Flush Oil From Anti-freeze / Which Coolant To Use

[actionstan]

Hey guys, its been a while!


I have a two part question:


1. What is the best way to flush oil out of a cooling system? My 1999 Saturn SL1 cracked its head.. and my cooling system is a mess. I have heard about Simple Green HD, and also heard about just using dish washing detergent, however have also read this may not be as effective since they took the phosphates out of it. Any recommendations are very welcome, pretty lost on this issue.

2. What coolant do you recommend me use? I am leaning towards GM Dexcool, or maybe just some universal stuff. Is GM Dexcool still widely hated, or have gaskets / dexcool formula been updated to not cause issues like the classic 3.1/3.4 GM lower intake manifold issues? As far as I know dexcool has never caused issues on the Saturn s-series line of vehicles. The dexcool is also slightly more expensive, is there any benefit to running it over a universal coolant? Like better lubrication for the water pump, or better cooling/freezing protection?

Thanks guys!

 

[Ojustracing]

Ive used simple green for severely oiled Ford 7.3 engines with a blown oil coolers. The oil in the cooling system turned into something the consistency of axle grease in the upper hose. We flushed it twice with Simple green. Ran truck over an hr, each time. Final was the same time with just water. Refilled with coolant. We brought him back about a month later to go over the cooling system(replace hoses affected by the oil and check coolant condition). It was the worse cooling system I had ever seen in 27yrs and it was one of my specialties.

As far as Coolant goes. I was never a fan of it when it first came out. I liked and used GO-5. I'd say stick with Dex-cool.

How bad is the oil in the coolant?

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: Ojustracing


How bad is the oil in the coolant?



Pretty bad, a nice gray gooey consistency probably not as bad as axle grease though.

 

[Chris142]

simple green+ water. then flush again till clear

 

[Olas]

I've used dishwasher tablets to good effect for cleaning oil out of cooling systems. Flush and repeat, then fill with your choice of coolant

 

[tezzzas]

http://www.napaonline.com/Catalog/Catalo...1400_0075100028

Napa Radiator cleaner, hear good things about. Yeah, dish cleaner doesn't work anymore, government took out the good stuff.

 

[tezzzas]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
simple green+ water. then flush again till clear


Simple green will eat aluminum, I would be weary of that.

 

[SnowDrifter]

Dawn. The dish soap. Dead serious, works wonders. Take your your tstat, flush it through a couple times, flush with water, install thermostat, fill with coolant

 

[actionstan]

Originally Posted By: tezzzas
Originally Posted By: Chris142
simple green+ water. then flush again till clear


Simple green will eat aluminum, I would be weary of that.



Yea, I wouldn't use the regular kind, they make a Simple Green HD i would probly use, specifically for automotive/machinery type things, they even have steps online on their site on how to flush radiators with it.

 

[zrxkawboy]

Originally Posted By: SnowDrifter
Dawn. The dish soap. Dead serious, works wonders.
With all the "suds"? Not sure I'd want that in a cooling system.

 

[Chris142]

You only need a qt or so and only for 30-45 minutes.

 

[901Memphis]

Dishwasher powders have the low sud that you want. You should only need one of the sealed cascade packets for a system that small.

I would use something like Zerex G05 or Motorcraft gold.

The new Prestone universal coolant is good stuff too.

Amsoil is coming out with a new coolant soon, their current coolant is top notch already, can't be sure how they'd improve it.

You can pretty much use anything you want as long as you get all the soap and water out, but I wouldn't use original green unless you like flushing often.

 

[Boss302fan]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Dishwasher powders have the low sud that you want. You should only need one of the sealed cascade packets for a system that small.

I would use something like Zerex G05 or Motorcraft gold.

The new Prestone universal coolant is good stuff too.

Amsoil is coming out with a new coolant soon, their current coolant is top notch already, can't be sure how they'd improve it.

You can pretty much use anything you want as long as you get all the soap and water out, but I wouldn't use original green unless you like flushing often.


Ditto...