would you put this in your cooling system?

[bastianshaw]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bar_Keepers_Friend

it contains oxalic acid and I have heard of people just running soap or stain remover...

[DÌEGØ]

[paperplane94]

Like Barkeepers friend?

[jlevie]

Oxalic acid used to be commonly available as a cooling system flush. With the introduction of aluminum radiators and heater cores the products have disappeared. Oxalic acid attacks aluminum. There are cases where it still appropriate, like when a cooling system is heavily rusted from the use of plain water. But in those cases the radiator and heater core need to be replaced after cleaning. Partly because of the affect of the acid and partly because they'll be plugged with rust.

[jrobie79]

I put a new engine into my m42, and it looked like the cooling system was kind of rusty, but left the heater core and radiator, which were clean (old motor did not have rust in cooling system).

Can you recommend any other products that would help with the rust in my cooling system that wont attack my clean HC and rad?

I've used prestone radiator cleaner 3 times already and the water still comes out a little rust colored

[jlevie]

The detergent type flush that you get these days will only remove loose rust from the system. To clear it you have to use oxalic acid. As to radiator replacement, best practice is to replace it, and most every other part of the cooling system every 10 years or 100k. The fan clutch, water pump, and thermostat are not so time sensitive and can be skipped if they have significantly less mileage on them. The radiator, expansion tank, cap, and all hoses are time sensitive.

[jrobie79]

ok, ill have to leave it as is for now, I can't afford to be buying a new radiator and heater core at the moment.