Citric acid results

[les]

Thanks Phil and all for interest. I can now move on.

[svenedin]

Excellent result!

Stephen

[Meggie moggy]

Wow that looks brilliant i shall be doing this next weekend

[svenedin]

Wow that looks brilliant i shall be doing this next weekend

Be aware that the citric acid treatment leaves bare iron. This will flash rust very quickly unless painted (obviously not inside an engine) or protected in some way e.g sprayed with light oil.

Stephen

[59Elva]

I drained the radiator Sunday night before the temperature dropped below freezing. I filled the system today with the acid solution. It took about four US quarts. Unrelated I had a devil of a time starting the engine to circulate the acid. The battery was low having sat for a couple weeks. I put the charger on while we went grocery shopping. Still not starting after charging. I removed the plugs to find them a little sooty but plug #3 was oil fouled.
With all the other things needing attention I never got around to a compression test. Until then I’m going to worry if I have a bad piston or valve in that cylinder.
After fiddling with the choke and idle screw I did get it running and warmed up. I’ll repeat starting it daily for the rest of the week and then flush a couple times and refill with Zerex Original Green.
Is the consensus that baking or washing soda neutralization is not required?

[taupe]

I think a good flush out is all thats needed.

Taupe

[svenedin]

The reaction between Citric acid and Bicarbonate of Soda neutralises the acid and produces Sodium Citrate, water and carbon dioxide gas. If you wanted perfect neutralisation to ensure both no acid remains and you haven't gone too far and made the water alkaline it would require calculations and measuring. Even if you did that you are left with a solution of Sodium Citrate which is a salt and you do not want this in the coolant as it will make the solution conductive and accelerate electrolytic corrosion. So for this reason, it is far better to just flush everything out with clean water.

On my own Morris I use deionised water in the coolant never tap water. This may seem like overkill but it does keep the coolant extremely clean and free of rust. The tap water where I live is extremely hard and does no end of nuisance to kettles, shower heads etc. The coolant should be changed completely every 2 years as the anti-corrosion chemicals in the antifreeze are used up over time and become ineffective.

Stephen

[59Elva]

Thanks Taupe and Stephen. I will flush a couple times with tap water and mix the Zerex with distilled.
Bill B.

[59Elva]

The treatment appears to have opened up a small leak. Can’t tell exactly where. It's at the front under the head overhang. Could be the top of the pump, pump to head connector hose (most likely) or the head gasket ( less likely). I’ll probably only warm it up again once more tomorrow then flush and fill. The odds of freezing weather increase by the day.

[59Elva]

I’m in the process of flushing out the citric acid. What is draining out is mor greenish than brown. Could be the initial drain and flush with water didn’t remove all of the antifreeze or maybe the green crystals I scraped out were not confined to the water pump and were released by the acid.
Where is the block drain on a 1275 that some have spoke of, behind the starter? I am only draining from the radiator, starting and warming the engine between flushes. I continue until it is clear. Might have to make an adjustment in the concentration to allow for water remaining in the block. About a liter??

[svenedin]

The block drain is on the manifold side towards the back of the engine. It can be a tap or a plug. It will almost certainly be blocked and require a lot of poking around to get it clear.

Photo is a 1098 but same idea

Stephen

IMG_1732.jpeg (4.8 MiB) Viewed 424 times

[59Elva]

Thanks once more St.Stephen saviour of the ignorant and uninformed. The flush was running clear but pulling that plug did release some particulates, including some flakes of green and yellow paint. The yellow probably overspray from my painting the water pump.
Pulling the plug was a little dicey as the fuel line was in the way and the exhaust manifold hot. I filled with a 50/50 mix of Zerex Original Green and distilled water. Installed my new Chinese radiator cap. Hopefully ready for winter storage.

[svenedin]

Thanks once more St.Stephen saviour of the ignorant and uninformed. The flush was running clear but pulling that plug did release some particulates, including some flakes of green and yellow paint. The yellow probably overspray from my painting the water pump.
Pulling the plug was a little dicey as the fuel line was in the way and the exhaust manifold hot. I filled with a 50/50 mix of Zerex Original Green and distilled water. Installed my new Chinese radiator cap. Hopefully ready for winter storage.

You're welcome. St Stephen was the first Christian martyr, stoned to death. We celebrate his saint's day on Boxing Day, December 26th. That's my excuse for getting plastered two days in a row anyway......

Stephen