earthscratcher
Senior Member
what is the best method you have found to clean out a packed radiator that compressed air will not touch??
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best way to clean out a plugged radiator?
- Thread starter earthscratcher
- Start date
willie59
Administrator
A radiator that bad, unfortunately, the only effective remedy is the old radiator shop. One clogged that bad is typically caused by mineral deposits inside the core tubes. A radiator shop has to break the radiator down, dip it in the tank, then rod out the deposits. The downside is it's not uncommon for corrosion to make the tubes in the core thin by this point and pushing a rod through the core tubes will poke holes in the tubes, that means new core. It's a problem and process as old as the internal combustion engine.
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . .
earthscratcher.
Is willie59 on the right track or do you mean a radiator with fins and airflow plugged with (say) oil and limestone dust . . . two different problems entirely.
We never found air all that effective for cleaning fins on scrub dozers . . . a daily job in some conditions.
Far more effective was a fire fighting pump with about a 3/8" nozzle worked up and down each row of tubes until the water washed through clean.
Cheers.
earthscratcher.
Is willie59 on the right track or do you mean a radiator with fins and airflow plugged with (say) oil and limestone dust . . . two different problems entirely.
We never found air all that effective for cleaning fins on scrub dozers . . . a daily job in some conditions.
Far more effective was a fire fighting pump with about a 3/8" nozzle worked up and down each row of tubes until the water washed through clean.
Cheers.
willie59
Administrator
Man you got that right scrub, wash the externals of a radiator on a piece of dirt equipment with a water hose and wow the amount of "mud" that comes from them. 
bteigrob
Well-Known Member
Yeah just be careful to not bend the fins with the water pressure but the method works great
earthscratcher
Senior Member
i have a couple machines that run on the hot side after a few hours run time,the bottom third of the radiator is packed with crud,just wondering best way to clean without bending fins,i think it needs an external cleaning,how do you tell if its internally plugged??
I have found spraying with engine degreaser or CLR cleaner, let soak in and spray with 80 psi water works great (added a booster pump to my outside water at the shop to clean my equipment, otherwise you get 30-40psi). Tried pressure washers and had great success bending fins.
It's a little tricky to tell if it's plugged internally when it's obviously plugged externally also. A temp gun is the best tool to see what the temperatures are of the air in front and behind the radiator, and the top and bottom of the radiator, thermostat housing and water pump usually. If you can get the outside clean then a very plugged radiator will have a big difference between the inlet and outlet temps, just like if the thermostat is closed/blocked. Nige has said that cores can have buildup that blocks heat flow without blocking the flow of coolant through the core, causing LOW temp difference, that's bigger radiators than I deal with and probably different contaminants too. If you know the history of the machine it's pretty easy to guess the shape of the inside of the radiator, has it ever had tap water added to the radiator, and has the coolant been tested/changed on schedule?
Hot water and dawn dish soap helps to loosen the oily mud. Or diesel if it's more greasy than muddy. Sometimes an O-ring pick and patience is the only way to get them clean.
Hot water and dawn dish soap helps to loosen the oily mud. Or diesel if it's more greasy than muddy. Sometimes an O-ring pick and patience is the only way to get them clean.
earthscratcher
Senior Member
The stuff in there reminds me of cleaning out my combine radiator,kind of a soybean dust packed hard.
Had a couple guys walk in one day looking for a fan for a new Terex scraper.... seems the shop helper was cleaning the machine with a fire hose and nozzle, with the engine running.... one good shot through the grille and radiator and a half dozen plastic fan blades appeared. Still amazed the radiator wasn't damaged much.
Word to the wise, the fans haven't been steel in a long time, lol.
Word to the wise, the fans haven't been steel in a long time, lol.
RangerJake72
Member
my agency Operators standard is blow out the radiators and engine compartments thoroughly with compressed air (along with engine air cleaner and AC filters) after every fire or Rx burn. IN an emergency we can use water to spray out the radiator coils, but it tends to collect more dust and trash and can get plugged up quicker.
Story I have been told about the D-6 we have is it was plugged and overheated quite rapidly when used, Cat tech came out and spent quite sometime running a hacksaw blade through the lots on the radiator, cleaning out the mud that had set and plugged everything up, the tractor had only ever been washed out after use.
