DiscoStudd Posted November 14, 2004 Report Share Posted November 14, 2004 Also Disco, at anytime during this do you have to open or close the bleed valves? If not then I think im going to do this by myself tommorow on my day off. So I just really want to make sure im going to be doing everything all right. I dont want any air to get in and make my engine overheat.What I usually do is leave the radiator cap off, start the car and let it run for a few minutes, and watch over the radiator adding coolant (50/50 mix) as necessary. After you get the level up and it stays up, shut off the car, reinstall the cap, then fill the reservoir tank up a bit past the "HOT" mark. This should take care of the air in the system. You might want to open the bleeder on the thermostat housing while you have everything buttoned up (with the car running) just to be sure. IIRC, rad hoses are usually 7-8 bucks apiece... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
webxfx Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 All I do when I flush the coolant is remove the upper radiator hose from the block, stuff the garden hose inside the thermostat housing, pack a rag around the garden hose, place a container on the ground, aim the rad hose towards the container, and turn on the garden hose full blast. Keep on flushing until the water runs out clear. Shut off the garden hose, crack the drain on the radiator, and let as much water drain out as you can (if it's clear, you can let it drain right on the ground.) Close everything up and fill your system up with 1/2 the system's capacity of STRAIGHT COOLANT (not 50/50.) After you add the coolant, top it off with water. Find the system's capacity in your Chilton's manual... Good write up - going to give this a try, maybe tonight... I'll let you know how it goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Night Fury Posted November 18, 2008 Report Share Posted November 18, 2008 Have the heater on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 Yeah, you get all the scale, sludge, corrosion, etc out of the system, not to mention you restore the proper freezing and boiling points. You need to flush your coolant at least every 2 years, regardless of what type it is (Green stuff or DexCool.) Nope. Removing scale and corrosion often involves harsh chemicals, ultrasound, or part replacement. What you're trying to do is to PREVENT scale and corrosion from starting. Extended-life coolant can go WAY beyond two years; 5 years/50K is what I see on the bottles, and I think THAT is CONSERVATIVE. While two years is the recommended life span of the "ordinary" anti-freeze, I generally let ORDINARY antifreeze go longer than that. I have no corrosion problems; and no overheating--and my plain ol' antifreeze often goes more than five years. There's also a bunch of advertising about "modern" engines needing "special" coolant because they're made from aluminum. So was the '62 Buick 215; and it survived just fine on the plain ol' antifreeze of the day--provided the coolant didn't get too old. And the 215 wasn't the first engine to use aluminum... Yes, I understand that Dex-Cool has a bad reputation, GM had lawsuit(s) because it "turned to sludge" or "became rock-hard" etc. There's more to extended-life coolant than just Dex-Cool; and not every application of Dex results in problems. I hear that Dex-Cool and air react badly; I don't believe that--if it were true, the biggest mess caused by Dex would be in the overflow bottle not in the engine block or radiator. Something else is happening... you can also pick up some pre-mixed coolant. it comes already in the 50/50 mix. just dump it into the car and you're done after you flush. no adding water As was stated previously, UNLESS YOU DRAIN THE BLOCK (BOTH SIDES) as well as the radiator, there's a lot of "hidden" flush water still trapped in the engine. Adding pre-mix will result in a SEVERELY under-protected engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManicMechanic Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 4 year old thread for the LOSE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 4 year old thread for the LOSE. beat me to it. newbs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ismellrealbad Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 saying lose instead of loss is for the beat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schurkey Posted November 20, 2008 Report Share Posted November 20, 2008 We ask folks to SEARCH before POSTING a new thread; otherwise people ask the same questions over, and over, and over again. Those searches are why old threads get brought front 'n' center. If the thread is near the top of the list...someone's interested in it. Far as I'm concerned, that makes it fair game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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