Flushing my coolant

[Zymurgy]

I was going to have my radiator reconditioned but I wanted to flush my system ahead of time. I drove it for about 100 miles on 32 year old coolant and it is really nasty now, with a lot of rust.

Here is my plan and does it make sense. Drain radiator and as much that will come out of the engine. Refill with water, warm up until thermostat opens, and drain again. Fill it up again with water and a coolant flush run until warm drain. If it looks pretty clear then remove the radiator and take it to be reconditioned.

My car is in a heated shop so I don't have to worry about freezing temperatures.

 

[commando1]

I use the driveway method.
I have the radiator cleaned professionally separately
1. Remove thermostat.
2. Stick lower radiator hose from engine into pail.
3. Place running garden hose in pail. Add nasty chemicals of your choice to pail.
4. Disconnect upper radiator hose from radiator, attach suitable hose (Shop-Vac hose works) to radiator hose to divert water safely onto driveway. I also use every poisionous, caustic, chemical I can find and a final rinse with Tide.
NOT EPA approved... FTW.

 

[1978 NYB]

I use the driveway method.
I have the radiator cleaned professionally separately
1. Remove thermostat.
2. Stick lower radiator hose from engine into pail.
3. Place running garden hose in pail. Add nasty chemicals of your choice to pail.
4. Disconnect upper radiator hose from radiator, attach suitable hose (Shop-Vac hose works) to radiator hose to divert water safely onto driveway. I also use every poisionous, caustic, chemical I can find and a final rinse with Tide.
NOT EPA approved... FTW.

Nice! The Council approves.........

 

[commando1]

No tree huggers on The Council I take it....

 

[polara71]

I make a mess also in a way the EPA wouldnt like

 

[thrashingcows]

That is an interesting idea Stan. But I have to question something....doesn't the water from the hose just overfill the pail and run out? To me it just doesn't seem like there would be enough hydro-static pressure in that pail to force the water back up and through the motor.

Now in my mind if the pail was sealed, or there was a sealed connection on the lower rad hose, then I could see it working.

 

[thrashingcows]

What I usually do to flush the motor and rad....is I will drain the rad and motor, then remove the rad. The I fill the rad with a bit of water adn slosh it back and forth in the rad....then drain. Then I put the rad upside down, plug the upper rad hose connection with my hand and fill from the lower rad hose...then release and let all the water flush out. The I flip the rad and do the same thing. I do this several times until I'm sure most of the debris is out of the rad.

When the rad is out I will disconnec the heater hoses and back flush throgh those into the motor. Also plug the lower rad hose and filling the motor with water and letting it flush out quickly.

The I re-install everything and fill up the system. Run it unitl it's nice and hot and then drain. Then fill it again with my radiator flush of choice and run it as per the directions....then flush. Might do one more chemical rad flush and then out comes the rad again.

Then it's drain and remove the rad from the car and flush everything again with water....just like the first time. Re-install once again and fil with proper coolant, and some redline water wetter, and I'm done.

Lots of work,but this has worked for me for years. The rad in my wagon is stil the original 1971 unit from the parts car that donated the drivetrain.

 

[Zymurgy]

Thanks for the great advice. I will admit Stan's seems alot easier, nice graphic, so simple a monkey could do it.

 

[Bryan]

so simple a monkey could do it.

Watch it... Remember the ruckus the cavemen raised at the GEICO commercials. You are going to have every monkey in the world picketing.

 

[Stormer]

Howard Cosell got fired for that.

 

[commando1]

That is an interesting idea Stan. But I have to question something...

It's no different than the cap removed from the radiator, no?
My mentor showed me this method 40 years ago because he would do the flush while the Rad was out getting repaired at the Rad shop. It's what I learned and it works. What can I say?

(Sent using Forum Runner)

 

[thrashingcows]

Well I will have to try that then...and if it works, it works. Just from a purely theoretical stand point it does not appear that it should. But then by the same theory the diesel motor should work either....

 

[cm23uoc]

Don't forget to also flush the heater core. I usually give it one direct flushing through the heater hoses, heater valve open of course. Also use Stans method in general.

 

[1978 NYB]

Stan's procedure will work with flushing the heater core too. Just turn on the heater while flushing.

 

[Zymurgy]

Don't forget to also flush the heater core. I usually give it one direct flushing through the heater hoses, heater valve open of course. Also use Stans method in general.

Thanks for the reminder. I know I pushed alot of nasty stuff through the heater, but it works better than most my newer cars set on Max Heat.

 

[70NPORT]

I've never owned any Chrysler/Mopar car that didn't have heat that could thaw out a glacier, always nice and warm on cold winter mornings.

 

[commando1]

Don't forget to also flush the heater core. I usually give it one direct flushing through the heater hoses, heater valve open of course. Also use Stans method in general.

If you ever have looked at the water passages of a high mileage block, there's a tremendous amount of mineral build up that literally chokes them that even having a block tanked won't clean. I admittedly go overboard and run chemicals through the flush that would have the EPA shut me down as a HAZ-MAT site. That said, doing that will weed out any heater cores that are "marginal"...

 

[cm23uoc]

Over here we don't have any real effective chemicals anymore. Very strict environmental laws.
Not sure about the heater core issue you mentioned, think you mean the not so good heater core will get destroyed/leak with the chemicals you use ? Have these kinds of problems even with a higher pressure flush with a certain GM model I own and it starts leaking into the blower motor internals then.

 

[commando1]

think you mean the not so good heater core will get destroyed/leak with the chemicals you use ?

Yes. Sometimes it's the only the mineral buildup that's plugging the leaks.

BTW...............
http://www.irontite.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4

 

[cm23uoc]

Thanks, I'll keep that link in mind for the future. Think I'll probably have it shipped to a US address that I have to get shipped with a container then, don*t want to have German Customs slap that stuff round me ears.