Anti Rust additive for antifreeze?

edgewood bronco

Well-known member
Anybody have a recommendation for an additive to keep the coolant passages from rusting? When I dumped the coolant, it was RUSTY. Would like to keep that from happening if possible.
Thanks!
 
I've never done it personally, but the guys over at powerstroke.org talk a lot about a product called restore+
6.0 coolant flush -- powerstroke.org
It may be worth it to read through a couple flush threads on how to get rid of the rust/scale before trying to prevent it.
Motorcraft #VC9 CLEANER - OXIDATION NEUTRALIZA (VC9) -- Amazon.com


Looks like Prestone makes a product for this purpose, again; I've never used any of this.
Prestone Radiator Anti-Rust with Water Pump Lube
Prestone Radiator Anti-Rust with Water Pump Lube improves cooling system efficiency and protects water pump life by reducing friction and protecting against rust and corrosion. Apply Anti-Rust with Water Pump Lube after each coolant change to guard against cooling system corrosion.

Anti-rust coat helps protect key cooling system metals from corrosion
Extends the life of water pumps and cooling system components
Compatible with all types of antifreeze
Lots of luck.
 
You can put a garden hose bibb on one of your heater hoses and flush with a hose or power flush the block and radiator. One of my cars had one. Probably get it at a parts house.

They also have a variety of solvents that you pour in and run. Keep putting solvent in and running until it drains clear. The rust is probably due to people just topping up the radiator with water and not adding anti-freeze with rust inhibitor. Barring that, you can also get a specific rust inhibitor to pour in.
 
i agree with ludwig, modern antifreeze comes with an anti rust additive in the additive package built in. what happens over time is that the additive package wears out, and as noted people top the radiator off with water. people also tend to let antifreeze go far too lone before flushing the system and changing the antifreeze.
 
Yep, you really shouldn't get much in the way of rust if you're using a proper mix of antifreeze and distilled water and changing it on time. The additives in the AF are designed explicitly to inhibit rust, so the only real reason you'd get it is if you're depleting the additive package before a flush. With conventional coolants, that's every two years. Modern coolants can do 5 or 8 years. I use the extended life stuff changed every four in my XR4Ti and the Falcon (both iron block & head) and they always drain clean.

Diesels are very hard on cooling systems, hence the desire for unusual additives. In a gas motor, the regular stuff should handle the requirements fine.
 
Thanks. I put new in, but must've used some pretty crappy stuff. it was rusted after 600 miles. I'll pick some stuff up on my way home and get it right.
 
diesels are hard on antifreeze, but the biggest concern is anticavitation.
The standard recommendation for a 6.0 is a passive coolant filter, not for rust, but because the blocks slough sand from the casting process and the stock Ford antifreeze has a high silica content that precipitates and those particles should be filtered out.

The Restore+ is only to be used during the cleaning phase. And should be fully rinsed out of the block using distilled water.

Like Ludwig said, you really should put some sort of solvent into the existing antifreeze and then run fresh water through the motor until it runs clean before putting in new antifreeze. Otherwise any low pockets of antifreeze will already be contaminated by the old fluid.
 
edgewood bronco":2u30yhgp said:
Thanks. I put new in, but must've used some pretty crappy stuff. it was rusted after 600 miles. I'll pick some stuff up on my way home and get it right.

its possible that you didnt do a proper flush if the cooling system before you put the new in, and if so then there was still rust in the system that the new stuff forced loose. depending on which vehicle this is, you may have to do two or three flushes to clear the system properly.
 
Well, those guys are the supreme gurus. I am but a lowly altar boy to them. But I would add that when you refill, you need to run the engine for a while as it warms up to running temp with the radiator cap off. Eventually, as you watch the liquid in the radiator, you will see the thermostat burp and a flush of warm water will enter. At this point, I refill with coolant, not water.

When this burp happens, you need to leave the cap off for a little while longer. Five, maybe ten minutes. You will see much more air entering the radiator and you refill as needed. This air is all being purged from the block and other cavities of the coolant path.

Once it quits burping, put the cap back on and crank it tight. DON'T take it off again until the engine is cool. Otherwise all the residual air that floated up after you closed it up will blow hot coolant on you. Check the level and refill as needed, this time you can put the cap on right away because the air is at the top.
 
:D Another little hint.When you refill the cooling system,park the vehicle slightly nose high.That will help to purge the air.
Good luck.Have fun.Be safe.
Leo
 
These old heads can accumulate a bunch of rusty crap.
It might even require removing it and having it professionally cleaned.
 
For really rusty cooling systems, add a 12 oz amount of muriatic acid and fill the system. Run the engine for 15 minutes and then drain this caustic mix and flush the system several times.
That will clean up a rusty system.
I also advise a back flush of the radiator to remove rust chunks. Hook up a hose to the lower hose of the radiator to try to remove all the rust debris from the radiator tubes.
If your system was real bad you might have to replace the radiator.
 
Thanks. I was surprised to see how much sludge there was in my coolant when I drained it after my engine had to be pulled at 600 miles. I believe I was using something made for Wal-Mart. I flushed the radiator, filled with Prestone, and I should be good to go.
 
looks like they're recommending distilled (de-mineralized) h2o,
a new 1 on me, but again, an added benefit between those periodic
standard maintenance flushes (2-5 yrs.).
(Plus Quality antifreze, no water wetter, other additives).
 
Otherwise you could end up calcifying the innards if you have high mineral content and calcium is a great insulator, bad for heat transfer.
 
At my house I have rural water (Fargo municipal provided) and a well.
The well water has high, but still safe to drink, white iron levels. This last summer, I filled the kids pool with water from the well hydrant. The next morning the whole bottom of the kids pool was covered in rust colored sludge.
When we filled it from the rural water hydrant the water remained clear, but it has extra chemicals in it from the sterilization process, sometimes smells like chlorine, and leaves calcium deposits on my faucets.
 
AlBdarned,
distilled H2O for the radiator too,
all ways just used it in the battery.
'nother spot to spend money (but well spent as U'all suggest)
thanks
 
But then don't you end up with detritus in your water?
Sure it is evaporated (distilled) as it goes up into the sky, but once it hits your roof, any leaves, bird droppings, asphalt, shingle grit, or blown in dust... will be right there in the cistern water too.
 
Distilled water really is key. Even clean rain water contains compounds you don't want in your cooling system. If you use non-distilled water with AF, you can either more quickly deplete the additives in the AF or, in some cases, screw up the chemistry in the system so bad it will attack the cooling system. Two gallons of distilled water costs less than a beer - you can afford that every two or five years to save having to replace a radiator or even a radiator hose.
 
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