Re: IML: Smoke on Dash equals Heater Coil leak

[Elijah Scott <imperial1971@xxxxxxxxx>]

--- ViaJoaquin@xxxxxxx wrote:
> What kinds of "problems" have you seen it cause?

Several years ago, while driving from Napa, CA, to
Knoxville, TN, in January (the "rest of the story" on
this one is almost as long as the drive was!), the
heater on a certain '81 Olds-muh-bilge gave out at
about 10:00 at night in 20 degree weather.  And lemme
tell ya, it gets pretty blasted cold in a car on the
interstate under those conditions.

In a nutshell, this stuff (the powdery stuff that
comes in a plastic tube) had congealed in a big wad
right at the heater control valve, preventing any hot
water from making it to the heater core.  The guy at
the GM dealership in Albuquerque (really nice folks,
by the way), showed me the plug of this stuff that he
pulled out of the heater valve.

I've seen it plug heater cores and radiators in
several other cars over the years.  And when I had the
engine rebuilt on my '71 Imperial
(http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1971/Scott/Engine/),
the mechanic showed me what this stuff did in the
water passages -- he said it was probably the dirtiest
engine block he had ever seen, courtesy of radiator
stop leak.  The machine shop actually had a hard time
getting this crap out of the block, which says a lot.

And do NOT use this in a '71-'73 Imperial with
AutoTemp II.  It will kill the AutoTemp servo in short
order.

Again, most cooling system fixes are among the easiest
and cheapest repairs that can be done on these old
cars.  Removing the heater core on a '66 Imperial (the
original car in question) takes about 15 minutes. 
Having it fixed at a radiator shop will likely be
under $50.  The radiator shop I use in Chattanooga,
TN, will boil and rod out Imperial radiators for $55,
and it only takes about half an hour to remove or
replace one.

In short, if you have an Imperial that you like and
want to preserve, why try to take a shortcut like this
stuff, when FIXING the actual problem is relatively
cheap and easy?

Elijah

=====
http://www.imperialclub.com/~imperial71/
http://www.imperialclub.com/~imperial71/bookshelf.htm
1965 Imperial LeBaron
1967 Chrysler Newport Custom Sedan
1970 Imperial LeBaron
1971 Imperial LeBaron


		
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