Thread: Radiator problems

You've got a Dexcool problem there, bud.

Originally Posted by hensleya1

To nuke the entire site from orbit 'cause it's the only way to be sure:

1) Replace the radiator, hoses, and coolant bottle. Don't be surprised if the heater core springs a leak in the future and needs replaced too.

1a) Do a LIM gasket as even if you have an aluminum one. Dexcool eats aluminum.

2) Backflush the block. Put a hose in one end, turn it on, go get a burger, come back half an hour later. You'll never get 100% of it out, but the block is made of iron, dexcool doesn't eat that.

3) Refill with green coolant. Never look back.

Originally Posted by onetyme77

When they say back flush. How is that done? I've flushed a radiator before, just not sure if "back" flushed it.

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Coolant flows from the radiator through the bottom hose, through the block to the top, and back to the radiator through the top hose. By backflushing, you're pulling the top hose out of the rad and dumping water in there. I recommend also loosening the bottom hose from the radiator (leave it attached to the block, though), and point it towards a bucket/drain pan of your choice. Flush away.

If it's really caked in there, run straight water with two bottles of Prestone flush/cleaner for three days (which may be dicey as it gets colder, depending on where you live), and then flush again.

If you're lucky, you'll not have to replace the rad/heater core, as Dexcool shortens their lives.

how to flush the 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.



once it cools off check your coolant elbows, one may be leaking.

the lim gaskets, look on the side of the head where the lim meets the head, if you see a silver gasket your ok, black, you need to change it.

being your n/a the upper gasket may have failed and is leaking into the lower intake. or the intake has a crack by the egr tube.

Hopefully your headgasket's ok.

Finally had a chance to look things over... As figured I don't see anything other than coolant sitting in spots on the frame. I don't even know what to check. I let it run for about 5 min. Temp gauge never moved. No hissing or spewing.

I'm thinking of just replacing the radiator, thermostat, coolant bottle, both hoses and that plastic elbow that's goes to the tensioner. Opinions/advice please


Can someone post a link for the how to replace the ac/heater fan (blower)
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compression test the cylinders or pressure test the cooling system, either tool can be had via the free tool rental deal.

that depends on if the rad is clogged up.

if you pull both hoses off the rad, put a hose in the lower port and a hand over it to seal it off some what, and let it flow up and out the top port, that will back flush it.

then fill it and let the the lower hose just dump, aka let it drain as fast as it will. it should drain rather fast if not clogged.

then theres the cooling system flush/cleaners. that should clean up the rest of inside the engine.

that brown snot can keep showing up for years tho, yours does seem to be thick on the cap. i get little boogers on mine here and there.

It will but in small amounts. Depends on how good of a flush you do. Given that it's that bad, it should really be driven for a week or two with water and flushing cleaner, as long as there's no chance of freezing. You say cold, but my definition of cold is the weather outside my house right now, 20°F. (just looked at weather for texas, low is 31 for tonight but after they're plenty safe) After a week or two of water and flushing fluid, I bet a ton of that sludge will have broken up and surfaced in the rad, which you must flush the system again and maybe use the same stuff until it stays clean.