Tsuka89

I have a rusting coolant line fitting on the top of my intake manifold (sits under the mass of wires and other garbage, so I was just wondering should I be concerned about rusting in the head coolant tunnels or are all the heads aluminum?
thanks

NismoPick

Cylinder head is aluminum... block is cast iron...

Visible outside corrosion is either from the engine bay being wet, or a leaky coolant connection.

Tsuka89

I just replaced the radiator because the core was rusted so thats probably where it came from

mrprofile

correct me if i am wrong here, but radiators don't "rust" to the point at which they leave rust flakes, there made of copper or aluminum which only oxidizes. There alloys chosen specifically because they don't do what your describing. I think the rust is coming from somewhere else, and the pump is just moving the rust through the rad. you might be wasting your money on a new rad.

NismoPick

Yuppers... The only things that can "rust" in the coolant system would be the block, or the steel couplers / connections. A really good system flush followed by a proper mixture of coolant should fix that problem.

WanganDevilZ

How it's made was showing how radiators were made. And yep. Copper/aluminum.

83turbo280zx

your best bet is to flush it with a garden hose as best as you can, put the old radiator back in, leave the lower hose off of the radiator. Stick a garden hose into the radiator hose feeding water into the engine and let it run without a thermostat in it for maybe 30-45 min. Once you've done this, shut it off let it cool, fill the cooling system with a gallon of vinegar, and then water on top, let it circulate for a good 30-45 min. drain and repeat the garden hose procedure once more. This should get most if not all of the junk out. Then replace the radiator with a new one if it is severely clogged

FricFrac

You can also get a little jig that splices into your heat hose and lets you screw in a garden hose. Works great. Just take the rad cap off and flush it yourself...

Tsuka89

The car was starting to overheat ie radiator performance failing, which was the main reason for replacement, I guess I'll post some pics, get some more replies and go from there.