BarÂ’s radiator tablets...

[mattwithcats]

I see two threads on overheating...

BarÂ’s Radiator Tablets are ground walnut shells and ginger root.

I always have two tablets in my car radiator, it came that way from the factory...

Also know as AC Delco part #12378255

https://barsleaks.com/product/radiator-stop-leak-tablets-hdc/

May be a last resort try before tearing everything apart...

 

[Roadworthy]

I like Thermo Cure. It's $20 a quart from Walmart - you use the whole quart. It took my Mitsubishi system from four quarts back to the original six quarts. Follow the directions but when done you needn't limit yourself to the recommended number of flushes. Throw in a couple extras. I would fill the system, run it until water was hot, then cool and drain. I think I did this three times before a final flush with distilled water. Maybe two final flushes with distilled water. Then I mixed fresh antifreeze with distilled water - half and half. Using more antifreeze will lower your freezing point but the greater antifreeze concentration does not transfer heat as well as 50-50.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Interesting but my system has no leaks. Maybe it was in there from new....

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I see two threads on overheating...

BarÂ’s Radiator Tablets are ground walnut shells and ginger root.

I always have two tablets in my car radiator, it came that way from the factory...

Also know as AC Delco part #12378255

https://barsleaks.com/product/radiator-stop-leak-tablets-hdc/

May be a last resort try before tearing everything apart...

You should not use Bars stop leak on a thermosiphon system.

 

[Daren Todd]

I'm not a huge fan of any stop leak. On newer agriculture engines, the thermostats tend to have a small hole in the center to allow some fluid to circulate before the thermostat actually opens. The amount of fluid that passes through that small hole is figured in with the thermostat open to keep the engine at optimal temperatures under a full load.

What I have found, is someone uses stop leak on a ag engine. It fixes the small leak in the radiator. But it also plugs that small hole in the thermostat. It's not normally a big deal until you put the engine under a full load. Then the engine starts to over heat.

You have to go back in, replace the thermostats after a thorough flush of the coolant system.

On larger engines, they can have multiple thermostats. And in some cases, it would have been cheaper to pull the radiator out and send it in to be repaired.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Roadworthy]

I guess some clarification is in order. Thermo Cure is in no way a stop leak. It is a biodegradable environmentally safe radiator flush. It removed a lot of built up gunk from my block. I had my radiator done in a radiator shop. I flushed and reverse flushed the block. At that point my cooling system held four quarts. After flushing with Thermo Cure it was back to the six quarts as stated in the specifications.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I guess some clarification is in order. Thermo Cure is in no way a stop leak. It is a biodegradable environmentally safe radiator flush. It removed a lot of built up gunk from my block. I had my radiator done in a radiator shop. I flushed and reverse flushed the block. At that point my cooling system held four quarts. After flushing with Thermo Cure it was back to the six quarts as stated in the specifications.

I'm sorry but no way, you would have had to have dumped 2 quarts of some debri in the block in order to take up that much space, there no way you made 2 quarts of scale buildup from any antifreeze and not even from straight water, just not possible.

 

[motorhead]

In the 52 years of working on cars and equipment, I have never used any type of stop leak in a cooling system. If it leaks, I fix it so I don't buy an engine later from overheating. I learned about using citric acid crystals for efficient but safe cooling system cleansing from working and reading Mercedes repair manuals. It is safe on Aluminum radiator cores and doesn't knock out water pump seals.

 

[D2Cat]

Roadworthy, you probably had some air in the cooling system that you finally got out, to account for the difference in cooling volume.

 

[SidecarFlip]

In the 52 years of working on cars and equipment, I have never used any type of stop leak in a cooling system. If it leaks, I fix it so I don't buy an engine later from overheating. I learned about using citric acid crystals for efficient but safe cooling system cleansing from working and reading Mercedes repair manuals. It is safe on Aluminum radiator cores and doesn't knock out water pump seals.

Curious about the citric acid flush. Used to be you could buy Prestone Radiator Flush crystals but they don't exist anymore (that I can find at least) so citric acid crystals do the same thing? I wonder how that impacts modern radiators with plastic tanks and thermosealed to the tank cores of aluminum, not copper?

I'm pretty sure you still get crud in the rad, especially if you are lax about changing the coolant which most people are today, just like changing auto transmission fluid. One of the most ignored and neglected components in a vehicle, until it pukes that is.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I owe Roadworthy a huge apology, , I assumed (wrongly) that he was talking about his newer L2501, he wasn't, he was talking about a way older tractor, and yes on something that has been used and misused for 40+ years anything is possible!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Shawn.... what is your opinion on the citric acid flush? Is that doable?

 

[Blondie70]

What about a vinegar flush ? Wonder if that would do a good cleaning ?

 

[motorhead]

The citric acid flush was recommended by Mercedes Benz on all engines. I have used it on several engines, mixed metal, cast iron and aluminum radiators with plastic tanks. Cleans well but doesn't eat anything up.
https://www.dieselgiant.com/mercedes_citrus_flush.htm

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Shawn.... what is your opinion on the citric acid flush? Is that doable?

Are you talking to me?
It's Sean... Like Sean Connery,,,, Famous guy that once played James Bond...007.

Citric acid flushes are fine for use on Kubota's, nothing too fancy in these systems.

 

[motorhead]

If you keep the Kubota or any cooling system regularly serviced, good anti freeze and water flushes when changing the antifreeze, you really never need to flush with any chemicals. I have used the Delo EC1 diesel coolant concentrate in my old Mercedes diesels and in my Kubotas with no issues and 6 year intervals due to the longer service life of the coolant. To make sure I get the 50/50 ratio, I find out what the capacity of the tractor is and pour half of the capacity with the coolant concentrate first. Then top off until full with Distilled water. When you flush out old coolant with fresh water, there is always some residual rinse water in the block that you can't get out.