radiator flushing at 37k?

Justin · Post by **Justin** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 8:06 am

check the resivoir tank and noticed the inside was dirty and low. Opened the radiator cap and noticed some rust. I will have it flushed out soon but is this common? Has anyone checked?

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 11:45 am

rust is not good

i would flush it and change to green and keep an eye on it

Post by **HenryJ** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 2:46 pm

Justin wrote:check the resivoir tank and noticed the inside was dirty and low. Opened the radiator cap and noticed some rust. I will have it flushed out soon but is this common? Has anyone checked?

Yep, Welcome to the wonderful world of dex-clog.
At least you caught it before it turned to jello and plugged up your heatercore.

I switched mine to green pretty early, to avoid problems.

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 5:35 pm

I'm waiting for my 100k miles to service it. Only got 45k now.

Warnoffroad · Post by **Warnoffroad** » Sat Oct 11, 2003 9:27 pm

i have 7800

smokinjoe · Post by **smokinjoe** » Mon Oct 13, 2003 3:47 pm

5700. had for almost 8 months now, i put less than a 100 on it a week usually, i think ill flush mine soon just to get it out of the way

Justin · Post by **Justin** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 1:30 pm

Had it flushed this morning at a Valvoline store. The guy was amazed that I noticed it especially after having the motor replaced. He said that the dealer who replaced the motor should have asked me to return to check all the fluids and to see if it ran well. I called the dealer around my school and he told me 2 weeks before he could flush it and they don't use "the Green" stuff. So $60 and 40 minutes later, all is well

adrenalnjunky · Post by **adrenalnjunky** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 1:53 pm

What is the proper method to get all fo the Dex-sludge out and refil with Green?

KYLE · Post by **KYLE** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 6:40 pm

Warnoffroad wrote: i have 7800

:lol:I have 8500 and the things only 3 months old.

Post by **HenryJ** » Thu Oct 16, 2003 7:05 pm

adrenalnjunky wrote:What is the proper method to get all fo the Dex-sludge out and refil with Green?

A powerflush done at the local lube shop is an option.

I prefer to do things myself so that I know they are done right.

I went to the local parts house and bought one of the Prestone flush kits. It includes a tee to put into the heater hose and an attachment for the garden hose to prevent over pressurizing the system.

I made the change when I installed the bigger radiator, so the majority of the coolant was drained. I flushed until it ran clean, re-assembled , warmed it up , then drained it, and repeated that process three times. Be sure to remove the expansion tank, as that is the ONLY way to get all the coolant out of it.
Once everything looked good and clear I drained it down , added the green to a 50/50 mix and one bottle of Redline's water wetter.

The flushing tee was later replaced by the vacuum operated heater control valve.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 6:52 am

I went to the local parts house and bought one of the Prestone flush kits.

This is why I hate mechanics. (Not you specifically, HenryJ.) I just did a search at napa.com and got no matching results for "Prestone flush kit". Did same search at pepboys.com and got about ten billion results (everything that contained "kit" in no specific order). Then I went to prestone.com and I don't see ANY "kits" just bottles/jugs of prestone products.

So, how do I decide if this is maintenance/repair I can perform myself or if I'd be better off taking my truck to shop to have it done? I have no idea how much either will cost. It seems the entire industry is setup to be inconvenient to everyone. And, they wonder why people come in with with a chip on their shoulder.

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 6:56 am

and, then there's autozone.com. No exact matches but, there is a "flush and fill kit". No picture, no description, no price. So, how do I know what it is? Guess I should just buy one. Have it shipped. See if it's what I want and ship it back if it's not, huh?

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:17 am

barch97 wrote: So, how do I decide if this is maintenance/repair I can perform myself or if I'd be better off taking my truck to shop to have it done? I have no idea how much either will cost.

Okay, sorry I'll try to be a little more specific.
The kit I bought was available at our local NAPA , and Walmart. It is the Prestone "Flush 'n fill kit" I didn't see a part number, but can get the UPC code if needed.

NAPA online only shows the tees :

If you're careful about not overpressurizing the system that could be all you need.
Cost: tee only $.99, flush kit around $5 , coolant ?

I'd say it is pretty much a "no brainer" , doing it yourself is really pretty easy, and with out a doubt the cheapest
.
Drain as much coolant as possible, and properly dispose of it. Install the tee, attach garden hose, open radiator drain and take off cap. Turn on water to flush system. when it runs clean close and fill the system. run the engine long enough to open the thermostat, let it cool and repeat the flush until the water comes out clear (three times for me)

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:28 am

Thanks HenryJ

This why I love mechanics. (Yes, you specifically HenryJ)

I'll be back later to post pics of the burns I receive while draining my radiator.

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:29 am

Found it at Kragen Auto Parts

Cost:Prestone Flush 'n fill kit - $3.99

barch97 · Post by **barch97** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:32 am

one last question....

What's the volume of the cooling system? I mean, how much anti-freeze will I need to refill? And, by 50/50 mix I'm guessing you mean anti-freeze/water?

Post by **HenryJ** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 7:51 am

barch97 wrote: What's the volume of the cooling system?

13.8 quarts. Two gallons should be about right to get you between the recommended 50-70% mix. but get an extra gallon to fill the expansion tank and have around for refilling.

by 50/50 mix I'm guessing you mean anti-freeze/water?

Yes, buy one of those two gallon jugs of distilled water at the grocery store, for filling.

Don't forget to buy a new radiator cap, the stock cap is garbage!

Drain out as much water as you can, add the two gallons of coolant, then top off with the distilled water. Fill the expansion (overflow) tank with coolant to the hot mark,
Squeeze the upper radiator hose to purge air back to the tank repeat as many times as needed to purge all the air.
Run the engine to operating temperature, and let it cool all the way down then recheck the coolant level in the expansion tank, refill if needed.

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:41 am

HenryJ wrote:Don't forget to buy a new radiator cap, the stock cap is garbage!

this part is important....because it is in red

a2b · Post by **a2b** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:42 am

HenryJ wrote: Drain as much coolant as possible, and properly dispose of it

meaning, dig a hole and put it there

adrenalnjunky · Post by **adrenalnjunky** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 6:39 pm

Ahh -- the EPA - Approved way of disposing of motor oil as well........

quickbiker · Post by **quickbiker** » Fri Oct 17, 2003 8:32 pm

In the old days, the old stuff works good to poor it around the basement. It was a natural termite control. Now ya gotta pay someone for a bunch of crappy chemicals that is probably worse than the oil was.

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radiator flushing at 37k?

radiator flushing at 37k?

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