304 Engine rebuild? Coolant leak? Manifold Smoke

Flushed and drained properly, there's no sediment left to "filter" out. The sediment built up most likely because the anti-rust chemicals in the coolant were worn-out anyway. The coolant was defective, so "saving" it is counter-productive. (It's possible you have corrosion problems due to improper grounding; but you'd be seeing any aluminum components rot out first, before the iron.)

The flush water goes on the street in front of your house; or perhaps on your lawn, because you've previously drained 98--99 percent of the anti-freeze from the radiator and two block drains for appropriate disposal. Iron dust particles and a trace of antifreeze dilluted by gallons and gallons of fresh water is meaningless in terms of pollution. Depending on your soil, iron dust could be considered a fertilizer. Some places have too much iron in the soil, some places not enough. But in any event, even an engine with terrible rust isn't going to put so much in the dirt as to be a problem.

"Appropriate disposal" of used antifreeze can--depending on your local ordinances--be as simple as dumping it into the sink, or down the toilet. The wastewater treatment facility can deal with the antifreeze; certainly better than allowing it into a storm sewer with no treatment at all, that leads to a river. Most places have actual anti-freeze collection places. They can be privately owned, or set up by "The City". When they get enough used coolant, it's sent off for recycling/processing; or disposed of in an environmentally-friendly way. When there's a collection/recycling option, the City probably doesn't want you dumping into the sanitary sewer system. And you wouldn't want it in a septic tank, either.
 
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I think you misread me. I recommend filtering on new coolant charges when all the fines can't be removed without professional equipment or excessive flushing with cleaner. I live in the country and our water is from a well. I am blessed with a productive well, but many are not even in Western Oregon. Pollution is a huge concern for me and protecting the water table. You'd be surprised at what years of a serious hobby or mechanical activities can pile up in chemical waste and can infiltrate groundwater. All my oils, glycols, cleaner, etc. go to waste disposal or recycle places. Some radiator shops will take in antifreeze for a nominal fee. The solution with dilution is not always a good option even in residential areas.
 
In your case--rural, on-site well for drinking water--consider switching to Propylene Glycol-based antifreeze rather than the common Ethylene Glycol-based stuff. The meager amount of Propylene Glycol that makes it into your yard would have zero safety effect on your well.

PG anti-freeze costs a little more; and has slightly less freeze protection. I've used it without problem; but it's not my first choice.
 
I've spent years in the "cooling" industry and very familiar with propylene glycols. Not in my engines. Nothing is zero safety, just risk management. I'll just keep the trash picked up.
 
So it sounds like I should really be removing drain plugs. I’ve read about doing this and it seems like a bear with the engine still in the bay…? For the old coolant, I’ve properly packed many 5 gallon containers and brought to the transfer station. It should be mostly water at this point but I was going to cycle RMI 25 through next. But I guess before that I need to focus on removing the plugs? To be clear tho, I doubt any of these tricks actually remove all of the rust, which is why I’m still going to install a mesh screen at the radiator simply because it won’t hurt. I also bought a filter mount for the heater hose. My question with that is do I put it on the top hose? Honestly I don’t know for sure which is going to the core and which is coming out, and for whatever reason that info is left out of the service manual in the coolant section. It seems like the top one but maybe you guys know for sure?
 
First, it is illegal to drain any thing from your car down the drain or the gutter. We simply can't discuss or recommend such things on this form. Take Greg R's recommendation and catch the fluids and dispose of per your county's hazardous waste policy.

Second, all of the flushing or filtering in the world will not rid the 50 year old block of sediment, rust or similar without more extreme measures. The only way to start making progress is to remove the freeze plugs on the sides of the block and wash/ scrape it out. Use a coat hanger or similar device to loosen the crud before pressure washing it out.

If that is not possible, install a Wye strainer in the top radiator hose and drive it. A Wye strainer has a clean out plug that allows the strainer to be flushed. Finer strainers are also available for most industrial Wye strainers.

Example https://www.supplyhouse.com/Bluefin-WYET125-1-1-4-Bronze-Wye-Strainer-Lead-Free-Threaded
 
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You ABSOLUTELY need to get the block drains open. They're always a problem. If they have a hex-head on them like a bolt, be sure to use a six-point socket. Otherwise use what fits. If your plugs happen to have a square female recess, DO NOT be tempted to spin them out by poking a 1/4 or 3/8 or 1/2 socket extension into the square recess. You'll break the tip off of your extension, where it's drilled for the socket-retaining spring ball.

The heater core outlet hose is
A. The larger-diameter hose if they're different-sized.
B. The one that goes directly to the radiator, or to the water pump, NOT the one connected to the intake manifold or cylinder head.
 
Robert is spot on!! I know of cities in Oregon, because I worked in them, that have closely monitored storm and sewer systems that techs can pinpoint sources of contaminants. Willful offenders are fined, accidents are kind of a gray area for forgiveness.

Most engine blocks come dirty from the foundry so you can't get it to zero unless a block has been hot tanked. New they where clean enough to run so block drains are a must to make sure ALL or 95% of the old coolant is out. There's still hiding places in heads and heaters.

For me filtering reduced tremendously the amount of flushing, seeing that I pack it out. Once I am assured the old stuff is out, a back flush through the heater system/block and out to a pan maybe takes 8-10 gallons to get any residuals.

After that a fresh fill with distilled water and new antifreeze usually is all I need. However sometimes the fines left could cloud the coolant and this where I filter it. I believe I used a 5 micron and that makes it crystal clean. One household filter does several engines.
 
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I doubt any of these tricks actually remove all of the rust

You are correct. It's the small stuff that travels and plugs small areas such as around exhaust valves in the head.

Many blocks, and it didn't matter what OEM it was, came with core sand still in them from the foundry. You might find this when popping the core plugs (some folks call freeze plugs incorrectly) and open block drains. This is where coat hangars, picks and what not help get it out. You may not get it surgically clean, but you can get it mechanically clean so the coolant can flow where needed.

Once you get it clean and running, keep an eye on the system. Modern coolants have anti-corrosion to keep the system clean, but they will peter out after 2-3 years so I recommend a change about every 3 years. It's easy to forget even when you keep a service log.
 
Ok, thanks again for going through this. I’m pretty sure i know what’s next now that I’ve rebuilt the carb. I attached a few photos to make sure I do what needs to be done. The 6 drain plugs don’t seem that crazy. As long as I don’t need the additional ones that look to be a pain in the ass. The other photos identify what I think to be the correct line to tap into for the filter setup.
  1. Are the 3 drain/freeze/core plugs on each side sufficient to remove? For a total of six large plugs and replacing with brass?
  2. Am I tapping into the (A) line that goes to the heater core? Or do I have this mixed up?
 

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One 1/4" plug for each side for the water jackets. Careful there's also plugs for the oil gallery. Draining the jackets pretty much empties the block.

What I did for the filter is pull the heater hose off the thermostat housing and put it on the filter outlet. Then a short hose from the housing to the filter inlet. This way when the pump pulls from the block, or when hot enough the radiator, or both; all the coolant will get filtered in a short time returning to the engine through the heater system
 
Ok, so the line from the thermostat housing is the heater core inlet then. I will find somewhere on the firewall to mount the filter. The 1/4” water jacket plug is the one in the attached photo?
 
Yes, next to the core plug.

I wouldn't mount the filter anywhere. This is only temporary. Give yourself enough hose length to stay away from the belts. Also, no pressure so keep the cap loose. As I posted, it only takes about 20min to 1/2 hour of fast idle to clean things up.
 
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