The Vinegar Treatment

[Richard in Florida]

Is running straight vinegar in the cooling system SAFE for Skip's water pumps (seals) and for aluminum heads?

[37ford4dr]

are you proposing this just to clean the system? vinegar has different levels of acidity so we need to know the level of acidity you are suggesting.

[olejalopy]

i think rariator flush is cheaper

[Richard in Florida]

Originally Posted by 37ford4dr

are you proposing this just to clean the system? vinegar has different levels of acidity so we need to know the level of acidity you are suggesting.

The threads here that have discussed this at length mention 5%. We're talking about ordinary 5% white vinegar that you buy in supermarkets.

The reported method is to completely fill the entire cooling system with white vinegar, which in my case would be about five gallons, run it for a week or so, then drain it and flush the system before adding new normal coolant.

Several people have reported excellent results and no problems.

[Richard in Florida]

Originally Posted by olejalopy

i think rariator flush is cheaper

I dunno... maybe. White vinegar is about $5 a gallon.

[37ford4dr]

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i dont know anything about skips water pumps, i guess i would probably just use water several times to flush the system. just out of curiosity i may put a rusty nail or rusty piece of metal in a cup of vinegar and see what kind of scale comes off of it. the vinegar will certainly mildly etch metal but i am not sure of how much scale will then be floating around in your cooling system to clog the radiator or heater core.

[Richard in Florida]

Originally Posted by 37ford4dr

i am not sure of how much scale will then be floating around in your cooling system to clog the radiator or heater core.

You should search this forum using the word "vinegar" and read all the various posts. I found it very interesting. Fifty million flat head guys can't all be wrong.

[Shadetree]

I have a new core on my radiator and didn't chance running vinegar through it. Instead during the winter I took the hoses off and let pure vinegar set in my engine for a week or so. The vinegar quickly turned to a rust color but I didn't see chunks of anything when I flushed it. However it did discolor the concrete driveway a permanent rust color where I flushed it. So be aware of this when you flush.

Some members have discussed using dishwasher detergent to clean the engine. I wonder about CLR. It is advertised to clean calcium and scaling. I am not satisfied yet my engine block is clean.

Shadetree

[52merc]

Same happened to me shadetree flushed out vinegar and discolored my concret drive! I didnt get big chunks out either, so i went to molasses this seemed to work but this was in block that was not in car

[ford38v8]

Shadetree, the driveway stain happens from all sorts of shop flush/dump/jobs, but the way to prevent it in the future is to run fresh tap water while you dump, rather than after.

Many places have high mineral content in tap water, so a good policy is to always use distilled water in your cooling system. Here in California, we don't have to use antifreeze, but always use water pump lubricant, not so much for the water pump, but to prevent rust.

[4dFord/SC]

I used a 50/50 mix of prune juice and castor oil with spectacular results. Oh, wait a minute--that was for my last colonoscopy. Sorry

[Rocketsled]

My 59 A/B rad looked great on the outside and seemed to flow OK, but the engine ran hot even after the Vinegar Treatment.
So, I had L/A Radiator in Maine rebuild it. Turns out the old core had 5 tubes missing and the the rest were packed with concretion.

[BIG MIKE]

why not use 2 bottles of soda?

[Cecil/WV]

Here's what the vinegar looked like after a couple of weeks in my block. This was after it was drained for a couple of days.

[BillM]

I had a 50 / 50 vinegar water mix in my engine for maybe a week and I think it seeped through the head gasket and caused the paint to peel on the top of the block between the heads and the intake.

[ford38v8]

4dFord/SC, I want to thank you for that. I'll never flush my cooling system again without thinking of your kind words.

[Shadetree]

Originally Posted by Cecil/WV

Here's what the vinegar looked like after a couple of weeks in my block. This was after it was drained for a couple of days.

Wow Cecil! Looks like you did some good with your vinegar treatment!

Shadetree

[flatheadernie]

Shadetree, I agree with your slogan, but my first wife ripped the synro ring off the main input drive on my 8ba powerd 41 convert in high gear. I was never able to do that in 13 tranys. ernie n tx

[phartman]

Originally Posted by Shadetree

I have a new core on my radiator and didn't chance running vinegar through it. Instead during the winter I took the hoses off and let pure vinegar set in my engine for a week or so. The vinegar quickly turned to a rust color but I didn't see chunks of anything when I flushed it. However it did discolor the concrete driveway a permanent rust color where I flushed it. So be aware of this when you flush.

Some members have discussed using dishwasher detergent to clean the engine. I wonder about CLR. It is advertised to clean calcium and scaling. I am not satisfied yet my engine block is clean.

Shadetree

The CLR label warns against using on aluminum.