Switching to pink from green DIY
- Thread starter dblshock
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You will need to do several drain and fills through the drain plug to get all the old coolant out. The process usually goes like this..
-drain the radiator with the radiator cap off until the fluid stops
- then put the plug back in and fill it with distilled water until the overflow tank/radiator won't take anymore, giving a minute for the radiator to let it all flow down
- Put radiator cap back on, then run the engine with the heat on low until the thermostat opens and mixes the fresh water with old coolant (This step goes much faster if you remove the thermostat, since you only have to let the engine idle for a couple of minutes isntead of until the thermostat opens).
- Repeat step one until all the stuff you drain off is crystal clear, at least 3-4 times.
- add concentrate coolant to 50% of system capacity, (Honda 2.4 capacity = about 5.3-5.4 quarts, so you need about 2.65 quarts of concentrate coolant to get 50/50).
If you have access to a garden hose you can give it an extra flush by draining the radiator the first time and running the hose down the fill hole with the drain plug off until the water runs clear, making the subsequent drain and fills cleaner.
For the overflow bottle you can remove the whole assembly and rinse with water, then premix 50/50 mixture and add straight to the tank after finishing the job.
Also if you have good access to the lower radiator hose, the radiator drains really fast from this hose and is easily flushed with a garden hose from the top of the radiator to the lower hose since it lets debri flow more freely than the small drain plug.
-drain the radiator with the radiator cap off until the fluid stops
- then put the plug back in and fill it with distilled water until the overflow tank/radiator won't take anymore, giving a minute for the radiator to let it all flow down
- Put radiator cap back on, then run the engine with the heat on low until the thermostat opens and mixes the fresh water with old coolant (This step goes much faster if you remove the thermostat, since you only have to let the engine idle for a couple of minutes isntead of until the thermostat opens).
- Repeat step one until all the stuff you drain off is crystal clear, at least 3-4 times.
- add concentrate coolant to 50% of system capacity, (Honda 2.4 capacity = about 5.3-5.4 quarts, so you need about 2.65 quarts of concentrate coolant to get 50/50).
If you have access to a garden hose you can give it an extra flush by draining the radiator the first time and running the hose down the fill hole with the drain plug off until the water runs clear, making the subsequent drain and fills cleaner.
For the overflow bottle you can remove the whole assembly and rinse with water, then premix 50/50 mixture and add straight to the tank after finishing the job.
Also if you have good access to the lower radiator hose, the radiator drains really fast from this hose and is easily flushed with a garden hose from the top of the radiator to the lower hose since it lets debri flow more freely than the small drain plug.
If you can't get the coolant in concentrate form i would forgo the want to keep the same type of coolant handy and pick something else so you can get the ratio correct. The only way to change from one color to the next with 50/50 is by doing the drain and fills with the 50/50 and it would take probably 3-5 drain and fills to get most of it out, which is a lot of wasted coolant.
I would suggest trying something different that is compatible with your engine if you want to explore other options.
I would suggest trying something different that is compatible with your engine if you want to explore other options.
It depends on how much of the system capacity you get from the radiator. If you can drain out more than half of the system you should be good.
If your dead set on pink, then do as you described but do one additional drain and fill with the 50/50 pre mix after you flush with water, but that's wasting two fills of pink which could be expensive.
If your dead set on pink, then do as you described but do one additional drain and fill with the 50/50 pre mix after you flush with water, but that's wasting two fills of pink which could be expensive.
http://www.driveaccord.net/forums/showthread.php?t=30151
No don't add the pink to green that's a no no.
After looking at the thread I just posted I think your good to just do what you wanted by flushing all the green out multiple times with water then wasting one fill of pink to before doing your last drain in fill. This is because the radiator holds approximately 80% of the system capacity which is good.
Just make sure to drain the overflow coolant bottle first and get all the old coolant out and keep it topped up with pink so anything it pulls in will be correct.
No don't add the pink to green that's a no no.
After looking at the thread I just posted I think your good to just do what you wanted by flushing all the green out multiple times with water then wasting one fill of pink to before doing your last drain in fill. This is because the radiator holds approximately 80% of the system capacity which is good.
Just make sure to drain the overflow coolant bottle first and get all the old coolant out and keep it topped up with pink so anything it pulls in will be correct.
JHZR2
Staff member
It's going to take a long time to flush it all out without a removal of hoses, thermostat and water pump.
Yeah, when I changed out my Accord to the proper Type 2 (from whatever the previous owner had in there), I blew out the heater core and had both the water pump and radiator out of the vehicle. It's not an easy thing to do when premix is what you are trying to get put in.
Heater hose(s) is easy to remove/replace and it costs no more than $2-3. With T-flush flushing can be done in less than 2 minutes.
I'm not touching a hose, this is a old brittle situation..I sprayed this engine and bay down with 20 cans of silicone since day one (like a marine engine) It's caked with oil and road soil but I'm sure it draws that lube as needed.
If I buy three gallons of distilled water and run that thru then replace them with 3 gallons of Toyota 50/50 pink i'm thinking I'll be good, even here in Milwaukee where -30 is not unheard of.
If I buy three gallons of distilled water and run that thru then replace them with 3 gallons of Toyota 50/50 pink i'm thinking I'll be good, even here in Milwaukee where -30 is not unheard of.
3 gallons of distilled water is $6 and three gallons of Toyota pink 50/50 is $45.
..my hope is as my Accord ages from 200k to 300k the original cooling system is suspect, if this enough to nurse it thru while it's still viable I'll consider it successful.
..my hope is as my Accord ages from 200k to 300k the original cooling system is suspect, if this enough to nurse it thru while it's still viable I'll consider it successful.
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Just use up all the pink, if you flush it enough you'll be close enough to 50/50 to not matter.
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