What is the process for flushing my cooling system???
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1) Get the front of the car 1-2' in the air on jack-stands.
2) Drain the coolant, remove the thermostat, and set the heater controls for
full hot. O-ring sealed thermostats require you to make up a temporary
gasket, which can be made out of pasteboard.
3) Add flush compound and fill with plain water. Then run the engine at normal
temperature as specified by the flush manufacturer (usually about 15
minutes at operating temperature). In cooler weather it may be necessary to
block off some of the air into the radiator to decrease the warmup time.
4) Allow the engine to cool until you can place your hand on the cylinder head
w/o discomfort. Drain the system and refill with plain water.
5) Run the engine for 10-15 minutes or until temp is close to normal.
6) Repeat (4) and (5) until the water drained from the system is clear and
free of debris.
7) Fill with coolant. It is best to dilute anitfreeze with distilled water.
Tap water contains disolved oxygen and may contain minerals. Either of
which will reduce the lifetime of the coolant.
Notes:
You don't absolutely need to remove the thermostat, but doing so will allow
continuous flow through the radiator and will also make draining & filling
faster and easier.
Always allow the engine to cool to the point that you can hold your hand on
the cylinder head without discomfort. That will prevent scalds from hot
coolant and prevent thermally shocking the head when you dump the coolant.
Filling the system with hot water makes the process go faster and keeps from
having to run the engine a lot in a cold condition (rich mixture).
When finished with the flush, bleed the system by:
1) Get the front of the car 1-2' in the air on jack-stands.
2) Drain the coolant, remove the thermostat, and set the heater controls for
full hot. O-ring sealed thermostats require you to make up a temporary
gasket, which can be made out of pasteboard.
3) Add flush compound and fill with plain water. Then run the engine at normal
temperature as specified by the flush manufacturer (usually about 15
minutes at operating temperature). In cooler weather it may be necessary to
block off some of the air into the radiator to decrease the warmup time.
4) Allow the engine to cool until you can place your hand on the cylinder head
w/o discomfort. Drain the system and refill with plain water.
5) Run the engine for 10-15 minutes or until temp is close to normal.
6) Repeat (4) and (5) until the water drained from the system is clear and
free of debris.
7) Fill with coolant. It is best to dilute anitfreeze with distilled water.
Tap water contains disolved oxygen and may contain minerals. Either of
which will reduce the lifetime of the coolant.
Notes:
You don't absolutely need to remove the thermostat, but doing so will allow
continuous flow through the radiator and will also make draining & filling
faster and easier.
Always allow the engine to cool to the point that you can hold your hand on
the cylinder head without discomfort. That will prevent scalds from hot
coolant and prevent thermally shocking the head when you dump the coolant.
Filling the system with hot water makes the process go faster and keeps from
having to run the engine a lot in a cold condition (rich mixture).The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL -
Great write up. Appreciate itComment
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