AFAIK the thermostat should be pulled to a flush correctly.
Flushing Radiator with Tap Water
- Thread starter pemdas
- Start date
- Status
Kestas
Staff member
Originally Posted By: wagsg
Drain and flush with tap water until clear.
Drain and flush with 50/50 pre-mix until proper color is achieved (or as close as I can determine visually).
Drain and fill with 50/50 pre-mix.
I would run the vehicle to circulate fluid in each step.
It's rather wasteful to flush with a 50-50 mix... or am I missing something here?
Drain and flush with tap water until clear.
Drain and flush with 50/50 pre-mix until proper color is achieved (or as close as I can determine visually).
Drain and fill with 50/50 pre-mix.
I would run the vehicle to circulate fluid in each step.
It's rather wasteful to flush with a 50-50 mix... or am I missing something here?
Kestas
Staff member
Coolant Fluid Exchange
The procedure below is the method I use for every car I own.
1. Drain fluid from radiator (and engine block if possible)
2. Remove the thermostat
3. Reinstall the t-stat housing and upper radiator hose
4. Disconnect upper radiator hose at radiator
5. Flush system with garden hose through upper radiator hose until water runs clear
6. Disconnect heater hoses, open heat valve
7. Flush heater core
8. Flush overflow tank
9. Run engine for a bit during flushing to get the fluid from the water pump and other dead spaces.
10. Drain as much water as possible from cooling system
11. Siphon water from overflow tank
12. Flush again with distilled water to displace as much tap water as possible.
13. Reinstall thermostat
14. Button everything back up
15. Refill cooling system with specified amount of antifreeze, bring up to level with distilled water
16. Run car, top off coolant
17. Keep adding water as required every morning until system is topped off.
The purpose of this procedure is to remove all traces of old coolant and achieve a turbulent flush, yet leave as little tap water as possible in the system.
The procedure below is the method I use for every car I own.
1. Drain fluid from radiator (and engine block if possible)
2. Remove the thermostat
3. Reinstall the t-stat housing and upper radiator hose
4. Disconnect upper radiator hose at radiator
5. Flush system with garden hose through upper radiator hose until water runs clear
6. Disconnect heater hoses, open heat valve
7. Flush heater core
8. Flush overflow tank
9. Run engine for a bit during flushing to get the fluid from the water pump and other dead spaces.
10. Drain as much water as possible from cooling system
11. Siphon water from overflow tank
12. Flush again with distilled water to displace as much tap water as possible.
13. Reinstall thermostat
14. Button everything back up
15. Refill cooling system with specified amount of antifreeze, bring up to level with distilled water
16. Run car, top off coolant
17. Keep adding water as required every morning until system is topped off.
The purpose of this procedure is to remove all traces of old coolant and achieve a turbulent flush, yet leave as little tap water as possible in the system.
Kestas, I admire your attention to details.
But.......if someone is sticking with the same coolant brand/type.........what do you think about this "new" concept of just draining the radiator once a year and filling it back up with 50/50 mix?
Whenever I do the full flush routine you describe it seems to take forever. And, quite frankly, the coolant I flush out every 2 to 3 years looks like brand new. To me, it seems like my cooling systems aren't getting gunked up like they used to in the old days of high silicate coolants.
But.......if someone is sticking with the same coolant brand/type.........what do you think about this "new" concept of just draining the radiator once a year and filling it back up with 50/50 mix?
Whenever I do the full flush routine you describe it seems to take forever. And, quite frankly, the coolant I flush out every 2 to 3 years looks like brand new. To me, it seems like my cooling systems aren't getting gunked up like they used to in the old days of high silicate coolants.
Kestas
Staff member
I'm sure that'll work as well. I'm just not a fan of partial changes for any fluid, including ATF and ps fluid.
There's no one way of doing things. It's all up to someone's personal preference. The posts here on BITOG give the reader an informed choice if they're willing to do a search. I'll bet most of us here use a procedure somewhere between yours and mine.
My method should be used if someone wants to switch over to another class of fluid, such as those who want to switch away from Dex-Cool. I budget about two hours to follow my procedure.
