To flush or not to flush, that is the question

[Globbits]

Simple one, I hope
One of the heater hoses on my van blew and all the coolant came out. I've got new pipework now (thanks Spannerboy) and am going to be refilling the system this evening. But there's quite a lot of evidence of rust in the header tank - at least, it's got a tan coating on it Since the engine and radiator had been sitting around for a fair while before I installed them, my guess is there is/was corrosion on the inside of at least the rad (so that's going to blow at some point!)

The question is, do I do anything about it? I take it any cleaning solution like soap/washing up liquid is a total no-no, due to the salt in there. But are there any sensible cleaning measures I should be taking, or do I just fill up the system with antifreeze and so on, expecting that to do the cleaning for me?

Thanks as always
Richard

[ghost123uk]

Just a heads up ->
This is from another thread some time ago =

Also more thoughts...........
Cleaned out the bleed pipes from top of engine. This was in one............



While the other was blocked by plastic, the T' junction mold hadn't been cleaned out properly, Had to drill it out. I'm sure the pressure build-up is what eventually caused the seals to go.

Go & check your bleed pipes, Just disconnect from engine & check that coolant can run out. If it can't look further.

I had the same thing and it caused a pipe to burst.
I would check all the thin pipes, both the metal one (around the engine bay) and the thin rubber ones (like the one that goes from the l/h rear head) by blowing down them.
And check the cap (not sure how to do that - I just replaced mine with one from Brickwerks ( note the GSF ones are reputed to be not good)
Associated with this of course was a faulty "dalek cap" on the header tank that was not releasing excess pressure.
I

[kevtherev]

The rust does not come from the radiator, it's made of aluminium.
It comes from around the barrels and the steel pipes/joints used to cart the coolant around

Put a hose in and let it run for till the water is clear
Then put VW G12+ (or similar) in it, as this will inhibit the rust somewhat.

you'd be tanned if you sat in rusty water for twenty years
I'd be wondering if the PO's have used any inhibitor in the coolant, or if it has ever been changed... and if the head studs are like burnt matchsticks