Flushing a radiator

What is the best way to flush and clean out a radiator that has some oil in it? I just drained the one on my A and some oil came out with the coolant. Is there something I can do to clean it rather than taking it to a radiator shop?

A little oil in your cooling system won't hurt anything by itself, but if it persists, you need to figure out where it's coming from. It could be as simple as a head gasket, or something more serious, like a crack in the head or block.

If you're looking for the moment to clean out the residual oil so you can start off clean to see if you take on more oil, try using the formula in the Operator's Manual. Drain and flush it down with a garden hose. Get you a mop bucket and mix two pounds of Arm & Hammer WASHING soda (usually next to the 20-Mule Team Borax in the laundry aisle at the supermarket) into three gallons of warm water and stir it up throughtly. Refill the system with that and top it off with plain water. Take it for a good hot run. If you don't have shutters on your radiator, use a tall kitchen trash bag to cover the grille (not directly on the radiator) to help get the engine up to temp more qickly and keep it there for an hour or so. It will get the fine sludge out of your system and should suspend most if not all of any oil that might remain in there. Let it all sit long enough for the engine to cool down some and then drain. One more warm run with plain water (don't refill a hot motor with cold water), drain and then refill. That should leave you clean enough to see if the oil problem persists.

A little oil in your cooling system won't hurt anything by itself, but if it persists, you need to figure out where it's coming from. It could be as simple as a head gasket, or something more serious, like a crack in the head or block.

If you're looking for the moment to clean out the residual oil so you can start off clean to see if you take on more oil, try using the formula in the Operator's Manual. Drain and flush it down with a garden hose. Get you a mop bucket and mix two pounds of Arm & Hammer WASHING soda (usually next to the 20-Mule Team Borax in the laundry aisle at the supermarket) into three gallons of warm water and stir it up throughtly. Refill the system with that and top it off with plain water. Take it for a good hot run. If you don't have shutters on your radiator, use a tall kitchen trash bag to cover the grille (not directly on the radiator) to help get the engine up to temp more qickly and keep it there for an hour or so. It will get the fine sludge out of your system and should suspend most if not all of any oil that might remain in there. Let it all sit long enough for the engine to cool down some and then drain. One more warm run with plain water (don't refill a hot motor with cold water), drain and then refill. That should leave you clean enough to see if the oil problem persists.

The auto parts stores sell a product known as Radiator Flush. Buy a can and read the instructions, and see what that does. You might also do, or have a mechanic do, a compression check on the cylinders, to see if the rings, or valves, are in need of work. A leaking head gasket will give oil in the radiator, too.
If the oil in radiator persists, better seek professional help! It'll only get worse! Engines do not heal them-selves!

I dont think a little oil will hurt it, you could probably just flush some water through it by filling and draining a few times. I would be more concerned about how the oil is getting in the water. Hopefully a headgasket, and hopefully not a crack in the block or head.

I dont think a little oil will hurt it, you could probably just flush some water through it by filling and draining a few times. I would be more concerned about how the oil is getting in the water. Hopefully a headgasket, and hopefully not a crack in the block or head.