Massey 245 Radiator Flush Question

zeke-dog

Member
I have another question for the experts. Today I was going to change my radiator fluid on my Massey 245. When I loosened the bottom radiator hose green antifreeze came out followed by red (rust colored) liquid. I tightened the hose and filled it with distilled water. After letting it run for about 30 minutes I emptied it again. Dark rust colored fluid came out again.

I then proceeded to take my garden hose and flush it out about 20 times. It got to the point when I filled it with water, it would drain clear (I think from the radiator) but when I could hear the thermostat release the water would turn rust colored again (I think from the engine block).

It seems to be less dark now, but it is still brown once the thermostat releases. So my question is, should I just go ahead and put in the 50/50 antifreeze and leave it, or should I continue to flush or maybe even use a chemical flush?
 
There is a block drain petcock on the driver's left side. That will help getting the block drained. You can either keep adding clean distilled or rainwater and flush it out OR use a chemical flush, just don't leave it in there too long. Vinegar also works but you need to flush it all out before you add antifreeze, same as using a chemical flush.
 
It may sound simplistic, but have you cleaned the dirt and gunk out of the radiator vanes with water and high pressure air?
I was amazed by the crud that came out of the radiator. After flushing and cleaning,my overheating problems disappeared.
 

This is a new to me Massey 245 tractor I bought from the original owner. I am getting it ready by changing all the fluids before spring comes when I will be able to work it hard.

As far as I know it doesn't overheat, but when i took off the hood, the cooling fins were very blocked with dirt. I completely cleaned out the fins with a water hose and compressed air. The fins are now completely clear and look good.

However, now that I am flushing out the inside of the radiator / engine block I came up with the problem I posted earlier.

I did unscrew the drain on the left side of the engine block and nothing came out. I sprayed a stream of water into it from the outside and rust colored water would come back out but not a lot.
 
Take the petcock out and poke a stiff wire in there and see if you have some junk blocking it. Leave it out until you have good flow. Found a dirt daubers nest in the outlet one time.
 

Sounds good. I will give that a try tomorrow.

I was reading on a different site that a guy put Dawn dish soap into the petcock hole and flushed it out with water to get rid of the rust residue. Do you think that would be a good idea also?
 
Dawn dish soap is a good cleaner but it would be more useful if you had oil or oily sludge. I think dishwasher detergent might help more than dawn. The OTC radiator flushes are more effective toward rust but if you want to try something you might have laying around then try white vinegar, at least half to full gallon then top off with water. Let it run and circulate awhile, maybe let it sit overnight Just be sure to flush out real good with water several times to get the cleaner out.
 

Okay, I am going to get a couple gallons of vinegar tomorrow and try the flush. I will then rinse out with water a few times and hope that will clean it up.

I noticed in my operators manual it recommends a rust inhibitor to prevent corrosion. Do you recommend adding a rust inhibitor? I was looking on Amazon and found - Motor Medic C1012 Radiator Anti-Rust & Water Pump Lube https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000ABG9T0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1

Any thoughts on adding this to my antifreeze to prevent rust in the future?
 
Modern antifreeze already has rust inhibitor, but since you found a lot of rust, it definitely wouldn't hurt anything to use it. I would just make sure you have flushed it out good before adding antifreeze and additives, just so you don't have to again for awhile.
 
I want to thank you again for your help with this. Just to close out this topic, I will tell you the steps I took.

I flushed out the radiator with hose water several times until the brown rust color lightened up. I then filled the radiator with white distilled vinegar and ran it until it was hot. Once it cooled I emptied it and rinsed it out with hose water about 5 more times. I then filled it with vinegar again and left it in over night (24 hours). The next day I ran it until it was hot and emptied it out again when it cooled. I then rinsed it out again about 5 times with hose water. By this time the water was pretty darn clear with just a small trace of brown residue. The water was also running free and clear from the petcock on the left side of the engine.

I then filled the radiator with 50/50 distilled water and Peak FLEET Charge SCA Pre-charged coolant. For some added protection I also added a bottle of Motor Medic C1012 Anti-rust and water pump lube.

I am hoping this will last me for a couple years and will be much cleaner the next time I change it.
 

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