Hey Guys, I have been working on my friends 67 Coronet that he put a 360 in. We bought a used 26" radiator at a swap meet for $30 and put it in. The car is getting a little warm and when I feel the front of the radiator some areas are cooler than others. I took it back out and ran a hose in it and the water came out as fast as it was going in. But I did get some junk to come out and there is some scale built up in it. Is there any product or home remedies that would clean it out or should I bring it to get cooked at a radiator shop?

Thanks Scott!

I have used a mild solution of LYE ... but be careful too harsh of a solution will EAT UP the cores.

Years ago, I knew someone who capped the lower hose fitting and filled the radiator with CLR and let it sit a while, then flushed it out...seemed to help abit

(I just would have brought it to the local radiator shop myself and let them boil it out )

How warm, what stat, Check the stat opening suspended in a pot of water on the stove w a candy thermometer, drill 1/16" hole for easier fillup/air pockets, around town or hiway, what fan, shroud?, fan spacing, timing good. The 360 ran cool in the donor?, call the rad shop & at least price a boilout

The radiator shop should be able to remove the tanks and rod it out if the core is worthy

I also used the CLR method by laying the rad on it's front with cap on. Fill it 2/3 of the way with CLR and slosh it around every 30 minutes or so for an afternoon. If it is calcium scale from using tap water, it will dissolve in a few hours.
If you can see the tubes inside, you can see which are plugged when you slosh it back and forth.
It is a cheap fix if it works!
Hope this helps.

Thanks Guys, It's going to the radiator shop so we know its done right!

Scott!

I was always told to fill it with white vingar, like when cleaning a coffee pot. Vingar is a excellent cleaning agent.