Evapo-Rust Thermocure

Old Fogey UK
Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
Has anyone used it to clear rust out of their cooling system?
Is it any good ?

Comments

  • Glowplug
    Glowplug Expert Adviser
    Yes, Yes
  • Hans
    Hans Senior Contributor
    I use it.
    Good results on parts, often after oil and rust scale are removed. 

      A lot more thought needs to be considered.  Oily residue inside motor and radiator needs removal as it may inhibit the rust removal.  If internal rust is scaley that will likely require mechanical removal, scraping, poking, even chiseling.

     Removing water jacket has always been required in my case, lots of hard  scale-hard-crud on bottom surface. I have had stuff from 1/4 inch to 2 plus inches thick to remove.  Area over valve gally usually needs cyl head removal to clean it.

     Operating motor with a non foaming soap such as diswasher, or cloths washer may help soften and remove the coating. Removal of oil or antifreeze coating inside cooling passages in motor or radiator is difficult with out opening system

    Non foaming soap easier to remove the bubbles that just seem to take forever to get rid of.
  • Hans
    Hans Senior Contributor
    One more thought, Removal of water jacket covers often has the result of broken bolts due to rust on the threads protuding into the coolant.

    On a '29 Essex there are two covers, each with 8 bolts.  A total of 16 bolts. The last two motors each had 8 bolts broken.   A lot of effort to remove them. 

    I replace them with shortened bolts that do not enter the coolant area. 

     
  • eddiehudson
    eddiehudson Senior Contributor, Member
    I think I used it on my 2001 Expedition with 216K miles about 5 years ago. I drove around for a couple of days and when I drained the water out it was dark gray/black. I don't know if it did anything because my cooling system had no problems to start with. The price was about $20 at Walmart. 
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    Thanks for the advice everyone.
  • BigSky
    BigSky Senior Contributor

    It works.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    Hans said:
    One more thought, Removal of water jacket covers often has the result of broken bolts due to rust on the threads protuding into the coolant.

    On a '29 Essex there are two covers, each with 8 bolts.  A total of 16 bolts. The last two motors each had 8 bolts broken.   A lot of effort to remove them. 

    I replace them with shortened bolts that do not enter the coolant area. 

     
    I'm going to replace the bolts with stainless bolts and I will put Wellseal on the threads.
  • luck on my survivor 1934.Broken no bolt of the water jacket and all the brass washers still present;
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I have bought a bottle of Thermocure but I haven't used it yet.
    I decided to take a look inside the water jacket and found quite a lot of sludge and large loose lumps of rust in the gallery.
    Due to this, I'm going to take the cylinder head off to check the water passageways between the head and the block.
    If I find any of the passageways furred up with rust, what's the best way of clearing them out manually before I put the head back on and run the Thermocure through the cooling system ?
    The Railton Owners Club shop manual says you can use a drill on the openings in the head and in the block so long as you don't enlarge the holes beyond their original size - but that sounds to me a bit drastic and, possibly, a recipe for disaster !
    My own idea is to use a pin punch and small hammer to gently tap the rust out of the holes - can anyone foresee any problems in doing it that way ?

  • I did this a la dremel;with different strawberries and brushes. Around the cylinders;with a large metal hook and blow to the compressor with a long gun. And this for hours, given the rust since the stop in 54
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    Hi Jack,
    The Dremel sounds like a good idea.
    Please could you send me a picture of the large metal hook that you used around the cylinders ?
  • I had done this with a skewer metal pick

  • INOX METAL




  • Any time I need to bring an old crusty, rusty cylinder head back from the grave, I put it in a three inch deep metal pan I made, and fill the pan with muriatic acid. let it sit for about 45 min to an hour, then dump out the acid, and repeat with a baking soda and water solution to neutralize. repeat the neutralizing two or three times. I clean water passages in Hornet engine blocks in a similar way. They come out looking much like new cast iron.
  • The engine not running and having been stopped since 1954.Apart from a mechanical action; the abundant rust could never have dissolved. I almost removed pebbles. By removing the water jacket; we have a good view especially that the last hole;side engine bulkhead is often clogged. As a result cylinder 8 is poorly cooled and it is the cata. In my case, I prefer a mechanical action.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    JACK356 said:

    INOX METAL




    My wife has the these skewers in the kitchen and would kill me if I used them on the car !
    I have bought a set of hooks, picks and scrapers from the tool store to do the job.
    My plan is to clean out the water gallery in the same way Jack has done and then run the car with Thermocure in the radiator to see if the running temperature comes down.
    If it doesn't, I'll go down the head off and Dremel route.
  • Mechanically ;p with the product. It is curative. You will see, once the water jacket is removed the degree of fouling around the cylinders. As well as the condition of the tole inside the water jacket that distributes the cooling
  • A miniscule part of what I removed around the cylinders. I also did the dremel around the cylinders. One can also reach the joint plane of the block in places.











  • The water jacket refurbished. The hole is well facing cylinder 6 and partially clogged by the flat of the block. Maybe to achieve a water turbulence effect?









  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I'm wondering if it would be effective to  fill the whole cooling system with undiluted Evaporust and run it for a while like that rather than adding Thermocure to the water - I read a thread on the AACA website that suggested that could be done.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    Jack,
    What did you use to remove the rust inside the water jacket ?
    What did you use to paint the water jacket afterwards - and did you paint it inside ?
  • Scraping hook on a skewer;dremel strawberry and brush metal. I didn't paint the shirts. It has been advised against me by some
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    I will remove the rust from inside the water jacket with the vinegar treatment and then seal all the holes in the jacket except one, and then pour some high temperature aluminium paint inside. I'll then seal the last hole and shake it around like a cocktail shaker to coat the inside and then I'll unseal all the holes and drain the excess out.
    Perhaps not 100% efficient to rust-proof the inside, but better than nothing.
  • 35 Terraplane
    35 Terraplane Senior Contributor
    Typical antifreeze will soften and dissolve most automotive paints
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    Typical antifreeze will soften and dissolve most automotive paints
    Thank you for the warning !
    I haven't done it yet.
  • Old Fogey UK
    Old Fogey UK Expert Adviser
    JACK356 said:
    This has been used inside my crankcase. I don't think if it can be used in the engine water ways.