Anyone ever found this in your radiator????

[Nacademus]

Hello everyone!

I was playing around with the 1008 and hooked up the heater core that had been DCed. Well, as I figured it would, when it got warm, she pissed coolant a little bit, so I shut her down a week and disconnected it again the next weekend.

Well, I know I lost some coolant so I was going to fill up the radiator. When I opened the **** cap, I found what LOOKED like a handful of grainy sugar that had made a crust about 5 inches from the top of the fill hole. That was where the coolant fell to.

Here is a pic:

It was rather hard, but not solid. Easily broken up with a screwdriver. I took a little chunk and was able to mash it between my fingers and it would almost dissolve.

Any idea what the **** this is?

Does the military use some form of stop-leak in their radiators? Should I be worried? I plan to pull the whole cooling system and flush it out by hand.

Could it be sand from casting?? If it was, it wouldn't have dissolved easily...

Confused.

 

[corelokt]

Did someone try the "egg in the radiator" repair?

 

[Nacademus]

Did someone try the "egg in the radiator" repair?

Doubtful. This is crusty. Wouldn't an egg essentially cook into fleshy matter within the coolant? Would the military even DO that?

Whatever that crust was...

Its gone now. No trace of it in the radiator-so I'll assume it simply dissolved. If it isn't dissolved, it has moved. I'm still flushing it. No clue what the heck it was and I'm not taking any chances.

 

[wreckerman893]

Now would be a good time to flush the system and put new coolant in there.

 

[Nacademus]

I intend to. Its gonna be quite a job, that's for sure.

 

[jedawson1]

I wonder if that was some sort of spot leak sealer that went wrong. Perhaps it was put in to stop a leak but not allowed to run long enough and solidified. What ever it is its nasty, I hope your able to flush it out.

 

[indy4x4fab]

They are more than like likely lime flakes, from using strait tap water.

 

[Warthog]

They are more than like likely lime flakes, from using strait tap water.

I agree.

 

[91W350]

Me three

 

[Nacademus]

They are more than like likely lime flakes, from using strait tap water.

Ahh, you may be onto something. But it wasn't straight tap water, it was antifreeze. Then again, one never really knows what was done during the time this truck was in service.

It dissolved. It appears to be completely gone now. I'll flush it more than one time with straight distilled water until it comes out completely clean. Maybe I'll run a hose directly to the filler hole and DC the bottom hose to let it run through for a good 20 minutes or so. IDK what to do really.

I was going to take the radiator out at run water forward and reverse through it to flush it out, but I really should take a good look at the water pump and passages now too. Once the radiator is removed that would make it a bit easier to check out those items.

What a fun Friday I will have. I have to redo a headgasket on a 235 straight 6 in a 54 Chevy on top of all this. The old car comes first. Hope I get enough daylight!

 

[gungearz]

I don't know... I've never seen stop leak crystallize like that before. Did you check to see if it was radioactive?.....lol

 

[Nacademus]

I don't know... I've never seen stop leak crystallize like that before. Did you check to see if it was radioactive?.....lol

If it is radioactive, I'll know as soon as my finger sprouts a tumor. It wouldn't be the first time I probed a questionable hole with it. Me and this finger go way back.

 

[gungearz]

Lol.... PG-13..

 

[Nacademus]

Oh snap. :X lol

 

[gungearz]

Are you going to Haspin in October?

 

[indy4x4fab]

Ahh, you may be onto something. But it wasn't straight tap water, it was antifreeze. Then again, one never really knows what was done during the time this truck was in service.

Lime will dissolve in hot water. I usually start and run the truck while I am flushing the engine because the water pump will also brake the flakes up, it is basically a blender while the engines running. But it sounds like you on the right path, flush run strait water start truck, drain, flush, drain, fill, watch closely for the next couple of months and should be good to go. Those flakes can plug up head gasket coolant ports and cause hot spots on the head which will lead to a head gasket failure.

 

[Nacademus]

Are you going to Haspin in October?

If I can get this truck reliable and on good rubber, I'd love to go!

 

[gungearz]

We are all here to help

 

[lindyp38]

which way is the radiator drain petcock turned to allow for draining....?

i still get confused on that one.....id like to flush the radiator .....thanks....

 

[gungearz]

Counter clockwise...