We cleaned the cooling system and there were surprises
Yesterday with some friends we met at one of my friends' bicycle workshop to do an internal cleaning of the car, the car lately had problems in the heating system and therefore it did not work which was quite strange being a car that It is used very little.
This is not the first time I have done this cleaning since a week ago my friends also helped me and we found that one of the hoses was clogged by sediment produced by poor quality coolant when it is not cleaned periodically.
This cleaning was to finish removing the remaining debris inside the heating radiator and check its condition.
First we emptied the coolant tank while the vehicle is on so that it circulates, which luckily is good for the water to circulate and once it started to have very little, we added alcohol vinegar, which dissolves a little the sediments inside the system; Before connecting it again so that the liquid can circulate and perform the proper cleaning, I added pressurized water to the heating system and the dirt removed left very bad news, the radiator is rusted and is falling apart because I observed small pieces of rust and the water was dark brown.
The car was on for around 1 hour with that liquid circulating inside, which we controlled the temperature at every moment. Luckily this managed to remove more dirt accumulated in the vehicle and then another cleaning was done with water pressure.
Afterwards, the procedure is the same, the car is started to circulate the previous liquid, the car is turned off, the hoses are connected and the temporary coolant is placed.
In short, I will have to make big expenses, the tank that contains the coolant costs $20, the main hose another $20, the new radiator $150 used hopefully at $90 and the thermostat $20. I must change the thermostat to prevent the engine gasket from blowing due to high pressures and temperatures.
After that cleaning we went inside the workshop where we chatted and had tea and cookies, while my friend continued fixing bicycles. He was fixing a bad weld and had to throw it away and start over.
I hope you fix the issue and the debris will come out completely. Happy cleaning 🧼