radiator drain / flush
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 2,659
Likes: 3
From: Oxford CT
radiator drain / flush
Well I want to drain my fluid tomm. I was told the ****" is under the radiator. Just unsrew and out it will come ?
all of it ? Oh and of course take the cap off ?
How many buckets will i need for this ?
How much will it take to refill ?
I assume every one runs 50/50 ??
When i refill i will have to check and fill again when the themostat opens ?
ASLO
some one mentioned a flush ....
My car is alergic to shops.. so what are my options here ? Hose ?
i guse a change is better then nothing ?
Dan
all of it ? Oh and of course take the cap off ?
How many buckets will i need for this ?
How much will it take to refill ?
I assume every one runs 50/50 ??
When i refill i will have to check and fill again when the themostat opens ?
ASLO
some one mentioned a flush ....
My car is alergic to shops.. so what are my options here ? Hose ?
i guse a change is better then nothing ?
Dan
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 9,884
Likes: 3
From: Magnolia Mississippi
St. Jude '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Dan: put your year, help to answer questions:
Thats right, just be careful, the pit-****'s are plastic and break easy.
50/50 works
remove Rad cap, releases vacume and pressure for drain.
Refill and Burp: you will have to refil and burp the system to get the air out... do a search on "burping" you'll find the answer
Flush: you can buy a kit at Autozone, napa to do a flush...
Thats right, just be careful, the pit-****'s are plastic and break easy.
50/50 works
remove Rad cap, releases vacume and pressure for drain.
Refill and Burp: you will have to refil and burp the system to get the air out... do a search on "burping" you'll find the answer
Flush: you can buy a kit at Autozone, napa to do a flush...
Le Mans Master
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 8,700
Likes: 298
From: Ft. Lauderdale Fl
Dan, you mentioned a hose. Don't use hose water, use a mixture of 50% of the coolant that is in there now and 50% DISTILLED water.
Do a search on the Forum for radiator flush. I'd think its covered quite well.
Do a search on the Forum for radiator flush. I'd think its covered quite well.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 2,118
Likes: 0
From: St. Charles, MO Route 66 Corvette Club
Dan: Just to communicate with you....when you drain the radiator, you are only removing about one third of the engine coolant in your system. There is also coolant in the engine block and heater system along with all the hoses that connect each other. This "other" coolant is not removed when the radiator drain **** is opened. FYI
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 13,956
Likes: 706
From: WI
You'll only need one bucket but if it gets full you'll need to empty it. Taking the cap off will help the coolant drain faster. The radiator drain is on the lower passenger side on my car, on the side facing the engine. There is a quarter size hole in the plastic shroud. I haven't worked on your year 'vette before so I hope this is the same.
For a flush I used the Prestone super flush and water. I installed the flush kit with the hose fittings as well. I hook up a garden hose to the system and use water to flush out the old coolant. This works well but still does not get every last bit. To do that you need to remove the knock sensor in the block to let it drain from the bottem. I did this when I first got my car, the coolant system had been neglected.
For a flush I used the Prestone super flush and water. I installed the flush kit with the hose fittings as well. I hook up a garden hose to the system and use water to flush out the old coolant. This works well but still does not get every last bit. To do that you need to remove the knock sensor in the block to let it drain from the bottem. I did this when I first got my car, the coolant system had been neglected.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 24,337
Likes: 25
From: San Diego , CA Double Yellow DirtBags 1985..Z51..6-speed
If your coolant is really rusty, all the coolant passagages are too.
The flush chemicals never did it for me because there was so much buildup when I got the car.
I finally had the waterpump off on two occasions and put the garden hose right onto the block and blasted it out both directions.
Or you can remove the tstat and reinstall the upper hose, attach your garden hose to the upper hose and blast it out, then though the bottom hose, and keep repeating until it comes out clear. It kept getting rusty right away for several years and finally it's clear.
Absolutely use distilled water when refilling it though.
The flush chemicals never did it for me because there was so much buildup when I got the car.
I finally had the waterpump off on two occasions and put the garden hose right onto the block and blasted it out both directions.
Or you can remove the tstat and reinstall the upper hose, attach your garden hose to the upper hose and blast it out, then though the bottom hose, and keep repeating until it comes out clear. It kept getting rusty right away for several years and finally it's clear.
Absolutely use distilled water when refilling it though.
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