I want to keep rust out of the engine water ports.

The radiator HAD water in it, but it appears to have evaporated. Now there are bits of rust inside the neck of the radiator. I wiped out a sample. (pic)

I suspect there is more rust in the radiator and probably in the engine block. So before I start the engine and run a chemical flush through the system, this is what I thought of doing....

A) Disconnect both upper and lower radiator hoses.
B) Put garden hose in the upper and turn on.
C) After that initial flush, clog both upper and lower radiator hoses with rags.
D) Pour in CLR and hot water.
E) Let set overnight.
F) Flush out upper to lower again.

Will this remove any and all build up in the radiator?

After this flush, I'll reconnect the radiator hoses ad run a chemical flush through the system, like Prestone Super Three Day Flush or ?????

Opinions... TIA

 

Welcome to the 1964Daimler,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to MKI / MKII S type 240 340 & Daimler forum. This is the place to post tech questions about your model.

Graham

 

there is no perfect science about this but I do not think CLR is the proper product to use. Instead, use Prestone Super Flush which is safe for aluminum and other metals used in Jaguar engines.

also, I would remove the Thermostat temporarily, reinstall thermostat housing without thermostat for the sole purpose of flushing, (you will need a new gasket for the final / permanent install). and I would open the block drain spigot located behind the manifolds on the exhaust side of the block, THEN attach a garden hose to the thermostat housing and allow water to circulate in and out under pressure. Then repeat from the opposite side, (reverse flush).

The radiator I would remove and take it for a cleaning job and pressure testing at a radiator shop.

since you only do this every 3 to 5 years, it is worth doing it thoroughly. Refill with a mix of 60/40 Prestone Coolant/Anti-freeze. (mix 6 quarts Prestone with 4 quarts water to dilute it at a 60% to 40% ratio). Do not add any "stop-leak" products, all they do is clog the system.

 

Jose - Thank you for the post and insights.
Yes, agree: flush with Prestone and also do a reverse flush ( though I've never done one ).

But what I wrote of was doing a cleaning of the radiator BEFORE doing a flush with the engine running. I want to keep any bits of rust from circulating into the engine during the Prestone flush.

That's why I noted CLR. It doesn't require heat. Just add to room temperture water and let sit. The Prestone flush requires the engine to operating, the water pump moving the mixture, and all going thru in both the engine and the radiator, being circulated.

Is heated water needed for a Prestone flush to be effective?
Or can I just put it into an intentionally clogged radiator and let it set?

 

as far as I know heated water is not neccesary for Prestone Super flush to work, but you do need to circulate it, that's why I have removed the thermostat temporarily, so I don't have to wait for the thermostat to open and allow circulation.

if the radiator is clogged I would remove it from the car, laying it on its back on a level surface and filing it with everything you can find, CLR included. Prestone Super Flush is a gentle chemical, not enough to unclog. If the CLR does not unclog it, time to recore the radiator. There are more efficient cores now available, such as the "V" core which I used on my recore, it was done by a radiator shop.

 

I went out and bought CLR. The directions on the container state not to use on aluminum. A quick magnet test on the radiator suggests it is made of aluminum. So using CLR is probably out.


Last night, I removed both the upper and lower radiator hoses.
I flushed out the radiator with a garden hose.
Lots of rust and crud, but eventually it ran clear.

Then I clogged each the hoses with old t-shirts and reattached the hoses.
Now it's a clogged system.
I was going to fill with a diluted CLR mixture and let sit for about five minutes and flush again, but have reconsidered.

Thoughts and opinions...


Or I was thinking of using Prestone radiator flush and letting it sit.
I want to clear out the radiator BEFORE the reverse flush.
( Bought the kit for $3.53 )

 

check this flushing kit:

POWERCLEAN? Flush Tool For Cooling System | Gates Corporation

 

I'll call around and see if I can rent this...

BTW, where is the drain spigot/plug under the engine?

I ooked in and around the exhaust manifold and cannot find it. Then I went to a guy who had one some 30 years ago, and he said it will be like a radiator drain **** where all I have to do is twist to drain.

Looking but cannot find it ....

 

the block drain spigot looks like the picture below, usually silver in color.

it would be located behind the exhaust manifolds in the 3.4, 3.8, and 4.2 liter Jaguar XK engines, but if the engine is the 2.5 liter V8, I don't know where it might be or even if it has it.

 

The Daimler V8 does not have the taps described by Jose. There are two drain plugs near the front of the engine with hexagonal headed bungs in place. I don't remember the size. But they are easily accessed from underneath at the front of the engine. The radiator does have the drain tap operated by the remote arm from the top of the radiator.

 

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I'm looking for these darin plugs. I jacked up the car, and I found these, both on each sde of the engine. Are these the drain plugs?

 

I do believe they are. It has been a long time since I restored my engine but they look familiar.

 

I'd say the radiator is copper and not aluminium, if its original

 

I back flushed the cooling system.
Everything came out CLEAR!
No rust, no gunk.... thank you, God, for taking time to away from the woes of the universe to make my radiator functional !

There was some jelly-like orange junk accumulated at the thermostat.
So I removes the thermostat, cleaned it, and tested in boiling water.
It opened like a mussel in a plate of marrinara linguini.
( Thanks for the extra blessing, God... )

Rather than cut into existing heater water hoses/lines to insert the water T permanently for the flush as the kit advises, the end of the existing line was removed, fitted with the new T-Insert, and a second water hose was fitted onto the engine. I don't like to cut any type of lines if at all possible, and this way make the removal of the T-fitting and back to normal set-up much easier.

Will flush with Prestone as the engine and system fires up again.

Question: what's the best method to remove rust from cement?
The first drain left the orange stain of shame on the driveway.... God's punishment for lack of maintenance ( Sorry, OminiponentOne ... lesson learned ).

Sprayed a bit of CLR, and that removed some, but there's still a faint sheen in some areas and dark orange in other areas. Ideas?

 

good job,

to remove stains from cement, I use a water pressure machine, nothing else does it. Harbor Greight has a nice electric water pressure machine for around $90.00 that is pretty good, also good for washing the engine compartment.

 

Thanks, Jose!
For this response and all the other responses to my many questions!
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.

I will pressure wash, but should I pretreet with anything specific to rust?

 

you're welcome, I would just use more CLR, "R" is for RUST".

 

hi there
there is a drain tap that will dump the whole coolant load . Go to the bottom of the radiator and look for a spigot poking out. Some are spring loaded so you push the bottom part up into the barrel. Also turn the top which will look more like a tap..
as replacement parts are freely available it really does exist and is really fast.

 

There is a drain tap at the bottom of the radiator and another one at the rear of the block behind the Exhaust manifolds. I would suggest you have the radiator re-cored with an uprated tropical core/ If it's an original radiator it's brass.

 

This is an 8 year old thread, I'm sure the OP has figured it out by now.