Bedford 500 diesel help!

It's an old trick but a good trick and has worked for me in the past........A handful of caustic soda in the radiator wnen the engine is cold run it till it boils for a while,then drop the water out of the bottom hose,while putting plenty of water in the top under as much pressure as you have,.Flush it out constantly until all you get is clean water.......you may have to do this repeat more than once.It has worked for me in the past.But remember Caustic soda is dangerous and can burn skin and eyes etc. good luck steveb

Caustic soda may also attack some alloys. ??

Re Caustic Soda
Twenty years ago son of mate was told to put caustic down drain at work to clean partial blockage didn't seem to work so shoved hose down and turned on water came back up around hose and hit full in face .
Lost 80% of eyesight be careful.
peter

Hi Guys Happy Easter. Well after mucking around with various things to try and clean the radiator. My friend says "lets flush the radiator with my fire pump!" I must say at this point I was a bit frustrated with the truck so I agreed. The thought of a large volume of water at around 50psi rushing through the radiator did worry me! However to my suprise the water flowed through no worries.

I have a new theory and I would like some thoughts/opinions before I go ahead.

Once the cooling sysytem is full if you put the radiator cap on and start the engine within a minute water starts coming out the radiator relief tube. Turn engine off re fill same thing happens. I have now convinced myself that there is combustion pressure getting into the cooling system. When the water gets pushed out there is not enough left so it over-heats. I am hoping that it is as simple as an old head gasket that has simply corroded in one spot.

Has anyone had any experience with these engines? If so I would love to hear from you!

Also does anyone know of a decent place who can supply gaskets for these old girls at a reasonable price? Quick internet search shows I can get gaskets etc from the U.K was wondering if there was a local supplier.

I am in the Geelong area so any tips hints would be greatly appreciated. Will attempt to open a Flickr acc and post some photo's.

Once again thankyou.
Cheers

Yep I'd be guessing you have one of the following but it's only guess
head gasket
cracked head
pouress liner if they even have liners
no nothing about Bedford 500 diesel but it sounds like it's leaking compression into the cooling side of things some were hope this of some help regards Paul

Try

Don Kyatt Spare Parts (Moorabbin)
Address: 177-179 Chesterville Rd, Moorabbin VIC 3189
Phone (03) 9555 0455


Or Send an email to

www.acwbedford.com.au/

(as they dont answer phones)


Trevor

You could try CarGo Metallic Seal-Up
I have had some success with it and is not expensive may be alright but for the cost could be worth a try as a interim fix

If you have a compression leak into the cooling system,you should have bubbles showing in the coolant with the engine running without the radiator cap on.Is the radiator cap the correct pressure rating.Should be at least 15P.S.I on a diesel engine.Also have you bled the air out of the system as it could have an air lock in the block..Just a few more things to try

If you have a compression leak into the cooling system,you should have bubbles showing in the coolant with the engine running without the radiator cap on.Is the radiator cap the correct pressure rating.Should be at least 15P.S.I on a diesel engine.Also have you bled the air out of the system as it could have an air lock in the block..Just a few more things to try

yes if you are getting pressure from compression you should see them there air bubbles .however if you had an airlock wouldn't just air come out and not water but I am proberly wrong .I would just pull the radiator cap off and have a look when it is running it will answer a lot of questions straight away Paul

The radiator is lower than the cylinder head,air cannot escape .the air heats up and pushes the water out and causes the engine to boil.Had this trouble with one with a Perkins fitted.There should be a relief plug in the top of the head.Open this while filling the coolant up.When all the air is out of the system,replace the plug and keep the water going into the radiator.If this does not work ,you will have to go inside the engine