Car radiators are comprised of two side or top tanks and a core consisting of dozens of tubes embedded in a field of cooling fins. The coolant passes from tank to tank by way of the tubes. As the coolant moves through the tubes, the cooling fins pull heat from the coolant and dissipate it into the atmosphere. If the tubes become plugged, the radiator's efficiency decreases dramatically. If your radiator becomes blocked, and it has a steel core, you can have it rodded out to remove these blockages.
Instructions
- 1
Remove the side or top tanks using the radiator crimp tool to bend the crimps off the tanks. Be careful when doing so, as the crimps break easily and if you break one, the core becomes scrap metal.
2Place the core in a boil-out tank and boil for 12 hours.
3Remove the core from the boil-out tank and set it on a work bench or on some other safe work area where the core will not get damaged.
4Put on the waterman's gloves and run the rod through each tube from one end to the other. The rod will push any blockages out of the tubes.
5Allow the core to cool and rinse it off, forcing the water to flush out the tubes from one side to the other.
6Place the new tank gaskets on the tanks and reinstall them on the core with the crimp tool. Again, use care when crimping the core to the tanks. Once done, run the fin comb over the fins to straighten out any fins that may have been bent before or during the rod out procedure.
7Pressure test the radiator to ensure it will not leak once it is reinstalled in the car.