There's no one way of doing things. It's all up to someone's personal preference. The posts here on BITOG give the reader an informed choice if they're willing to do a search. I'll bet most of us here use a procedure somewhere between yours and mine.
My method should be used if someone wants to switch over to another class of fluid, such as those who want to switch away from Dex-Cool. I budget about two hours to follow my procedure.
It is a bit wasteful, but my thinking is this: current coolant and resevoir look good, replacing with same coolant, should eliminate concerns over tap water minerals, should yield a nearly perfect 50/50 mix, less work, and finally... the coolant was nearly free.
Otherwise I would follow your method. Unfortunately for me, I would probably need to budget signifigantly more time than you to finish it. Novice auto diy'er, but learning as I go!
Otherwise I would follow your method. Unfortunately for me, I would probably need to budget signifigantly more time than you to finish it. Novice auto diy'er, but learning as I go!
My wife and I have looked and test drove a 2005 Chevy Equinox with only 37,000 km on it last week. Popped the hood and checked out a few things a few kms away from the car lot. It was leaking something around the engine area, could hear it hit the hot metal and hiss, a drop every 30 seconds or so. Told the guy I knew very well who owns the lot, said he would have a mechanic check it out. My buddy who owns the car lot literally just got the car a day or two before from a dealership before we took it for a drive (know this for a fact), so he hadn't even had it cleaned or checked out by his mechanic. After all, what could be wrong with a vehicle that new and low km's? As it turns out, there was a gasket leak (not sure which one) that was causing coolant to leak externally. I was assured that it was only an external leak, and that they were going to see if GM could repair this under warranty. So, as the original post asked, has the gasket problem not been addressed on newer GM vehicles? Also, if I have my mechanic check this vehicle out thoroughly (pressure test, various coolant related tests, etc.), would you buy this vehicle? My buddy is giving me one heck of a deal, and this was discussed before he knew of the leak.
Sorry guys, my reply post was meant to go in the "new 3.4 coolant leaks"
well ALL of my local dealerships whether it be yota, ford,chevy and etc use TAP water straight from the pipe and they swear they dont have issues UNTIL the person goes way over the recommended service schedule---- this is why i use cheap ole distilled water!!lol [censored] people
I guess distilled water is very cheap insurance...
yes it is... esp if you are prone to going over regular maintenance schedules..
My outlook is pretty simple. Why even bother putting water that I know has contaminants into my engine when all I have to do is put in water that does not have contaminants... I mean it's that simple isn't it? Yeah antifreeze is "supposed" to prevent corrosion to some extent, but why take any risk when it's so simple to just buy distilled water. I really hate changing radiators, and even worse I hate changing heater cores. So knowing that consistent coolant changes is "supposed" to prevent failure of the heater core, just isn't enough for me. I think a pretty fair comparison would be to say "hey, who cares if there's a bunch of sand in the funnel, your oil filter is supposed to filter sand out anyways...".
Originally Posted By: Headnsouth
AFAIK the thermostat should be pulled to a flush correctly.
Absolutely.
people that just flush the rad repeatedly, or even install plain water and close up the system and run the engine for a couple minutes aren't doing anything cause the thermostat is closed.
Here's what I do: drain system, remove the stat, reinstall the stat housing. With rad drain open, jam the garden house in the rad filler neck and get the flow to the point where the level is just about to spill out. Start the engine, crank the heater, and maintain the level at the top of the rad (use a valve in the hose to control water flow). With the engine running and the stat out, you'll see that the there is full flow through the system - the water will be flowing like a fountain through the radiator. With the thermostat still in and the engine running, there's hardly any flow at all.
After a couple minutes, shut it down, reinstall the stat, close the drain, and add full 100% antifreeze concentrate at half the capacity of the total cooling system (since the engine block will be filled with 100% water). A final rinse with distilled water can be done to get the tap water out, but I've never had any issues with tap water.
AFAIK the thermostat should be pulled to a flush correctly.
Absolutely.
people that just flush the rad repeatedly, or even install plain water and close up the system and run the engine for a couple minutes aren't doing anything cause the thermostat is closed.
