Chunks in my coolant
- Thread starter lenky1
- Start date
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Your running green antifreeze which doesn't like something aluminum in your system after sitting . Switch to the orange antifreeze. Small blocks were noted for aluminum timing covers and water pumps eating away with use of green antifreeze without the additive. Whenever you use anything in a cooling system such as . Intake, thermostat housing, timing cover, water pump, or radiator, you should use the correct anti freeze or those parts will corrode.
MopaR&D
Nerd Member
Distilled water is all I use, don't want to take any chances. I just did a "light" coolant flush on my Duster (drain and refill radiator) and after 3 years it all still looked good, no signs of corrosion. I use regular green antifreeze concentrate + distilled water + Water Wetter additive and the engine is a 5.9L Magnum with aluminum heads, intake, t-stat housing and radiator. I also made sure there were solid grounds going from the engine to chassis both off one of the heads as well as the block when I swapped the current engine in.
When I first got my '72 D200 pickup the original radiator had what looked like salt crystals stuck all over the inside of the top tank, similar to the chunks in your pics but smaller. Never did cool all that well and eventually sprung a leak so I replaced it with an aluminum rad from ECP as well. Might even be the same model radiator as in my Duster lol. Works damn good too, towed my Duster on a U-haul trailer in 95-degree heat up and down the steep grades of I-25 and it never got over about 210 (has 195 degree thermostat).
When I first got my '72 D200 pickup the original radiator had what looked like salt crystals stuck all over the inside of the top tank, similar to the chunks in your pics but smaller. Never did cool all that well and eventually sprung a leak so I replaced it with an aluminum rad from ECP as well. Might even be the same model radiator as in my Duster lol. Works damn good too, towed my Duster on a U-haul trailer in 95-degree heat up and down the steep grades of I-25 and it never got over about 210 (has 195 degree thermostat).
383Scampman
Well-Known Member
what you are witnessing is crystallization of the antifreeze from 2 sources . One : lack of use . Two : not using distilled water when you mixed antifreeze with water origionally . Tap water is too hard and has too many nasty chemicals in it .
DISTILLED WATER and 50/50 with antifreeze . don't buy the premixed crap . $8.00 per galloon for water . Duh !
DISTILLED WATER and 50/50 with antifreeze . don't buy the premixed crap . $8.00 per galloon for water . Duh !
Growing up as a kid my dad used tap water and I did too into my 20s before I knew better and I’ve never seen anything remotely close to that in a radiator. Maybe some calcium build up but not that Hell we even topped off batteries back then with tap water.
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