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I discovered that I wasn't getting any heat from my heater. Looking under the hood I found that there was no flow going through the heater hoses as they were completely cold when the engine was up to temperature. I removed the two hoses at the engine end. I tried to blow through the inlet but it was plugged. I was able to blow through the outlet and caused a discharge from the inlet. Eventually I could move air either way. Obviously I removed a blockage with back pressure. I reinstalled the hoses reversing the connections and now I have good flow.

I guess I should look for some type of coolant filter to put inline with one of the rad hoses. Anyone have experience with such a filter?

more likely you should flush the core well and the block too, sounds like some junk from the block passages got stuck crossways, which would plug any filter as easily - do you have a shutoff on it that you close in summer? I'm always leery of having one hose shut off so the pressure is still there with no flow, prefer looping one hose on the engine connections and draining the heater

Bill

Thanks,
no I don't use a shutoff at all. I thought maybe with a filter I could trap some of the junk circulating. The problem would be when the filter plugged! I did a search and found that they also make a filter for the heater. Seeing as I bought a new core when I put the truck together, maybe that would at least be a good addition.

A coolant filter was actually an option in 1954. Here is a picture of mine (NOS) it is made by Perry Filters (still a major producer). I don't use my heater so I cannot say how it works, it has a replaceable chemical element in it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/8129072512/in/set-72157631867396207

Brad, that setup might help keep the coolant generally cleaner, but T-eed into the hoses like that I don't see it keeping lumps out of the heater core

Nix, I think the money would be better spent on a good block flush, eliminate the source of the problem - I've never had a heater plugged up in any of these trucks that I've always used as year around daily drivers

Bill

Brad,
that is fascinating that they had that available back then.

Fred

Coolant filters are fairly common on diesel engines. But you still need to start out with a clean block. Teeing it in like that would be just as effective as a bypass oil filter except the water won't be getting contaminated at such a rapid rate.

GM engineered it Red not me.

yes, and as a filter for the coolant generally, it likely does help some, but it still won't keep lumps out of the heater with the hoses effectively bypassing it - putting it inline in the input hose would do so, but as Fred suggests it could plug up, which is likely why GM designed it as a bypass arrangement, won't affect anything if it's neglected enough to plug up

Bill

In my search I found a coolant filter for the rad hose that is transparent so you can see what is going on. I haven't found a vendor for them yet. The ones that I have seen for sale are brass colored on the outside.

Running it inline should be fine unless there is too much restriction. I mean, what difference would it make if the filter plugged up? It would be a whole lot easier to change the filter than fiddle with the heater core. However, the bypass arrangement should work too, it isn't like the coolant is going to be picking up "chunks" at any great rate, and if the theory that "all the oil gets filtered eventually" as many people believe is correct about a bypass oil filter. I can't really see why the theory wouldn't hold true in this situation. But you can't use them to "clean-up" a coolant system that is thoroughly plugged, you still need to start with a clean block, and you would still probably get a whole lot of junk for a while.