Salt Away help fast, please

[Bill Howell]

Bob called and said a packed radiator on his pickup/push truck was making it run hot and he can not pressure wash the salt off. I need a ready avalible solution of some kind he can buy to help dissolve the compacted salt off the radiator. He said it was as hard as concrete. Who here is a Mr. Wizard with different chemicals that can help out. I suggested and he has already tried Hydrogen Peroxide (sp?). That worked on kitchen salt but not for him. Also keep in mind, we don't need to eat up the aluminum radiator either. Any quick solutions. He is on the road, so it must be something he can get at Wal-mart, etc.

[MrQuick]

this should be a common problem with them salt racer guys, Im suprised no one warned him about it. I was going to suggest a hot steam clean but I guess not....maybe diet soda?

[Bill Howell]

this should be a common problem with them salt racer guys, Im suprised no one warned him about it. ....

Damn, that was what he said, but trust me, there were a few explanitives added to the sentence.....hehe
GD, CS and MF come to mind....

[muthstryker]

roto hammer and some bits....

[formula]

GD, CS and MF come to mind....

Were there any words between those three? "Those GD CS MF'S!"

I would think his best bet would be one of those do-it-yourself car washes with the pressure washer built in...outside of that, it's gonna be tough....salt is most soluble in water by far, but ammonia might help, then methanol/wood spirits, then formic acid and formamide...but idk where the hell he'd get formic acid, and formamide is used in cryogenic preservation...

Edit: The solubility of a substance increases when it's hot, so tell him to heat the GDMF up before he tries to hose it off. The hotter the better. It only changes it by like 10 grams per 100 grams of water for every 100 degrees in temp change, but it still might help a little.

[Jim Nilsen]

Tequila might work, somehow it gets the salt off the rim of my glass
if not drink the bottle till someone figures it out

[CarlC]

Since that stuff turns to mud after a while, what about setting up a small sprinkler and letting run all night?

[TonyL]

can he chip it off with a putty knife? If not, the only solution I know of is actual water to dissolve salt.

[MrQuick]

Whats that stuff that the guy from them annoying citris cleaner commercials sells. It removes scale, lime and soap scum. I think its called CNR? Any news Bill?

[Larry Callahan]

Soak it in Dihydrogen Monoxide. That will dissolve almost anything in time.

[wiedemab]

My wife the Chemistry Teacher says that you need a polar substance to dissolve salt, because salt is a polar substance. The first rule of Chemistry - Like dissolves Like.

She says that hot water should be the best bet, if it is just salt.

Good luck with that one!

[jjump59]

Yep Larry, I hear that Dihydrogen Monoxide is some bad stuff but you can buy it a Wal-Mart. That's what I would use.

[chicane67]

If he's got some time...

I have used a lawn sprinkler... you know, the half arch type that covers 180* in a single oscillation... and just put it under the vehicle for a couple of hours.

But we're talking about an intercooler. Its gonna take direct high pressure H20 to clean that puppy. You might even want to give it a good shot of isopropyl alchol first...

[David Pozzi]

Salt will short out electricals too! Lots of people had trouble when I was there two years ago.
Hot water might be a good thing, but a lawn sprinkler overnight is what I've heard is done by the racers.

There is a do it yourself car wash across the street uphill from the grocery store on the west end of town. Try the pressure washer but don't get too close to the radiator ir the fins will be damaged.

There is a lot more than just salt in that stuff, which makes it worse.
David