Fixing up a MEP-802A

[Farmitall]

Had some more time to work on the set again. Cleaned up the fuel tank, replaced all fuel lines, installed a new "FERNCO" coupling and took "Light in the Dark's" advice and replaced the thermostat. Glad I did. The picture of the thermostat and housing are self explanatory. Amazing what shows up in cooling systems. The radiator had the same stuff in the bottom.

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Many times the crap in a radiator speaks volumes of the quality of the water in some places. No wonder so many people have kidney stones.

One place I lived the well water was so hard I expected to turn on the faucet and get gravel instead of water. Needless to say, we didn't drink or cook with it even after softening.

Were the deposits in the picture solid or gelatinous? It almost looks like aged grease that you'd find in wheel bearings that haven't been run in many years.

 

[Dieselmeister]

I suspect the crud was silicates. I could squish it, and it dissolved in boiling water. I connected the cooling system to my washing machine hot water faucet, and ran lots of hot water to flush out most of the crud. I will flush the system several more times before filling it with antifreeze. Unfortunately I won't have time until the end of April to complete the work, and actually run the set.

 

[Light in the Dark]

Just fill it up with hose water, and run it under load. That will do the trick. A few times, of course.

 

[Guyfang]

I added a cup of liquid Simple Green. But do it at least 3-4 times.

 

[Dieselmeister]

I am back in town, and plan to get the set up and running in the next two weeks. I tested all the electric components with a 24v power supply, and all relays, lights, fuel pumps etc. work as they should. Now need to get batteries, fill the oil, and then start flushing the cooling system. I found a good deal on 51R batteries at the local COSTCO.
I had saved some of the sludge from the thermostat housing (in the pictures in post 17) and showed it to a guy in a radiator shop. He looked at it, squished it, and said - Somebody put way to much stop leak in your radiator; we see that all the time. Hopefully flushing the system won't open up any major leaks! Better now than later. I did a thorough check for any previous or potential leaks, and did find that someone smeared some type of epoxy around the inlet hose connection on the radiator.
I think I am at the stage where I just need to hit the start button and see what happens.

 

[Chrispyny]

My guess on the sludge would be someone mixing two types of coolants together that should not have been. Aka green and orange.

From online..

What exactly happens when these coolants are mixed?


The coolants chemically react and form a gel rather than a liquid. The coolant stops flowing through the system, clogs up coolant passageways and water jackets, radiators, and heater cores. The water pump overheats and fails due to a lack of lubricant in the coolant. Head gaskets blow, heads warp, and the engine suffers major damage.

Lets hope you don’t have those problems. They make a coolant flush. Its supposed to safely scour the insides chemically, and then you flush it out and fill with green stuff. Walmart sells it.
Give it a go.

 

[Guyfang]

I am back in town, and plan to get the set up and running in the next two weeks. I tested all the electric components with a 24v power supply, and all relays, lights, fuel pumps etc. work as they should. Now need to get batteries, fill the oil, and then start flushing the cooling system. I found a good deal on 51R batteries at the local COSTCO.
I had saved some of the sludge from the thermostat housing (in the pictures in post 17) and showed it to a guy in a radiator shop. He looked at it, squished it, and said - Somebody put way to much stop leak in your radiator; we see that all the time. Hopefully flushing the system won't open up any major leaks! Better now than later. I did a thorough check for any previous or potential leaks, and did find that someone smeared some type of epoxy around the inlet hose connection on the radiator.
I think I am at the stage where I just need to hit the start button and see what happens.

Common. Lots of folks use something to seal the hose to the inlet/outlet, and then tighten up the clamp. Someone told me cheap insurance. Yeah, could be. But I never did it. If I think the hose is in not so good of condition, I changed it. If I am worried about the clap coming loose, I put a better/new clamp on it. Several times I screw up a hose, trying to get it back off, when someone used a adhesive that worked TOO good. There are some that are meant for this kind of application. But I just never saw the reason why. If it doesn't leak, don't fool with it.