Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I have an engine with all the machine work done on it, but the place that boiled out the block didn't do a good job to say the least - a lot of crud left in the water jackets. I used screwdrivers and a broken speedometer cable in an electric drill to remove a lot of the crud. I am sure there is still some rust and mineral buildup left in the engine. I am going to use Evaporust or CLR to put in the engine, but I need to block off the inlet water port. BTW, the head is not on the block. I am trying to figure out a way to seal off the inlet port, but allow a drain to let the liquid solution out after soaking a few days. I can strain the liquid and pour it back into the engine for more soaking if necessary. It seems to me that if I use a regular inlet fitting, I could somehow make a plug to seal off the inlet, but then remove it to let the solution out after soaking. I don't want to make a big mess if at all possible. Has anyone don't this before? Any suggestions on how to make a simple one time plug with a drain would be appreciated.
Rusty Nelson

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

You can just make a gasket with no center hole.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

How about some plastic plumbing fittings and a chunk of hose ?

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Make a gasket (with no center hole as John suggested) out of a piece of vinyl flooring. (Just ask for a sample at Home Depot). I did that when cleaning out my torque tube. The solvent didn't affect it at all.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Your wasting your time and money boiling out a block. You probably have realized that now. Have had good success using vinegar.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I took shop vacuum attached flexible hose and sucked out a lot of crud after using the speedometer cable along with air hose.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Just did this yesterday. Took a piece of 1/4 thick 2" wide 3" long steel plate and drilled two 7/16" holes to match the holes in block. Next i drilled and tapped 3/8" pipe plug hole near were the bottom of outlet would be. Bolted it to block with a light coat of permatex. It held rust remover all day and drained nice into a small pail with no mess.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I did the same thing a couple years ago. I made the cork inlet gasket with only the two mounting bolt holes, then when I was done I stuck a screwdriver or wire into the cork to let the fluid out.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I think a vacuum cleaner would only remove the stuff the speedometer cable would knock loose and may not remove crud in some hard to access areas. I went to the local farm and home store similar to Home Depot and found a rubber plug that is normally used to pressure test PVC sewer piping in new construction. It only cost about $3. I tried it and it seems to hold water without leakage. I think it would work OK. Thanks to all that responded. After soaking with Evaporust or CLR I plan to use a Gano filter in the water outlet hose. I sure don't want to get my newly recored radiator plugged up.
Rusty Nelson

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I did this with evaporust about 4 months ago. I used an old inlet tube and just bought a plumbing end plug from Lowe's and it had a threaded hole for a pipe plug in it. All standard parts with just a hose clamp to tighten the hose to the inlet and the hose to the plumbing plug. Worked great. I left it sit for two days then drained. Only problem was the engine was in the car and not level so the back got soaked to the top but the front was about an inch or more below the top of the block.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Rich maybe you could have jacked the rear end up to level it

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Wow, isn't it strange how sometimes the simplest things are so far from your mind. You are right, most (even idiots) might have thought to do that! Here is a picture of the local hardware I bought to use to plug off the intake at the lower end of the water jacket.
Attachment 272209

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

yep you could level the car but most of the crap settles back behind and around #4 due to the fact that the motor does pitch down back there, so it is a safe bet you got most everything you wanted out of there.

I use a strong mixed solution of lye when I do this and let it sit for several days.
The inside of the block is a nice galvanized color when done, just like it was just cast. I use the same method as #7, but installed a ball valve there, with a hose to drain into a bucket down on the floor so the lye won't go all over the place. Be careful, it is very caustic and bad things can happen if you are not accustomed to working with it. Use eye and skin protection. After the first session of soaking for 3-4 days, I drain it out, then flush. Then I use the lye again, then flush again. I keep doing this until the flush water is clear. You'd be shocked at the crap that is buried around #4

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

FWIW, the best thing to use if you get lye splashed on your skin or eyes or whatever is beer. The beer will react w/the lye to neutralize it. Learnt this when I worked in a brewery.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

tbirdtbird suggests a strong solution of lye to water in #13. How much lye would you need for 1.5 gallons water. Storky

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

I got my block very very clean by using a selection of stiff tools and wires. It was clear I did not have to go further.

I just worked at it and dumped it upside down a bunch of times, each time I got some decent piles. When the piles stopped coming and the wall looked clean I stopped.

It does not have to be perfect. You need to remove the layered rust that would be insulation. It is what my brother did to his block back in 1970 and his car always runs cool. His car was one of the few that did not have any troubles the one year the July 4 parade hit 110 degrees. This includes the newer cars.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Kevin,
I did what you mentioned using screwdrivers, wires and a broken off speedometer cable in an electric drill. However, I can't really say that all or even almost all the crud in the engine was removed. There was a lot and I mean a lot of crud in the water jackets when I got it back after the machine work and babbitting was done, as the machine shop did a terrible job of clean the water jackets. I even suspect the babbitting work quality since the cleaning was so bad, but I can't do much about it now, as the machine shop went out of business. I don't know how you can say that your block was "very, very clean" using just mechanical means. There are areas in the block that are probably nearly impossible to get to using mechanical means. That is why I am checking into using chemical methods. Thanks for your comments.

Re: Cleaning out crud in water jackets
 

Now that you have a method to plug the outlet, keep in mind that you need to remove any grease that might be in there from greasing the water pump over the years before using the evaporust.