This has probably been posted before. I have a 2003 with 6000 original miles on the clock. The antifreeze looks good but no way to tell if it has ever been changed. It had the original air filter when I bought it, which I changed. I assume I should change the anti freeze and have the system flushed. It gets real cold here in Wisconsin. Suggestions? Thanks

 

He or she could also do it themself, drain old coolant, add distilled water, run car, maybe take for a spin to get coolant up to temp and thermostat open and all water flowing.

Take home, let it cool down, drain, refill with more distilled water, putt around to warm up to circulate, take home, let cool down, drain, etc until the water coming out looks clean.

That is what I did, I bought several gallons of distilled water (hard water here in Arizona) I think I did 5 drains and refills to get the water coming out clean.

Then I put in new GM Dexcool.

To be honest, after the 2nd time driving the car and coming back into the garage, I let to coolant drain without cooling off, being careful, to speed things up.

The weather was cool while doing this and the coolant never got above 198 I think, maybe it's bad on the engine to drain it while hot, and add more water, I was thinking it could possibly cause the block or heads to crack, but did it anyways.

No issues for me, but others on here may warn you to not do that, I just got impatient, by the way, this was November 2009, I probably should be doing it again soon.

I did not do anything with the thermostat, as I figured "if it's not broke, don't fix it" the cars temps are right on what they should be.

Not sure if what I did is as good as a flush with the machine at a shop.

 

I bought one of these either at wally world or autozone, with the pour spout, I would pour the old stuff in the empty gallon jugs the distilled water came in, of course with a funnel, to properly dispose of.

I was trying to be a good responsible person and not just dump it on the rocks or down the street like I have seen others do.

The autoparts store would not take coolant, or any auto repair shops, I called around to find out where to take the used coolant/water mix to be recycled.

Someone suggested a fire department in a town called Gilbert, no, they don't know, but they suggested a website, Arizona EPA something.

It suggested pouring it down the sewer, and that sewer cleaning plants can easily filter it out, I did'nt think that sounded right, but hey what else could I do?

I decided carrying it through the house and pouring in the toilet seems like a bad idea, carpet, sloshing orange coolant that is oily, as it's petroleum based (I've read) that is hard to get off a cement slick floor, so I opened the cap on the sewer "clean out" access where you would run a "roto rooter" machine, and poured them there.

I tell you all this, because seeing this may make you want to just take it to a shop and have it done.

I wonder if the shops pour in the sewer?

 

Thanks for the reply's. Made an appointment to have the system cleaned, flushed, pressure tested and refilled with new fluid at the local GM dealer. Cost $105 plus tax. They have a mechanic that handles the Corvettes. Takes a week to get an appointment with the guy.

 

Drain it and if it is clean and clear just add new DexCool and distilled water. I lift the rear to get the most coolant out and lift the front when adding the new coolant. Drive it and check the level of coolant. Add if necessary. My Vette is 99 and has 144,000 miles and I have done this change 3 times and all is well. Do it yourself and buy beer or scotch with what the stealer would.
The Big Guy !
Good Luck !