My '73 keeps eating heater cores

[lone73]

Just lost another one this past week. I am too busy to replace it now. Probably just bypass it for a while.

I have put two new ones in so far from O'Reilly's (lifetime guarantee). I am only getting about 4 years out of each one. Does anyone else have this prob and do you have any ideas on what a fix might be?

Any metal treatment chemicals similar to rustproofing that work on copper cored heater cores?

Thanks
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[JohnZ]

What brand/type/color of anti-freeze are you using?

 

[lone73]

Prestone Orange stuff

I was using the green stuff with the first one now the orange since my wife's '96 uses orange and I have an aluminum head zz4 in my '73. Just wanted to keep one type on the shelf. Don't mind switching back to the green though. I also put a new radiator in about a year ago. Don't see how that could've affected anything but who knows...

Prestone is the brand.

thanks

 

[Scott Winebarger]

Its probably not a corrosive issue but an electric one , after a period of time the circulation of the coolant will produce electricity which discharges usually in the radiator or heater core. After a few good spikes the radiator and /or heater core will leak. A good flush of the entire system with something to neutralize it will take care of that problem , then just fill with new antifreeze and water mix.

Then again ..... Might be something else , please tell me you didn't buy a heater core at Autoclone or Atavance I have never dealt with Orileys so i have no info on their product.

Good luck

 

[Jack]

Suggest flushing out dexcool completely ... go back to green or the new CLEAR-COLORLESS extended life ... and STEAM-DISTILLED water ... about sixty cents/gal at wallyworld. There've been problems related to dexcool reacting w/ air ... forms sludge that's rather abrasive & likes to clog ... there's always "some" air in system.

Not all cores are alike ... seems none of em are as good as they used to be.
JACK:gap

 

[JohnZ]

The Dexcool formulation also tends to leach the lead out of soldered joints, which weakens them (modern cars don't have any soldered joints); the new HOAT coolants (like Zerex G0-5) will work fine and are compatible with systems that have had the "green stuff" in them for years. You can still find the "green stuff" if you look hard enough, but in a year or so you probably won't be able to find it, as the OEM's don't use it any more.

 

[zgator]

Just want to chime in.I'm not up on the colors.Whats wrong with the green that it won't be around much longer?

 

[JohnZ]

The new G0-5 HOAT coolants (DaimlerChrysler, Ford) and Dexcool (GM) are now factory fill, and have a more effective additive/anti-corrosion package for all the aluminum components, so the green stuff isn't being made in volume any more - it's been obsoleted in the marketplace.

 

[goertz]

The Dexcool formulation also tends to leach the lead out of soldered joints, which weakens them (modern cars don't have any soldered joints); the new HOAT coolants (like Zerex G0-5) will work fine and are compatible with systems that have had the "green stuff" in them for years. You can still find the "green stuff" if you look hard enough, but in a year or so you probably won't be able to find it, as the OEM's don't use it any more.

definately get the dexcool out of there. in 1998 i was working for a major auto warranty company, and suddenly we started getting cooling system claims on cars with dexcool. The shops would call it in and say they needed new motors, rads, waterpumps, you name it. we would ask what happened, and they would say that when you open the radiator cap, the entire cooling system is just a reddish mud. For months we had no idea what was happening, but for whatever reason, the dexcool turned into a sludge-mud like substance with no explanation. sometimes it was so bad we'd have to replace the motors, as it couldn't be flushed out. I still don't know what causes it. Some people thought that maybe it was because people added green coolant to the dexcool, but I can't say for sure, other than it's bad stuff.

 

[lone73]

I just removed the lines going to the core from the pump yesterday. One line had a shut off installed from the previous owner. I had it shut off since it is generally hot here so no flow through the core. When I pulled the lines a dark orange-ish sludge poured out of one of them. Maybe it was rust, maybe it was dexcool sludge. I'll flush it next weekend.

thanks for the replies.
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[JohnZ]

definately get the dexcool out of there. in 1998 i was working for a major auto warranty company, and suddenly we started getting cooling system claims on cars with dexcool. The shops would call it in and say they needed new motors, rads, waterpumps, you name it. we would ask what happened, and they would say that when you open the radiator cap, the entire cooling system is just a reddish mud. For months we had no idea what was happening, but for whatever reason, the dexcool turned into a sludge-mud like substance with no explanation. sometimes it was so bad we'd have to replace the motors, as it couldn't be flushed out. I still don't know what causes it. Some people thought that maybe it was because people added green coolant to the dexcool, but I can't say for sure, other than it's bad stuff.

GM has had thousands of claims like that (and several class-action lawsuits are pending) for Dexcool-related "gray sludge" damage, and they blame it on owners not paying attention to keeping the coolant level up where it belongs; air in the system apparently contributes to the sludge formation, but GM continues to use the same formulation (no other manufacturer uses it as factory fill - the rest have all gone to versions of the GO-5 HOAT coolant).