We used to have a radiator man in town who boiled out radiators in a makeshift tank over brush or whatever wood he had that needed burning. He "fixed" my radiator by sealing up so many tubes it always ran hot. I had to have a good shop recore the radiator.
I too, have heard of pepper but never tried it. One time, I put two cans of commercial leak seal into a radiator to seal a leaky freeze plug. It stopped the leak but settled in the heater core stopping the flow. This prompted me to remove the heater, take out the core and have a commercial...
I've had too much gravel in the bed and the front tires had a poor grip on the road making steering hazardous. These days I try to stick with what the manufacturer recommends.
With all the laws and litigation today. I'm afraid to make a recommendation or even express an opinion. I often think about a story we read in our literature book around 1965. It told about a young tractor driver who was around ten years old. When I think about that story, I wonder whether...