Thread: preparing for spring

spring is slowly making its way here and i need to start buying stuff for the car. my first task is to flush the radiator. now I'm going to buy a new thermostat with the gasket and flush the entire system. i read in order to get the heater core tubes flushed you need to set the climate control unit to hot, but no fan speed. is this right? also I'm gonna go ahead and use the recommended 50/50 dex cool cause its whats recommended and i don't wanna take any chances. how many gallons will i need to completely flush the entire cooling system? need to start buying the supplies so i can jump right in. since my intake manifold is leaking coolant, I'm gonna get an oil change right after to ensure clean oil is in the car. but all of this will happen before i flush everything out

Just run green coolant. Dexcool is a skidmark on the underwear of the automotive industry.

Why would using something other than Dexcool mean you are "taking chances?" Many, and I mean MANY, people switch to green because Dexcool is garbage. The first time I had the chance to switch I did, and have been running fine for years like that.

buy one gallon of what ever coolant you want, as long as its concentrated not pre mix. why pay 15 a jug for pre mix when you can pay 14 one time and mix it yourself?

and the heater core flows coolant full time, no need to turn the heat on or off or touch the fans speed.

my little how to flush coolant.

how to flush coolant.

remove the t stat, put the t stat housing back on, take the upper hose off the radiator, then push it down to the ground to a bucket or let it fly.

get your garden hose out, put it in the rad turn it on, then fire up the car, let it run till clear water pumps out the top hose.

then turn the hose off, run the car till no more water comes out the upper hose. then turn it off.

put your t stat back in, with new gasket, the upper hose back on.



now take 1 gallon of full strength green antifreeze, not the 50/50 crap. ( parts store cheap green is fine to use) dump the whole gallon in the radiator, fire up the car, fill the rad with hose water till its full. top as needed till its ready to be bled of air. it will burp and take coolant as the water in the block warms up the t stat opens up for a few seconds till cold coolant hits it and it shuts again.

now to bleed the air out, let it idle rad cap off till the fans turn on, (when the fans are on the temp is over 195 deg, the t stat is wide open) then open the bleeder screw on top the t stat housing a few turns till a steady stream of coolant comes out the hole, shut the screw, top off the rad. cap it.

done.

if you dump one full gallon into the engine its enough to protect you to -20. the whole engine and rad only holds like 3 gallons in all.

it will mix as it pumps around in the engine.

if you want to mix it, you need another gallon container to split the coolant, top both jugs off with water. but you'll never get it all in there cause the block is full of water still. why i just dump the whole gallon right in the rad as per the flush direction.

pulling the hoses off dont flush the engine, lower hose off will drain the rad, and the water pump, thats it really. the heads and block are still full of old coolant. why you flush till clear water comes out, and you can let it run longer to flush it longer if you want.

thing is if you change color coolant you cant have any of the old coolant left or it can sludge up and clog the engine up when two kinds are mixed, especially dex and green coolant, you cant mix them at all.

it wont flush out the lower hose, the lower hose takes coolant from the rad and it then pumps through the engine and out the upper hose back to the rad. so you have to take the upper hose off to flush it. like i said its only holds like 3 gallons, so some car ramps and a 5 gallon bucket or large drain pan,( large storage totes work too) under the upper hose will catch most of the old coolant. once its clear water let it fly.

you can also flush it to clear water, then add some prestone flush, top off with water. drive it for a bit t stat removed still and re flush it, and then add your new coolant.

not sure where you live or how cold it is there, but do not let the car sit over night with out antifreeze in there, or the block can crack on you. you need to take this on and do it in one day this time of year. not that any of it takes all that long.

Originally Posted by Pontiac Racer

This isnt making sense to me sorry. So after the entire system has been flushed and only a bit of water remains you take a whole gallon of non mixed and dump it in the rad. Then what do you add another gallon of water and another gallon of coolant. Ir do you not even mix them? Im confused....

if you want to make your own pre mix is what thats for, you split the gallon of coolant and top off the jugs with water, one concentrate gallon makes 2 gallons of pre mix.

but one gallon is plenty to treat your engine to -20. its all i add done it 2 times now, and it gets f ing cold here.

on the back of the antifreeze jug is a mixing table. how much to add to how many gallons and how much to add for how cold it gets.

we need to rename this thread, preparing for winter, im so late lol

Originally Posted by Pontiac Racer

This isnt making sense to me sorry. So after the entire system has been flushed and only a bit of water remains you take a whole gallon of non mixed and dump it in the rad. Then what do you add another gallon of water and another gallon of coolant. Ir do you not even mix them? Im confused....

I think what our man Dogg is sayin is that after you flush and have just a little water in it.... dump in a gallon of unmixed coolant. Then use water to complete the fill. No need to mix prior to pouring it in, the engine will mix it. Mix what you put in the overflow tank so it doesn't freeze before circulating into the rest of the coolant. On our cars, that gallon makes the mix ratio come out right for down to -20 deg. So worry less about keeping the mix ratio exact and just be sure that in the end a whole gallon of coolant stays in the system.

I used to question why folks use pre-mixed coolant, never have myself. Then I asked a pro who uses it: "Parts store doesn't sell distilled water.". Ah. That way you never worry about mixing ratio, never wonder about protection, and always know that your system has only distilled water in it rather than tap which is loaded with rust and other corrosion-starting materials that can settle out and cause blockage or accelerate component corrosion. Plus you avoid a trip to another store. Honestly, in my car I mix and usually use tap. But on the job, you never know how long its gonna be in there so pre-mix is preferred.

flush to clear, then put some brand of rad flush in there, driver around for a bit, then flush it one more time, and then do the green coolant.

you may see a brown booger or two or there here and there on the rad cap or in the neck of the rad, nothing to really worry about.

buy 2 gallons of straight coolant for that extra protection, you'll need to dump that whole gallon in the rad, leave the t stat out and the upper hose off. fire up the car let the clear water pump out some more, just for like maybe 15-30 seconds, if you see green kill the car, then dump say another 1/2 gallon of coolant in the rad and top off with water. thats the only way i see you getting the block water out so you can get more coolant in there.

the rad only holds about a gallon. so your need to pump the block out some to make more room.

being you get to -35 buy a coolant tester, they are cheap, and will save your ass if your coolants not up to snuff.

its a small jug,