Add me to the list of clogged OEM rads

[Boosted Motorsports]

Meant to post this in here

Just got my oem rad rebuilt. Old one was so clogged that the core had actualy bowed and the end tanks were no longer square with the core and was a pain in the ass to remove between the frame rails. Upgraded it to a nice 3 row which I'll post shortly.

Here are pics of the old oem core removed and clogged to hell!

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll267/omalley_808/36A1E213-A3C4-46F2-BFB2-CD700651B48F.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll267/omalley_808/19E58651-5191-4A52-89BD-05A539162069.jpg

[Fatboy 18]

Bloody hell! Yea that's FUBAR

[Solid Red 98]

I'm wondering what mileage people are at when these radiators start to go south. I know there are lots of variables surrounding water minerals, usage patterns, and general maintenance, but is there a magic mileage range for Viper radiators?

[BrianACR]

Yikes! Makes me think maybe I should pull mine and have a quick look...

[ViperTony]

Mine ('01) didn't go south but was clogged much worse than that, it was completely clogged. I couldn't believe how bad it was with 23K miles on the clock. Had it cleaned re-cored and good as new.

[Rich Detert]

Maybe cleaning the every few years with this cooling system cleaner from Evaporust might help.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/thermocure/

I've seen it talked about on Velocity TV.
I have no idea how well it actually works, haven't tried it yet.

[Boosted Motorsports]

On another note the thermostat replacement job wasn't nearly as bad as anticipated. Propped the IM up with a 2x4 and didn't have to disconnect injectors or fuel lines just tilted up.

Hardest part was removing all the gasket from the thermostat housing.

Thermostat housing bolts also came out clean. Soaked them 2 days with PB blaster and gave them a few good whacks with a hammer to break any corrosion up before attempting to turn.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll267/omalley_808/56C3E3B7-D6B3-488D-A1AB-79DE2F6BB13C.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll267/omalley_808/B4F8308A-654B-405E-8C1B-069352B68419.jpg

[Lemay88]

Good to hear it went well,
Are you planning on making another great DIY video out of it??
From all the posts I read about removing the intake, I would suggest you to change the pcv rubber grommet while it is off.
Mine is "leaking" and I need to clean the under intake valley every winter with rags and a rod...planning on changing it but am scared off the job...

[dave6666]

Good grief man stop calling everything you do to your car an "upgrade" lol. You sound like a teenage ricer.

As I published almost a decade ago on these cars when people start troubleshooting cooling issues their usual line of defense is bandaid or gimmick things. Water Wetter comes to mind. It's a gimmick. "Flushing" the cooling system comes to mind. Which does nothing to remove mineral deposits.

A clean radiator and a properly maintained overflow bottle is really all these cars need. I use triple fans but also drive my car in 110+ degree ambient temps. With no cooling issues at all.

[Boosted Motorsports]

Good grief man stop calling everything you do to your car an "upgrade" lol. You sound like a teenage ricer.

As I published almost a decade ago on these cars when people start troubleshooting cooling issues their usual line of defense is bandaid or gimmick things. Water Wetter comes to mind. It's a gimmick. "Flushing" the cooling system comes to mind. Which does nothing to remove mineral deposits.

A clean radiator and a properly maintained overflow bottle is really all these cars need. I use triple fans but also drive my car in 110+ degree ambient temps. With no cooling issues at all.

Yes I upgraded from a 2 row to 3 row. You have a problem with that old man or do you just like to be a negative troll?

[Sybil TF]

Maybe cleaning the every few years with this cooling system cleaner from Evaporust might help.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/thermocure/

I've seen it talked about on Velocity TV.
I have no idea how well it actually works, haven't tried it yet.Evan's waterless coolant. Why people refuse to use it in their pride and joy street driven cars is beyond me. We know people who have had the same coolant in their muscle cars for 20 years and when it came time to rebuild it was clean inside. It works.

[Black Adder]

Thermocure from Evaporust dissolves rust (iron oxide). We have aluminum engines and copper (?) radiators. Other than the impeller in the water pump which may be iron based, what other components can creat rust? From the pictures, the deposits in the radiator etc do not appear to be as a result of rusting?

[Boosted Motorsports]

I'm wondering what mileage people are at when these radiators start to go south. I know there are lots of variables surrounding water minerals, usage patterns, and general maintenance, but is there a magic mileage range for Viper radiators?

Lot's of people (including ViperTony @23k) are having them clog fairly early. Maybe Connor Assembly used good ol Michigan tap water from new? lol


Yikes! Makes me think maybe I should pull mine and have a quick look...

If you aren't having cooling issues I wouldn't bother but definitely pretty nasty in there and I'm not the only one :o


Good to hear it went well,
Are you planning on making another great DIY video out of it??
From all the posts I read about removing the intake, I would suggest you to change the pcv rubber grommet while it is off.
Mine is "leaking" and I need to clean the under intake valley every winter with rags and a rod...planning on changing it but am scared off the job...

Videos will be coming shortly! I know everyone usually changes that grommet, its on a 2-week delay from Mopar and I need my car back together so it is getting replaced for now on my car. Mine seems to be good at the moment but honestly its a really straightforward and simple job propping the IM up like you see here.


Evan's waterless coolant. Why people refuse to use it in their pride and joy street driven cars is beyond me. We know people who have had the same coolant in their muscle cars for 20 years and when it came time to rebuild it was clean inside. It works.

I've used Evans in other applications and its good stuff! I might end up switching at some point but still going to wait until I upgrade the OEM heater hoses with silicone hoses. That Evans coolant is not cheap stuff so once everything is in order I'll most likely make the switch.

[Rich Detert]

Thermocure from Evaporust dissolves rust (iron oxide). We have aluminum engines and copper (?) radiators. Other than the impeller in the water pump which may be iron based, what other components can creat rust? From the pictures, the deposits in the radiator etc do not appear to be as a result of rusting?

Standard Evaporust is to dissolve rust on iron/steel metals.
I used standard Evaporust to clean steel and cast iron parts, it works great.

The Thermocure is suppose to deal with corrosion along with rust.

From their website.

Treat the overheat with THERMOCURE™. THERMOCURE™ uses the latest technology in rust and corrosion removal to completely revitalize any water cooled engine. THERMOCURE™ removes rust scale and deposits from radiators, water pumps, water jackets, engine blocks, and heads. Rust and corrosion act an insulator and cause vehicles to overheat. This product restores the engine’s ability to transfer heat to the coolant allowing engines to run cooler and essentially last longer!

The discussions I saw on TV said it dissolved corrosion.

Does it work? Who knows, it might be worth trying to see if it removes corrosion on aluminum like it's supposed to.

[Black Adder]

From Thermocure/Evaporaust's website
THERMOCURE uses "selective chelation", a process in which a large synthetic molecule forms a bond with metals and holds them in solution. The active ingredient in THERMOCURE bonds exclusively to the iron in iron oxide - not to steel.
http://www.evapo-rust.com/thermocure-faqs/

[Sybil TF]

I've used Evans in other applications and its good stuff! I might end up switching at some point but still going to wait until I upgrade the OEM heater hoses with silicone hoses. That Evans coolant is not cheap stuff so once everything is in order I'll most likely make the switch.It's $40.00 a gallon and so is the flush so x that by 6 but you only do it once and never again so it pays for itself and it eliminates all corrosion.No evoporust or thermocure crap needed. Besides that some of these guys never flush their cars so it's perfect for the lazy...