Story I have been told about the D-6 we have is it was plugged and overheated quite rapidly when used, Cat tech came out and spent quite sometime running a hacksaw blade through the lots on the radiator, cleaning out the mud that had set and plugged everything up, the tractor had only ever been washed out after use.
Queenslander
Senior Member
That's one advantage of using air, you can give it a quick blowdown and put it straight back to work in the dust, whereas a washed radiator needs to be 100% dry.
Have to have plenty of air supply to be effective though.
Have to have plenty of air supply to be effective though.
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Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . .
Queenslander
Nah, I've heard that one before mate, but its not right, they can go straight back to work but you have to do them hot.
Tractors come in to fuel at lunch time, swing grills open, hose out radiators while boys have a sanger and a cuppa crank them up, run at high idle for a few minutes and those radiators are blown dry by the time they get back into the scrub, never was a problem.
Same thing working a block of burning windrows, I like to work them hot and hose out a couple of times a day . . . I always hose out at knock off in case there was a spark. With the tractor hot, five minutes at high idle and the radiators dry to all intents. I would never be comfy relying on air on burn jobs.
Cheers.
Queenslander
Nah, I've heard that one before mate, but its not right, they can go straight back to work but you have to do them hot.
Tractors come in to fuel at lunch time, swing grills open, hose out radiators while boys have a sanger and a cuppa crank them up, run at high idle for a few minutes and those radiators are blown dry by the time they get back into the scrub, never was a problem.
Same thing working a block of burning windrows, I like to work them hot and hose out a couple of times a day . . . I always hose out at knock off in case there was a spark. With the tractor hot, five minutes at high idle and the radiators dry to all intents. I would never be comfy relying on air on burn jobs.
Cheers.
Queenslander
Senior Member
I can certainly see how that works Scrub, for us, it's easier to have a compressor on hand whenever required, rather than a tanker.
We don't even swing the grill, just poke a ½" copper pipe nozzle through the holes and go for it.
Usually try to give it a wash whenever we can arrange it and always have plenty of water around when we burn piles etc.
I guess the moral of the story is, whatever method you use, it needs to be done regularly to avoid the headache of a plugged radiator.
We don't even swing the grill, just poke a ½" copper pipe nozzle through the holes and go for it.
Usually try to give it a wash whenever we can arrange it and always have plenty of water around when we burn piles etc.
I guess the moral of the story is, whatever method you use, it needs to be done regularly to avoid the headache of a plugged radiator.
kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,165
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Guess where I worked must have been one of the cleanest quarries around! About the only time radiators got washed out was when I was doing a 350 hour service and they were not hot and heavy for the machine. Used a 1 1/2 inch hose with water, washed done machine then radiator before service work. We do have DEC down on us big time if we have any dust problems so haul roads are kept very wet at all times, too wet in my book but at least no dust. This even works for the couple machines we have.had with the folded core Cat radiators, not sure what someone was smoking when designing fins that close together on machines that work in dusty conditions.
Those dust bowls on the top of air filters can go several months with little more than a half inch build up in them! Outer air filters on haul trucks sometimes go for close to 1,000 hours without ever getting close to the red zone on restriction gauge. Many times I have taken the gauges off and tested them to be sure they were actually working! Now the loaders that load BC plant and Customers trucks out of stock piles are a different story as it's hard to control dust in those wide spread areas. About once a year have to remove and wash out the precleaner on the 980K when replacing outer air filter does not cure the error code for restricted air. 980K is the one feeding the BC Plant and in the dustiest part of the plant. I can see that one having radiator problems some day as the way the hood covers engine so good fan acts like a giant vacuum cleaner blowing the dust from rear wheel right at the radiator and coolers.
Those dust bowls on the top of air filters can go several months with little more than a half inch build up in them! Outer air filters on haul trucks sometimes go for close to 1,000 hours without ever getting close to the red zone on restriction gauge. Many times I have taken the gauges off and tested them to be sure they were actually working! Now the loaders that load BC plant and Customers trucks out of stock piles are a different story as it's hard to control dust in those wide spread areas. About once a year have to remove and wash out the precleaner on the 980K when replacing outer air filter does not cure the error code for restricted air. 980K is the one feeding the BC Plant and in the dustiest part of the plant. I can see that one having radiator problems some day as the way the hood covers engine so good fan acts like a giant vacuum cleaner blowing the dust from rear wheel right at the radiator and coolers.
