have it later today.

 

[mrblaine]

I've started disassembly for a water pump/thermostat/hose replacement. I just did a thermocure flush and the system was spotless when I closed it up, so I had planned to reuse the G05 (5 year) but was disappointed to see this. When I opened it up.

Brown and cloudy under the cap.

View attachment 442795

Rust? Mud? Sediment in the bottom of the res.

View attachment 442797

The little bit of coolant I drained from the bottom of the radiator looked relatively ok except for some dark junk that settled into the bottom of the bucket.

View attachment 442798

I typically thought of thermocure as an occasional thing for neglected systems, not a biannual event. Do I need to do it again already? Just flush with distilled and put in new coolant? Let the junk settle out and put this stuff back in?

We use the Prestone or equivalent drive around flush before the Thermocure. Then we remove the thermostat and do several 5-10 minute circulations of hose water until we get it draining out absolutely clear and clean with no hint of off color or cloudiness before we start back in with distilled.

Anyone that has trouble getting the coolant reservoir clean can try a soak with Simple Green on the inside. Cleans them up pretty well for us.

 

[mrblaine]

Not sure why you call the Griffin a POS?

He doesn't like their logo, or, a statistical sample of 1 is worthless.

We have one in the Rubican and it cools even when I leave it idling for 20-30 minutes while I an in the store on 115 plus days.

You could plumb in a coolant filter in to the heater lines.

https://www.fleetfilter.com/filter/24070.html

No one questions their ability to cool. We do however very much despise the fact that they fail a lot more often than they should for what they charge for them.

 

[L J]

Not sure why you call the Griffin a POS?

I paid close to five hundred dollars (pre-Chinese lung AIDS) and it started leaking three years later = P.O.S. I.M.H.O.

 

[06lj]

The best way I found to clean my reservoir was with crushed ice. I added crushed ice, a little bit of water and then just shook the crap out of it. The ice does a great job of scouring the deposits off the sides. It took me a few times to get all of the crud off. It worked great and didn't require rinsing out any chemicals. I was going to replace my coolant and washer fluid resivours but after cleaning then I didn't see any need.

 

[RMETeeJay]

Brown and cloudy under the cap.

I would guess (unless you're the original owner) that someone ran straight water, leading to corrosion of the block. Keep draining and refilling with a good quality 50/50 mix to slow down the existing corrosion.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

We use the Prestone or equivalent drive around flush before the Thermocure. Then we remove the thermostat and do several 5-10 minute circulations of hose water until we get it draining out absolutely clear and clean with no hint of off color or cloudiness before we start back in with distilled.

I think I'm gonna skip the prestone this time (seems like I remember that being more for mineral scale, which I don't see any signs of, but correct me if I have that wrong) and go straight for the thermocure and follow the rest of the process you describe. I've never done it with the thermostat out before so I'm looking forward to (hopefully) how much more quickly I can achieve the clear water coming out.

Anyone that has trouble getting the coolant reservoir clean can try a soak with Simple Green on the inside. Cleans them up pretty well for us.

I have a well with great water pressure and the sediment must be relatively fresh, spraying it out with the "jet" position on my trigger nozzle cleaned it out in about 0.7 seconds.

 

[BlueC]

The best way I found to clean my reservoir was with crushed ice.

That's a pretty good idea. I usually just pull the inner tube and scrub with a bottle brush and dish soap, but I like the ice idea.

 

[mrblaine]

I think I'm gonna skip the prestone this time (seems like I remember that being more for mineral scale, which I don't see any signs of, but correct me if I have that wrong) and go straight for the thermocure and follow the rest of the process you describe. I've never done it with the thermostat out before so I'm looking forward to (hopefully) how much more quickly I can achieve the clear water coming out.

Thermostat out is the only way to do it without spending several hours on it. It is miserable waiting on it to get up to temp to open the thermostat and start circulating for 10 cycles.

I have a well with great water pressure and the sediment must be relatively fresh, spraying it out with the "jet" position on my trigger nozzle cleaned it out in about 0.7 seconds.

Then you aren't one that is trying to get rid of the brown stain that looks like a non existent coolant level.

 

[freedom_in_4low]

I would guess (unless you're the original owner) that someone ran straight water, leading to corrosion of the block. Keep draining and refilling with a good quality 50/50 mix to slow down the existing corrosion.

not the original owner, purchased in November 2020, went immediately to the suspension build and didn't drive it again until February 2021, when I immediately did a prestone and thermocure flush with a new thermostat because the thermostat gasket was leaking and I figured, might as well. I was pleasantly surprised at the time of how rust-free it was in the head behind the thermostat, and had no reason to suspect the block would be any different.

One thing I question in my flush process though is since I was living at 7,500' elevation in February, I didn't drain the radiator and refill with Thermocure and water per their instructions, I just drained enough to make room for the thermocure and topped it back off with what came out. I won't have that problem this time...

What's odd though is even 6-12 months later it looked nearly new under the cap and the bottle still looked like fresh G05. This seems to have developed within the last year.

 

[mrblaine]

The best way I found to clean my reservoir was with crushed ice. I added crushed ice, a little bit of water and then just shook the crap out of it. The ice does a great job of scouring the deposits off the sides. It took me a few times to get all of the crud off. It worked great and didn't require rinsing out any chemicals. I was going to replace my coolant and washer fluid resivours but after cleaning then I didn't see any need.

Can I send you a couple to clean for me?

 

[freedom_in_4low]

Then you aren't one that is trying to get rid of the brown stain that looks like a non existent coolant level.

I've seen that, but don't have that problem fortunately, but it's a 2 year old bottle that's only had nasty coolant for maybe a few months to a year.

 

[RMETeeJay]

What's odd though is even 6-12 months later it looked nearly new under the cap and the bottle still looked like fresh G05. This seems to have developed within the last year.

That is odd. When you flush, do you use tap water? I don't like to flush with tap because I know that some of it will remain in the system. I just drain out from the block and refill with 50/50 distilled.