Had the coolant flushed a year ago. Is it ok for another year?
Flush last year..now what?
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Oh boy! The first person to respond. Such an honored position.
You would be fine. Unless of course you have driven 30K-100K miles since last year. Then you might want to change it out again. What type of fluid in what type of car? Most people leave it in for at least two years.
Only bored, obsessive compulsive individuals like myself would change it out every year.
You would be fine. Unless of course you have driven 30K-100K miles since last year. Then you might want to change it out again. What type of fluid in what type of car? Most people leave it in for at least two years.
Only bored, obsessive compulsive individuals like myself would change it out every year.
I change mine every year, but I know that it probably is more frequent than needed. A bottle of coolant once a year is cheap.
In my opinion, the old fashioned conventional coolant (silicate and phosphate) should be changed at least every two years. The OAT based (including hybreds) can be left in longer but I still wouldn't go past four years.
In my opinion, the old fashioned conventional coolant (silicate and phosphate) should be changed at least every two years. The OAT based (including hybreds) can be left in longer but I still wouldn't go past four years.
This post, in agreement with the above post, has been edited by the BITOG thought police for the following reasons:
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Thanks for the replies. I am really new to the game...is it tough to change your own? I only have a limited amount of tools and even less knowledge.
As far as I know, there's two basic ways to do your own coolant system flush and antifreeze change.
A backflush kit from an auto parts store is one way. You put a T-shaped tube in a heater hose. You cut the hose and insert two ends of the tube. Then you hook a garden hose to the third end in the tube, take off the radiator cap, and turn the hose on. The hose water flushes out the system, out through the top of the radiator. When you're done you put a cap on the end of the tube that you hooked the hose to and leave the tube in place for later flushes.
As I see it, there's a problem with the backflush kit method. You use water from your garden hose. After flushing is completed, water from the hose is left in the engine part of the cooling system. Its best to use distilled water in your cooling system, because unlike water from the hose, it has no minerals in it that can cause problems. Yes, the problems are usually slight, and you CAN use hose water, but distilled water is better. When you fill the radiator so that about half of what's in the whole system (engine and radiator combined) is antifreeze, you can use distilled water if you still need to add water, but you still have the water from the hose in the engine part of the system. For this reason, I don't backflush.
I use the second popular method. I drain the radiator, fill it with distilled water, run the engine until the temp gauge has gone up enough to open the thermostat and mix the distilled water that I added with what's in the system, turn the engine off, and wait 10-20 minutes. Then I do that again. Drain the radiator, top off with distilled water, run the engine till its hot and everything's mixed up, turn it off, and wait 10-20 minutes. Since in a typical vehicle, about half of the liquid in the whole system is in the radiator, each time you do this you drain about half of what's in the system. If you do this 5 times, after the 5th drain only about 3.125% of what was in the system (water plus antifreeze) when you started is left. This is negligible, and the system is flushed. You will see that after five cycles the liquid draining out of the radiator is clear, indicating that the flush is complete and there's little or none of the water or antifreeze that was in the system when you started left in the system. Then you can put in 50% antifreeze and, if necessary, top off with distilled water. Be sure to turn your heater on hot each time you do a cycle, so that the coolant goes through the heater hoses.
To determine how much antifreeze you need to reach a 50-50 mixture, simply consult the Owner's Manual for the engine coolant system capacity and put half of that amount of antifreeze in the radiator.
A backflush kit from an auto parts store is one way. You put a T-shaped tube in a heater hose. You cut the hose and insert two ends of the tube. Then you hook a garden hose to the third end in the tube, take off the radiator cap, and turn the hose on. The hose water flushes out the system, out through the top of the radiator. When you're done you put a cap on the end of the tube that you hooked the hose to and leave the tube in place for later flushes.
As I see it, there's a problem with the backflush kit method. You use water from your garden hose. After flushing is completed, water from the hose is left in the engine part of the cooling system. Its best to use distilled water in your cooling system, because unlike water from the hose, it has no minerals in it that can cause problems. Yes, the problems are usually slight, and you CAN use hose water, but distilled water is better. When you fill the radiator so that about half of what's in the whole system (engine and radiator combined) is antifreeze, you can use distilled water if you still need to add water, but you still have the water from the hose in the engine part of the system. For this reason, I don't backflush.
I use the second popular method. I drain the radiator, fill it with distilled water, run the engine until the temp gauge has gone up enough to open the thermostat and mix the distilled water that I added with what's in the system, turn the engine off, and wait 10-20 minutes. Then I do that again. Drain the radiator, top off with distilled water, run the engine till its hot and everything's mixed up, turn it off, and wait 10-20 minutes. Since in a typical vehicle, about half of the liquid in the whole system is in the radiator, each time you do this you drain about half of what's in the system. If you do this 5 times, after the 5th drain only about 3.125% of what was in the system (water plus antifreeze) when you started is left. This is negligible, and the system is flushed. You will see that after five cycles the liquid draining out of the radiator is clear, indicating that the flush is complete and there's little or none of the water or antifreeze that was in the system when you started left in the system. Then you can put in 50% antifreeze and, if necessary, top off with distilled water. Be sure to turn your heater on hot each time you do a cycle, so that the coolant goes through the heater hoses.
To determine how much antifreeze you need to reach a 50-50 mixture, simply consult the Owner's Manual for the engine coolant system capacity and put half of that amount of antifreeze in the radiator.
To drain the fluid, is there a plug or do I have to disconnect a hose? Also, could I just drain what is in the rad, then just refill? (I understand it is not as complete as a flush) .
Also, do I need a 50/50 mix of water/antifreeze or can I just use antifreeze?
Thanks.
Also, do I need a 50/50 mix of water/antifreeze or can I just use antifreeze?
Thanks.
At the bottom of the radiator there should be a valve that you unscrew to drain the radiator. This will not drain the coolant in the engine block however. Most engines have one or two drain plugs in the bottom of the block that you take out to drain the coolant out of the block. Consult your owner's manual or ask your mechanic to find out where they are. Or, you could disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator or engine block and let it drain out from there. The purpose of draining and flushing out both the block and the radiator is to get the old, used, coolant out and clean the system and install new coolant. Antifreeze doesn't last forever, so you have to periodically drain and flush the whole system and put in new antifreeze. If you're going to drain the radiator anyway you might as well drain the block too and do it right. Usually, the only reason why you drain only the radiator is that the coolant is not good for the coldest temp that it gets in the winter where you live, so you drain out enough of the radiator to allow you to replace what you drained with straight antifreeze in the amount needed to give the cold temp protection you want, which is often a hit and miss affair and involves guesswork.
A 50-50 mix is generally recommended and is good for around 35-40 below zero. The antifreeze container will have a mix chart on the back that you can follow. If I remember right, its generally recommended that you not exceed 60% antifreeze or problems, such as overheating of the engine, can occur.
A 50-50 mix is generally recommended and is good for around 35-40 below zero. The antifreeze container will have a mix chart on the back that you can follow. If I remember right, its generally recommended that you not exceed 60% antifreeze or problems, such as overheating of the engine, can occur.
Water IS definitely needed in at least nothing less then a 30% level or 70% Antifreeze/30% water.
Water is needed as a source to carry heat off the engine; antifreeze is typically only needed to prevent freezing of the water and to assist in the higher boiling point of the cooling capacity.
I typically use a 50/50% mixture.
Do NOT refill the vehicle with straight antifreeze.
Water is needed as a source to carry heat off the engine; antifreeze is typically only needed to prevent freezing of the water and to assist in the higher boiling point of the cooling capacity.
I typically use a 50/50% mixture.
Do NOT refill the vehicle with straight antifreeze.
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