Triumph Repair: Cooling System Flush, aluminum engine, saab 99

Question
Hi Howard:

Thanks for all your help with various issues on my TR7.

This question is not specifically for the TR7, but for the Stag.  I know you don't list expertise for this model, however the question is general in nature.

I will be doing a cooling system service on this car very soon.  Do you recommend using a flushing detergent or just using water?  I know the Stag's cooling system is trouble some and I want to do this right.

Thanks for any help,
Matt

Answer
Hi Matt,

I have worked on a few Stags but not many unless you count all the TR-7's which is just a half of a Stag engine anyway.

I don't think there is anything in the flush products that will harm a Stag engine unless the flush product says not to use it in an all aluminum engine.

You can just use plain water but that will only flush out loose stuff. If it were mine, I would just read the container to besure it don't exclude aluminum engines and use a flushing detergent.

I have worked a lot on TR-7s and was factory trained on the engine and the only thing I found was that Triumph used not the greatest aluminum in their heads and the odd design of the head studs caused most of the problems and the rest was the internal gear driven water pump. It is interesting to note that Saab took the TR-7 engine and corrected most of the problems and put it in the Saab "99".

Howard