ok guys here is the question.. have a 73 am restoring for my boy..car has the origional radiator that has a hole in it and the seam is leaking bad...bought a new 3 core aluminum radiator that is capable of cooling a 750 hp motor....question is i know i have to flush the block but am not really wanting to put in the new radiator and flush the block with the new rad in...bad rad wont last long enough to do the flush....will it hurt the new rad? or shoud i takke a water hose to the block w/o thermostat and try and flush that way? any ideas would be greatly appriciated as i have the new headlinner, new carpet, in a box in my room and windsheild gaskets ordered and will get them anyday..:bananaman also want to thank all the mav fans for the great articles and advice its great to see so many people come4 togeather for the cause thanks again
You should be able to flush most of the loose stuff without running the engine(just pull the T-stat) and pump water through one of the radiator hoses and eject it out the other.To really flush it you need to have it hot (so the flush solvent does its job) to loosen up and remove the scale build up.You could allways use the new rad and put a filter in the upper hose or....put an old nylon stocking over the rad inlet and put the hose on it to hold it all in place.The stocking will act as a filter to trap crud before it gets into the radiator.If the engine is really crusty though you will have to clear the filter regularly till you are done.
No as long as you purchase one meant for aluminum rads you will be fine.Most of the over the counter products will not harm copper/brass or aluminum so you should be fine...just be certain when you buy it.Good luck!!!
