Cleaning gunk from cooling system

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Russell Patterson - 17 Jun 2008 16:37 GMT

My daughter "abandoned" her 95 Camaro with us. No tags in the
driveway and it's paid off, so it's not costing me anything, other
than lost potential of selling it. One thing she failed to do was to
get the cooling system flushed and now gunk has built up somewhat in
the system.

Is there a relatively easy way to attach a pump somewhere in the
system with the intake coming from either fresh water or filtered
water from a holding tank(bucket) that could be left in place over a
period of time to clean it up? Are there any safe chemicals that
would help dissolve the gunk? I gather the gunk is merely broken down
coolant. Do I need to run the engine while the flushing is taking
place?

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John Selph - 17 Jun 2008 21:53 GMT

There are several options for this problem. You could just open the drain
and put a hose in the filler and let water run through it, but that only
takes care of the surface contamination. There are a number of different
cleaning chemicals that you put in the radiator and run the engine, but
these are usually used when the vehicle is driven so that the chemicals
circulate throughout the entire cooling system. The last item is a "flush
kit" that includes a "T" that is installed in the heater hose and allows you
to backflush the system. I would recommend a combination of chemicals and
backflush to clean the system as much as possible. If there is any blockage
in the radiator, then it will need to be serviced by a radiator shop.
HTH,
John

> My daughter "abandoned" her 95 Camaro with us. No tags in the
> driveway and it's paid off, so it's not costing me anything, other
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
> coolant. Do I need to run the engine while the flushing is taking
> place?

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