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . .
kshansen. Just shows the different conditions under which folks work around the world . . . and how machinery and methods have to be modified and adapted.
I mentioned swing out grills.
In those days they were not standard but were a simple modification to make life easier, like wise fine mesh engine side covers. Such modifications did restrict some airflow and, on tractors working at full load in second gear at wide open throttle continuously overheating was always an issue at 45degrees C . . . one of the reasons where ever possible we worked at night.
It is also seasonal of course. Where Queenslander and I worked, quite apart from dust, at certain times of the year various vegetation such as sandalwood is in flower or shedding buds and pollen and this can be a problem in radiator fins.
I can certainly see Queenslanders point about the air being more convenient than having to fetch water in a tanker and in fact most of the scrub contractors had a compressor that doubled up to run a rattle gun . . . we just found the water worked best for us. As mentioned the key was to keep them blown or washed out regularly.
Cheers.
kshansen. Just shows the different conditions under which folks work around the world . . . and how machinery and methods have to be modified and adapted.
I mentioned swing out grills.
In those days they were not standard but were a simple modification to make life easier, like wise fine mesh engine side covers. Such modifications did restrict some airflow and, on tractors working at full load in second gear at wide open throttle continuously overheating was always an issue at 45degrees C . . . one of the reasons where ever possible we worked at night.
It is also seasonal of course. Where Queenslander and I worked, quite apart from dust, at certain times of the year various vegetation such as sandalwood is in flower or shedding buds and pollen and this can be a problem in radiator fins.
I can certainly see Queenslanders point about the air being more convenient than having to fetch water in a tanker and in fact most of the scrub contractors had a compressor that doubled up to run a rattle gun . . . we just found the water worked best for us. As mentioned the key was to keep them blown or washed out regularly.
Cheers.
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kshansen
Senior Member
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2012
- Messages
- 11,165
- Location
- Central New York, USA
- Occupation
- Retired Mechanic in Stone Quarry
Hope no one took offence to my post. I was just commenting all most to the point of bragging how good our equipment had it compared to some applications.
I will note one down side to all the water used at the quarry. Large amount of mud build up from tires that has caused rusted out sheet metal big time! Just this last winter I had to remove both front fenders and other sheetmetal off our 769D to have new skins installed. Any one familiar with 769D's will know the left front fender is an easy bolt on part.
Where the right front fender is a rather major assembly. So we elected to use a cut off wheel to slice it just above the head light socket and use that as a template to build a new skin. Then we still had to replace over one half of the battery box due to rust holes that were getting to the point I was worried the batteries would fall out at the first bump in the haul road.
We also have had a few machines where the hydraulic and fule tanks have rusted to the point they had to be replaced and/or have sections cut out and welded in new metal.
So win some and loose some!
Scrub Puller
Senior Member
Yair . . .
kshansen
No offence taken by me!!
I just take a great deal of pleasure in hearing how folks cope with problems and conditions in other parts of the world.
I post bits and pieces and comment about how we did things to try and make a dollar in our environment . . . I realise it is not necessarily of much interest to other folks . . . sufficient folks though take the time to comment to keep me posting and thanks to all who respond.
Cheers.
kshansen
No offence taken by me!!
I just take a great deal of pleasure in hearing how folks cope with problems and conditions in other parts of the world.
I post bits and pieces and comment about how we did things to try and make a dollar in our environment . . . I realise it is not necessarily of much interest to other folks . . . sufficient folks though take the time to comment to keep me posting and thanks to all who respond.
Cheers.
I like the verbal walkabouts as much as anybody
I've never tried this exactly as I'm describing, so mostly just more BS. It sounds like your, Earthscratcher's radiator is full of dust with whatever else added to the mix that holds it together enough to keep from rinsing easily. I'd wire an oscillating sprinkler a couple feet from it and let the water do it's work over many hours to rinse the fibers and clay out of there. If that doesn't do the job completely, then after a run the clay will have shrunk down a tad, hopefully to make easier to blow out.
I've never tried this exactly as I'm describing, so mostly just more BS. It sounds like your, Earthscratcher's radiator is full of dust with whatever else added to the mix that holds it together enough to keep from rinsing easily. I'd wire an oscillating sprinkler a couple feet from it and let the water do it's work over many hours to rinse the fibers and clay out of there. If that doesn't do the job completely, then after a run the clay will have shrunk down a tad, hopefully to make easier to blow out.