I heard this today from an old dimer who I reguard as quite knowledgable. He said to use it for a couple days to clean the cooling system out, then change the fluid... Never heard this before. What say you guys?
Takes scale and lime buildup out of my coffee maker, I don't know why it wouldn't in a car, if it was strong enough.
Run Vinegar with distilled water, run it for a couple days, drain and do it over and over until no more rust comes out. You will be amazed at how much crap comes out with this treatment, when done flush well with water and use a good blend of water and antifreeze. Just a couple words of caution, "VINEGAR EATS ALUMINUM". Just make sure that you do not use the vinegar in too high of a concentration, you will be fine.
done it..works great also you can try citric acid..but its tuff to squeeze that many oranges into the fill neck
I pulled the thermostat and ran straight vinegar in my 1957 Chevy truck for a day, next day I flushed it with water and a ton of brownish-blackish crap out of the cooling system. I flushed the radiator again for the next two days (it's my daily driver usually) and on the third day I added a spoonful of baking soda to kill the acidity. No problems here! FYI my truck has a small block Chevy with an aluminum Performer intake and the original brass radiator.
Did you give it enough time? You can completely dissolve most of a Holley 94 if you forget you left it soaking in a bucket for a couple weeks...
I have a aluminum radiator. Would it be a bad Idea to try this? If I can what would be the proper mix ratio of water to vinegar? Since someone said vinegar will eat aluminum..
Wow. Guess it does work based on the replies here! I've honestly never heard this before. It's an O/T car that's in need of help. FWD 4 cyl with an aluminum head and rad... I'll give it a shot, and I'll be careful... I'll report back what happens. Thanks guys!
dont leave it in to long. ph level is low in vinegar so it eats through stuff (hence rust and dirt being gone) it will eat through metal. there was a diet a few years back that told people to drink a shot of vinegar every day. it worked great because it ate small holes in the stomache and let food out into the body. so just dont leave it to long.
She left it in 3 days of normal driving. Added 1 gallon to the system. It will eat an aluminum carb because it eats aluminum faster. This was in a cast iron manifold 350 with copper radiator.
Mix 1 cup of vinegar to 1 Gallon water. Mix enough solution to fill your system. twice. Add a small can of soluable oil for the waterpump. Fill system and run till at operating temperature. Leave in for two days. Drain and flush till water runs clear. Repeat.Never heard of adding in Baking soda to neutraize the acid, but I guess it wouldn't hurt. Your antifreeze has acid neutralizers in it.
unless you are running one of the really old style water pumps with gland nuts and rope type packings, this step is not needed. all modern{mid to late 50's and newer} pumps use sealed bearings.
The reason for the baking soda is to keep from eating through your freeze plugs, especially if they are of the pot metal type. Ask me how I know. This works real good on motors that have set for a while with water in the block. I use one gallon of vinegar and fill the rest with water, run it for a couple of days, rinse and repeat until nothing but clear water comes out. Robert
Back in science class in school we took a small Coke bottle,filled it half full of vinegar,added 2 tablespoons of baking soda ,corked the top and in a matter of minutes the cork was blown through the dropped ceiling panel,so be careful on how much you put into the system.never did that shit again after hearing about some kid doing it with a thin bottle and it cut him up pretty good.
I know that if ya put a drop of vinegar in ya dogs drinking water , it stops the grass dying !!!!! hahah And that bit of info came from a Trad Rodder here.
ive been using it for almost 10 years now. started using it on my bikes, then put it in my work truck. and its a 1996 with 206000 miles on it! and running the same radiator it came with! no leaks. crazy good!
I'm very familiar with Evan's Coolant. Yes, it is good stuff. The only beef I got with the product is what they charge for it.... So I [personally] would never put it into one of my POS rust bucket leaks everything junk ass daily drivers! But for anyone else, who has a DD that actually costs money, or isn't a total piece-o-crap, by all means, YES!!! Go with Evan's! Just so we are clear here. The vehicle in question is a '90 Tempo, and it was given to me for free cuz it's so rusty the previous owner couldn't sell it.... But it runs very good
drive it till it dies!!!! i have a friend who has a dodge intrepid with 250,000 miles on it. he got it for free! and drives it all over the country. and before he leaves he calls me to say hey let see how far i can make it before it dies! that car keeps running.
A quart of apple cider vinegar in the cooling system does a great job flushing out the whole system. You only need to drive around a day or two. Smells funny but is a good old trick.
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