Date:         Mon, 3 May 2010 14:01:07 -0700
Reply-To:     Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject:      Re: Cleaning Oily Gunge out of Cooling System
Comments: To: Tom Hargrave <thargrav@HIWAAY.NET>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="UTF-8"; reply-type=original

re
 have a Vanagon whose head gasket blew, allowing oil into the coolant.  The
gasket has been repaired but there's still lots of white oily goo stuff in
the cooling system.  Can you suggest a chemical that will


(1) Put the oily goo into solution
(2) not foam
(3) not be too harsh (corrosive) on the metal bits
(4) not be too expensive?

I was thinking laundry soap but I'm a bit concerned about #3.

My suggestion is to :

To keep from making the process too complicated...
I'd just put some liquid dish soap ...the grease cutting kind ..
into the whole cooling system .... maybe a mdedium size coffee cup full,
into a weak water/anti-freeze misture.
then run that for a few days, or a few hours,..a driving rpm too, not just
idle.
then drain and refill with a fresh batch of anti-frz / water at 50/50 ratio.
    ( my personal trick that's quite effective is to add some mahcinist's
cutting oil....water soluble oil.......to the coolant mix, as a rust
inhibitor, and water pump lube.  Iv'e been doing that 20 years to countless
cars and vanagons with excellent results. )
That should work just fine.

Scott
www.turbovans.com