Heat Exchanger Zinc

Ref-Ericson32-3 I was removing the zinc in my heat exchanger when the bronze cap broke loose from the zinc itself. Since the zinc is located at the bottom of the exchanger, I do not understand why the zinc did not fall out. The zinc appears to be pretty well stuck in the drain hole. I screwed the cap back in and there are no leaks so I guess I am o.k. for now. Has anyone had this problem and if so how is the easiest way to get the zinc out of the exchanger. Appreciate any help. Dac Callen Ericson32-3 Andiamo

That is an easy one. Remove the end cap. You will probably find bits from previous zincs having a little party in there.

When you go to put a new zinc pencil in, note that the generic zincs from the store may be too long for your particular installation. (I always had to cut about 3/8" off to get them to fit in my E38.) With the end cap of the heat exchanger removed it would be a good time to eyeball the requirements for the zinc replacement. I'm betting that there is quite a build up of salts inside the exchanger, which is probably what the existing zinc is stuck to. If that's the case, you might want to remove it and flush it out with acid first.