Coolant Flush
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 27
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From: Jerzee
Coolant Flush
Guys,
I have a Question in reguards to the Topic.Do I need to have a Pressure Radiator Pump to send the Coolant back into the Engine or will it do it on it's own?I Buddy of mine said I may need a Pressure Pump.I have a first Gen GS3.
I have a Question in reguards to the Topic.Do I need to have a Pressure Radiator Pump to send the Coolant back into the Engine or will it do it on it's own?I Buddy of mine said I may need a Pressure Pump.I have a first Gen GS3.
eh, no...
if you want to do a cooling system flush on your own vehicle, you just need some time, some radiator cleaner, and some new coolant...
of course, you could always buy a $3000 machine like the one in my shop to do it, but thats a little overkill, and really does the same thing as you can do yourself...
anyways, the way I do it is simple... first off, let the car cool off... drain all the coolant you can into a container for disposal from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator... next, remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, then undo one end of the other radiator hose... get your good ol garden hose out and start running water through both ends - the engine side, and the radiator side... keep running water until everything coming out is crystal clear... next, reassemble everything, and fill with plain garden hose water and your cooling system flush chemical... follow the directions on the chemical, but it probably says something along the lines of run car until operating temperature is reached, let run for a certain amount of time, then let cool completely...
flush the system with regular water again like we did the first time - let as much drain out as possible...
reassemble everything (toss in a new thermostat - they're cheap), and refill with your choice of coolant - either toyota red or pink, or just standard ethylene glycol (green works just as good as the others once the system has been opened - their long lifespan really kinda goes down the ****ter once the system has been opened) keep an eye on ratios if not using pre-diluted - keep in mind the block will still have some water in there - nothing to worry about, if cold weather resistance is important, buy a $3 floaty coolant tester (the one with the ***** that float or don't float depending on freeze point)
the bonus to having a flush machine is that there is no remaining water in the block after the removal of the flush chemical, and it is not nearly as time consuming...
if you want to do a cooling system flush on your own vehicle, you just need some time, some radiator cleaner, and some new coolant...
of course, you could always buy a $3000 machine like the one in my shop to do it, but thats a little overkill, and really does the same thing as you can do yourself...
anyways, the way I do it is simple... first off, let the car cool off... drain all the coolant you can into a container for disposal from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator... next, remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, then undo one end of the other radiator hose... get your good ol garden hose out and start running water through both ends - the engine side, and the radiator side... keep running water until everything coming out is crystal clear... next, reassemble everything, and fill with plain garden hose water and your cooling system flush chemical... follow the directions on the chemical, but it probably says something along the lines of run car until operating temperature is reached, let run for a certain amount of time, then let cool completely...
flush the system with regular water again like we did the first time - let as much drain out as possible...
reassemble everything (toss in a new thermostat - they're cheap), and refill with your choice of coolant - either toyota red or pink, or just standard ethylene glycol (green works just as good as the others once the system has been opened - their long lifespan really kinda goes down the ****ter once the system has been opened) keep an eye on ratios if not using pre-diluted - keep in mind the block will still have some water in there - nothing to worry about, if cold weather resistance is important, buy a $3 floaty coolant tester (the one with the ***** that float or don't float depending on freeze point)
the bonus to having a flush machine is that there is no remaining water in the block after the removal of the flush chemical, and it is not nearly as time consuming...
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Jerzee
Mitsuguy,
Thanks for the great Info!However,when I'm Flushing the System where exactly am I putting the way in?The Coolant Housing?The Radiator Cap Hole?And you when state to Flush through the Engine,am I puting the Garden Hose into the Engine drain?Sorry for the stupid Questions!Just trying to get it right.
Thanks for the great Info!However,when I'm Flushing the System where exactly am I putting the way in?The Coolant Housing?The Radiator Cap Hole?And you when state to Flush through the Engine,am I puting the Garden Hose into the Engine drain?Sorry for the stupid Questions!Just trying to get it right.
thermostat housing is your way into the engine, the hose you pull off of it is your way into the radiator to run the water through... disconnect the other radiator hose for them to both drain...
then to fill, reattach both and add through the normal fill location...
then to fill, reattach both and add through the normal fill location...
Instructor
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 3
From: California
eh, no...
if you want to do a cooling system flush on your own vehicle, you just need some time, some radiator cleaner, and some new coolant...
of course, you could always buy a $3000 machine like the one in my shop to do it, but thats a little overkill, and really does the same thing as you can do yourself...
anyways, the way I do it is simple... first off, let the car cool off... drain all the coolant you can into a container for disposal from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator... next, remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, then undo one end of the other radiator hose... get your good ol garden hose out and start running water through both ends - the engine side, and the radiator side... keep running water until everything coming out is crystal clear... next, reassemble everything, and fill with plain garden hose water and your cooling system flush chemical... follow the directions on the chemical, but it probably says something along the lines of run car until operating temperature is reached, let run for a certain amount of time, then let cool completely...
flush the system with regular water again like we did the first time - let as much drain out as possible...
reassemble everything (toss in a new thermostat - they're cheap), and refill with your choice of coolant - either toyota red or pink, or just standard ethylene glycol (green works just as good as the others once the system has been opened - their long lifespan really kinda goes down the ****ter once the system has been opened) keep an eye on ratios if not using pre-diluted - keep in mind the block will still have some water in there - nothing to worry about, if cold weather resistance is important, buy a $3 floaty coolant tester (the one with the ***** that float or don't float depending on freeze point)
the bonus to having a flush machine is that there is no remaining water in the block after the removal of the flush chemical, and it is not nearly as time consuming...
if you want to do a cooling system flush on your own vehicle, you just need some time, some radiator cleaner, and some new coolant...