Here's what I do: drain system, remove the stat, reinstall the stat housing. With rad drain open, jam the garden house in the rad filler neck and get the flow to the point where the level is just about to spill out. Start the engine, crank the heater, and maintain the level at the top of the rad (use a valve in the hose to control water flow). With the engine running and the stat out, you'll see that the there is full flow through the system - the water will be flowing like a fountain through the radiator. With the thermostat still in and the engine running, there's hardly any flow at all.
After a couple minutes, shut it down, reinstall the stat, close the drain, and add full 100% antifreeze concentrate at half the capacity of the total cooling system (since the engine block will be filled with 100% water). A final rinse with distilled water can be done to get the tap water out, but I've never had any issues with tap water.
I just want to know why you guys need/want to 'flush' anything? You simply need to drain as much of the old coolant from the rad, coolant tank and block as possible and re-fill with new/fresh coolant and distilled water mix (50:50) every second year. Why bother introducing tap water at all?
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2003
- Messages
- 23,587
Originally Posted By: Dr. T
Why bother introducing tap water at all?
I don't get it either.
PS: Nice to see you haven't left for good. It's been a while since you've posted.
Why bother introducing tap water at all?
I don't get it either.
PS: Nice to see you haven't left for good. It's been a while since you've posted.
Tap water was in the system from the factory to begin with. You gonna flush the system with distilled water the minute you get a new car home from the dealer???
Besides the anecdotal post of one member that said the car factory he worked in didn't use DI water, do we have any other proof that OEM is tap water? It is very cheap to demineralize (sp) water. I live in a GM town...maybe their use of our incredibly hard tap water is the root cause of the Dexcool scam!!!!
The use of high quality water is a non-issue. If you can get it from your tap, lucky you!
Mori and Dr. T, I am on the verge of agreeing with you about just draining/filling the radiator every 2 years. With today's coolants (even the "green" recommends 5 yrs./100,000mi.) I just don't see the white hard deposits and/or scum around the inside passages (near filler) like in the old days.
Maybe a "flush" is justified when changing coolant types or on a known troubled system ....i.e., a used 6 year old car with unknown maintenance history.
The use of high quality water is a non-issue. If you can get it from your tap, lucky you!
Mori and Dr. T, I am on the verge of agreeing with you about just draining/filling the radiator every 2 years. With today's coolants (even the "green" recommends 5 yrs./100,000mi.) I just don't see the white hard deposits and/or scum around the inside passages (near filler) like in the old days.
Maybe a "flush" is justified when changing coolant types or on a known troubled system ....i.e., a used 6 year old car with unknown maintenance history.
Would removing the thermostat really matter?
Or is the removal of the thermostat just to quicken the job?
I've flushed radiators enough to know that the thermostat will still open and allow the remaining mixture in the engine to flow out.
Or is the removal of the thermostat just to quicken the job?
I've flushed radiators enough to know that the thermostat will still open and allow the remaining mixture in the engine to flow out.
Originally Posted By: ConfederateTyrant
Would removing the thermostat really matter?
Yes. Especially in a cooling system that's been neglected. It's an easy 5 minute step. And you'll notice that the flow through the system is substantially greater with the stat out. Plus, if I'm gonna break open the cooling system every couple of years to drain and flush it, I'm saving a couple hundred bucks over having it done at a shop. What does a thermostat cost, 10 bucks??? Cheap insurance IMO, much more piece of mind than oil choice...Cooling system failure is by far the #1 cause if catastrophic engine failure.
Would removing the thermostat really matter?
Yes. Especially in a cooling system that's been neglected. It's an easy 5 minute step. And you'll notice that the flow through the system is substantially greater with the stat out. Plus, if I'm gonna break open the cooling system every couple of years to drain and flush it, I'm saving a couple hundred bucks over having it done at a shop. What does a thermostat cost, 10 bucks??? Cheap insurance IMO, much more piece of mind than oil choice...Cooling system failure is by far the #1 cause if catastrophic engine failure.
But is the thermostat removal solely for a quicker flushing?
- Status
