helirich

I recently had my rad blow up on the highway. I had a shop replace it while I rented a car to continue. On my way back, I picked up the car and drove home. (200 miles) now I see the fluid is green. I called a bitched. They said they will refund the coolant bill. Of course this makes work for me.

I put the car up on ramps. (With a jack) Then pulled the rad plug. It only drained about 2 gallons. I refilled with water. Ran the car for a few minutes. Drained it again. Its still green.

I was planning to repeat this till it's clear. Then refill with Dex cool. Does that sound good? Is there a better way to drain it? Would it make much differnce if I jacked up the back of the car to match the ramps?

Loby 1

I took mine to a rad shop and told them I wanted to switch from dex to green. They said I should go on internet and get a new pressure tank and replace thermostat and housing and they would do a complete flush.

You might consider doing this to avoid contamination.
Orange and green do not mix.

helirich

I know that mixing orange and green can "gel", hence the OCD about flushing. I'm not sure about switching to green. Why would you want to? Not saying it's bad, but I've read it has a shorter life. Also, less corrision protection. And what does the pressure tank and thermostat have to do with it?

Rob 02

I will be filling mine for the first time after a rebuild soon and I am interested in what you guys have to say. It seems like green is more readily available in case that is all you can find in an emergency.

As far as flushing I would think that you would remove the hose at the highest and lowest points and run clean water through the engine and rad followed by a series of flushes after running the engine with pure water in the system.

mike48750

I work at a NAPA store, most of the coolants we sell are all makes all models, which will mix with all coolants without problems. That being said I only use Dexcool in my Corvette for its anti corrosive additives. You might want to call them back and see what they actually used, I know all the shops around here use the all makes. Mike

Smoken1

Never MIX just use the proper coolant that GM recommended For your car. Lot's of threads on this topic already

Rob 02

But the op has to get the traces of the green fluid out. Some residual green may be left in the system (I think that is the OP's concern anyway).

Bill Vett

I had the fluid changed at the dealer, they used a machine that sucked all the fluid out, then flushed, then added the new antifreeze. May want to find a shop that has that machine and ask them if it would remove all the old stuff.

Smoken1

twostepdon

I did mine about 1 week ago. I had the car on a lift so it was level. I could only drain a little less than a gallon. I filled the reservoir with distilled water (again a little less than a gallon). Ran the car till the radiator fans cam on then let it cool. I did this 9 times over a 2 days. The last gallon out was still light pink. The only auto parts store in my area that recycles antifreeze is Advance Auto Parts. They did not have Dexcool but did have the Prestone that says it is good for any vehicle. I put the prestone in but I only have about 70 miles on it so far.

helirich

To paraphrase a friend of mine "My girl friend can suck start a Duce and half, but she has to have a tailpipe to hook on to" Where would this machine hook on?

I'm thinking the highest point in the system is the cap. I also think the radiator plug is the lowest point in the system. So unless this machine sticks some kind of hose in the engine to a obscure cavity, I don't see how it can do any better than what I've done.

Anyways, it took five fill and drains to run clear. The Dex is in. I hope it's OK.

Rob 02

^That's about as good as it gets. I have worked on the internals of this engine. There's a few places for fluid to hide from simply draining. There is some in heater core too. You may be able to blow it out with a shop vac if the thermostat is open or removed.

narlee

They used to make a flush kit that ties into your heater hose with a garden hose. Just hook it up per directions and run until it clears up.

gimp

I wouldn't have trusted the same shop to fix it - but I woulda brought it to a different shop so they can put a bit of pressure on washing out all the old crap. Since you only did a bunch of refills and drains, I'd recommend keeping a close eye on the coolant. If it so much as looks at you funny, flush and refill it again. Regular checks for sure, and do a full flush and refill within the year anyways.

LoneStarLizzard

Use Adams Extract food color...buy a couple of bottles from your local grocer and pour it into your expansion tank...coolant color will change soon thereafter.

The Lizzard

Bill Vett

The machine is hooked up to the tank, when he turned it on it took a few minutes and all of a sudden all the hoses including the heater hoses began to collapse. Once that happened he switched the machine to flush the system, then again switched the machine and added antifreeze. No burping required, no over heating after leaving the shop.
The machine was similar to the video

helirich

When I see it colapse the rad, heater core and engine block, I'll believe it. Seriously, should I expect some overheating after what I've done? I've only driven it a mile. But I plan to take it 400 miles at the end of the week.

Rob 02

If it overheats then you have another problem besides fluid.

v8srfun

Those machines are a joke I have used them before. The machine can not collapse the engine block and radiator to suck the coolant out. It basically only gets fluid out of the hoses and is a waste of time and money.

helirich

Just thought I would close this thread with final report. I made the 400 mile trip. No problems. Maybe runs a little cooler than before. Maybe 225 on the Guage going 70 mph on 95 degree day.