of course, you could always buy a $3000 machine like the one in my shop to do it, but thats a little overkill, and really does the same thing as you can do yourself...
anyways, the way I do it is simple... first off, let the car cool off... drain all the coolant you can into a container for disposal from the petcock at the bottom of the radiator... next, remove the thermostat housing and thermostat, then undo one end of the other radiator hose... get your good ol garden hose out and start running water through both ends - the engine side, and the radiator side... keep running water until everything coming out is crystal clear... next, reassemble everything, and fill with plain garden hose water and your cooling system flush chemical... follow the directions on the chemical, but it probably says something along the lines of run car until operating temperature is reached, let run for a certain amount of time, then let cool completely...
flush the system with regular water again like we did the first time - let as much drain out as possible...
reassemble everything (toss in a new thermostat - they're cheap), and refill with your choice of coolant - either toyota red or pink, or just standard ethylene glycol (green works just as good as the others once the system has been opened - their long lifespan really kinda goes down the ****ter once the system has been opened) keep an eye on ratios if not using pre-diluted - keep in mind the block will still have some water in there - nothing to worry about, if cold weather resistance is important, buy a $3 floaty coolant tester (the one with the ***** that float or don't float depending on freeze point)
the bonus to having a flush machine is that there is no remaining water in the block after the removal of the flush chemical, and it is not nearly as time consuming...
you should never use garden hose tap water to flush or even fill your coolant system. tap water is hard water, meaning in the long run, there will be calcium buildup and can clog your system. there is no need to go through all the tedious method described above. all you need to do is drain the radiator and also the engine block. to do the engine block, there should be drain screws on the side of the engine block and when you unscrew them, the coolant in the engine block will drain out. once everything is drained, mix a good 50/50 solution of coolant and DISTILLED water and pour until it reaches the top of the radiator. let your engine run and wait for the fans to come on a few times, recheck level and top off the resevoir.
you should never use garden hose tap water to flush or even fill your coolant system. tap water is hard water, meaning in the long run, there will be calcium buildup and can clog your system. there is no need to go through all the tedious method described above. all you need to do is drain the radiator and also the engine block. to do the engine block, there should be drain screws on the side of the engine block and when you unscrew them, the coolant in the engine block will drain out. once everything is drained, mix a good 50/50 solution of coolant and DISTILLED water and pour until it reaches the top of the radiator. let your engine run and wait for the fans to come on a few times, recheck level and top off the resevoir.
all you are doing is draining and refilling - that does nothing to get rid of anything that is built up in the system...
at any rate, maybe I should have added about the soft water, or, distilled water to fill from there...
these guys appear to have the exact same procedure I did:
http://www.techguys.ca/howto/coolant_flush.html
Instructor
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,152
Likes: 3
From: California
hmmm....that is true, i did notice that whenever i visited people who lived in nevada, the water tended to be quite soft, as i noticed when i tried to rinse soap off my hands, it would take forever.
california's water is extremely hard, thus waterspots on everything builds up quick.
california's water is extremely hard, thus waterspots on everything builds up quick.
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i clean my engine out with water and then fill her up with 50:50 Distilled/coolant
and yea.. i fill it up first n then run the car.. with heaters blasted.. n then top it off if needed. after that i fill the overflow tank.
and yea.. i fill it up first n then run the car.. with heaters blasted.. n then top it off if needed. after that i fill the overflow tank.
Thank you sir...
Thread Starter
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Aug 2007
Posts: 27
Likes: 0
From: Jerzee
Guys,
Another Question?I just found out my Town has some really HARD WATER!I just bought a Flush Kit that needs to be hooked up to a Hose.Now here's the Question?If I used the Tap Water and Flush it until it's Clear,then use Flush Fluid with Distilled Water,then use two more gallons of only Distilled water then replace the Coolant,will there still be Danger to the System?I mean I'd be Flushing the system like 3-4 times.I figure using Tap and then Flushing it,then Reflushing it 2-3 times should get all the Tap water out?Am I wrong?
Another Question?I just found out my Town has some really HARD WATER!I just bought a Flush Kit that needs to be hooked up to a Hose.Now here's the Question?If I used the Tap Water and Flush it until it's Clear,then use Flush Fluid with Distilled Water,then use two more gallons of only Distilled water then replace the Coolant,will there still be Danger to the System?I mean I'd be Flushing the system like 3-4 times.I figure using Tap and then Flushing it,then Reflushing it 2-3 times should get all the Tap water out?Am I wrong?
Guys,
Another Question?I just found out my Town has some really HARD WATER!I just bought a Flush Kit that needs to be hooked up to a Hose.Now here's the Question?If I used the Tap Water and Flush it until it's Clear,then use Flush Fluid with Distilled Water,then use two more gallons of only Distilled water then replace the Coolant,will there still be Danger to the System?I mean I'd be Flushing the system like 3-4 times.I figure using Tap and then Flushing it,then Reflushing it 2-3 times should get all the Tap water out?Am I wrong?
Another Question?I just found out my Town has some really HARD WATER!I just bought a Flush Kit that needs to be hooked up to a Hose.Now here's the Question?If I used the Tap Water and Flush it until it's Clear,then use Flush Fluid with Distilled Water,then use two more gallons of only Distilled water then replace the Coolant,will there still be Danger to the System?I mean I'd be Flushing the system like 3-4 times.I figure using Tap and then Flushing it,then Reflushing it 2-3 times should get all the Tap water out?Am I wrong?
it's only in big concentrations that will cause issues really... pulling the engine plugs in the side of the block will guarantee you get all of the water out...
Lexus Test Driver
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 803
Likes: 3
From: NC
I'm have more of a Honda/Acura experience then Lexus but I was told by a Senior Honda tech that as long as you drained the radiator every year there is no need to flush and to only use distilled water.