Yes it is - rodding it thoroughly removes all the sludge and them the core can be properly chemically cleaned.

Its costs between $60 and $100 to have it done - yes its worth it.

Sorry to bother you agian mike but i just look in the yellow pages for radiator....nothing. Any idea where to look for someone who do this?

Where is Gulgong?

Here is a one straight out of www.whitepages.com

Radreps Radiator Repairers14 Bayley St Geelong - Phone/Fax 3220(03) 5229 4811

I dont know Geelong - never been there but there must be some.

Gulgong - Central tablelands of NSW, 3.5 hours north west of Sydney. Old gold mining town and now a sheep, wine, honey and tourist area. Near Mudgee. Google Gulgong for better info.

Thanks Mike for all your help.

yes i would strongly suggest to rod and flush radiator its a small price to pay for piece of mind one bad thing about minis is the side mount radiator if stopped at lights or whatever have you ever notced at idle how quickly the old smiths temp gauge rises or climbing a steep hill.the mechanical engine fan can be quite insufficient .when stopped this indicates blockages in core or tubes in radiator.when driving though air flow maintains stable temp.or you could force air through radiator electrically with external fan more expensive though than a professional radiator service.all the best bulla.

On the subject of paint, I painted mine with El Cheapo Wattle Killrust gloss black and it's still Glossy Black today

Regarding cleaning of radiators: it's like this, would you rather push air through a clogged radiator with an elaborate electric fan setup or just push normal air through a mechanical fan through a clean radiator?

I have a clean radiator and I struggle to warm the car up in winter. I have to fang down the freeway before the thermostat actually opens...

_________________
Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

I WONDER DOES AIR FLOW FASTER OVER GLOSS PAINT THAN FLAT PAINT SPECIAL TUNING TIP OR WOULD YOU RATHER DISIPATE HEAT MORE SLOWLY WITH GLOSS BLACK PAINT IN WINTER I DIDNT KNOW RADIATORS RUSTED THANKS FOR TIP.

BULLA

My radiator is made from brass and aluminium, hardly going to rust.....

_________________
1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

Okay, lets change the term them. You are correct they dont rust but they certainly do corrode. This is due to a number of things apart from sludge and grit being whizzed around the coolant system under pressure and with a velocity - just like sandpaper really.

Remember that the block is cast in sand and not all the sand it removed.

There is another element to corrosion as well and that is ionic replacement. Copper and brass (brass being a composite material) are place at certain place on the periodic table (google for a better explanation) other substances are higher or lower on the periodic table and those chemical either give up ions to copper or accept ions to copper. Anyway, if copper gives up too many ions the are left with with very thin copper until it can't contain the pressure and bursts.

No its not rust, but the effect is the same.

Short rant on >

Yeah, rust usually refers to the Fe3+ ion (all atoms form oxidation states, some only form one, some form various different ones, see wikipedia - In which they 'donate' electrons to other ions making an ionic bond) reacting with various other stuff usually including oxygen.

Sorry I just saw above someone said something like "I didn't know my radiator could rust".

I've found, from my old radiators that the copper (brass) doesn't tend to move, but reacts with stuff that might end up in your coolant. And totally blocks up.

Short Rant over>

_________________
1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

PS

when I say "doesn't tend to move" I can't prove that, that is by eye only, and you can't see very far into it, jsut where the cap goes looking down. Dismantling and measuring thickness against original thicknesses with a micrometre would tell for sure I'd think. Was suppose to add tha tin but I'm doing Maths Studies homework whilst Ausmini-ing and forgot.

_________________
1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

gee your very clever ill be sure to get you to advise me on everything mini from now on oh and thanks for the lecture on oxidisation fascinating stuff really i wont be returning to ausmini i simply obviously cant compete if thats what it is with such mini expert enthusiasts see you on the dark side of the moon i think ill stick to the mini experience at least its better than my ausmini one.