LS WON

I want to get the most of all anti-freeze coolant out that I can do to the point of flushing if possible like on a conventional car with a radiator with cap on top using a hose to flush water throughout the whole system while car is running and draining out the petcock of radiator till water come out clear.

This isn't possible on the Corvette because we have that plastic bottle in the way of flushing. Different kind of system dealership told me.
They just drained radiator through petcock and then replaced with coolant and distilled water while car was running.

So what's the best way to do a flush or get most of the old coolant out and put in the new coolant?

achilds

Let it drain out the petcock, a lot of coolant will come out and only a little is left in the engine. You need to fill the res tank SLOWLY and massage the hoses. I measure the amount that comes out and replace it with the same amount. Once you can't get any more in fire the car up and watch the temp, you can add more if required. If you really want to get it all out you could do this operation several times, multiple dilutions will eventually get 99% of the old coolant out.

LS WON

This sounds like what the dealership did except they only did it once. Can you imagine doing this though with anti-freeze that costs 25.00 a gallon along with the distilled water you have to buy. Distilled water isn't the problem but you will need lots of it and price isn't a problem on distilled but the $25.00 anti-freeze is.

cranky

drain the radiator. remove starter. remove block drain from behind starter. remove large plug from driver's side of block. [engine heater plug]. ALL of the coolant will be out then. you will have a completly empty system except for the heater core. good luck.

LS WON

Good luck all right. I wouldn't even touch that one. That's one the dealership should do.

haljensen

Drain at the radiator petcock, close the petcock, fill with tap water, run up to temp with the heater set on as high as possible, drain again, close the petcock and fill with tap water again, run up to temp and drain again, close the petcock. Then fill with 50/50 DexCool and distilled water with the heater still set on high temp. You'll get 99.9% of the old coolant out.

Mr. Gizmo

have not done this to my c6 z06, but have done this with other cars i own to get the most complete flush.

1. remove upper and lower radiator hoses.
2. remove the heater hoses
3. take the thermostate housing and thermostat out of the car.
4. take the garden hose : and insert into the top outlet of the radiator and flush. then insert the garden hose in the outlets of the heater core where i removed the heater hoses and flush the core out and then insert the garden hose in the top of the engine where the thermostate house is and flush the engine out.
5. crank the engine to pump out the remainder of the water from the engine.

its messy but effective and I do it in the summer.

VET4LES

A little overboard but the only way to do it.

VET4LES

Of course all of this drained off coolant is recovered and recycled.

DONALD HALL

Hi all, Here is a method I have found to work when filling the c6 coolant system. I have never had a system so hard to get the air out and the coolant in as the c6. I think it has a lot to do with the thermostat in the suction of the pump instead of the discharge. Now I will say the shops I have used to do cam changes on my car did not have a proplem doing this, one of them used a device that actually pulled a vaccum on the system then sucked up the coolant.
When I had a electric water pump I could just fill the tank, disconnect the small vent line 3/8" from the tank, start the ewp and it would force water through the system and out the vent and no problem. The ewp used a standard thermostat in the discharge like the old small blocks did.
I have installed my stock water pump back on and back to the old problem of filling the tank then starting the motor, it would get hot, let it cool. Go through this several times and it would finally take all the coolant.
Here is what worked for me, fill the tank to full, disconnect the vent from the tank, hook up a hand vaccum pump to the vent ( I used a mityvac type without the catch bottle)
As you pump the hand vac the water will start to fall in the tank, this method is pulling the air out of the system. Keep filling with coolant. You will do this until you get water at the vent. Start engine and no problem.

LSCHLEM

That sounds pretty interesting. I was trying to figure a way to get all the water out of the system. The general consensus is you cant get it all out of the heads which I wanted to do for A Head swap. What A mess there were two cyllinders that filled with coolant and of course many bolt holes.
I did not think or know about the plug on the passenger side. sure enough when I filled it there was antifreeze on the floor. I found out quickly to transfer that plug. Now I hear there is A plug on the block by the starter. I wish someone would do a writeup on getting every drop of coolant out of there.

LS WON

This sounds to be the most reasonable. But do you use a hose to flush into the bottle? Or do you just use it as a filling point and just pour water into bottle?
How many times and how long will it take to do this completely.
Maybe that's why dealership just does it the way they did.

LS WON

Does the Camaro Z/28 SS with Corvette engine have the same coolant system set up?

achilds

I didn't say it would be cheap! Don't know where you get your antifreeze, but it is more like 12 a gallon at kragen.

LS WON

Amsoil anti-freeze at the preferred customer rate.

haljensen

Use the hose to fill at the overflow tank. Add the DexCool and distilled water the same place,work right from the original bottles, 1/2 gal DexCool then 1/2 gal distilled water. repeat till full.

Takes time but MUCH cheaper than a Dealer.

PS; Don't buy premix DexCool, the cost is a killer.

LS WON

and run the Corvette with the petcock open to drain and flush out old anti-freeze?

haljensen

No, I would close it between each drain-refill to bring it up to temperature so the t'stat opens, everything mixes and the heater core gets flushed.

carlrx7

remove the 'top' return hose from the coolant res. and then i BLOW into it,, the air pushes alot of coolant out of the block and into the radiator, where i drains out the peacock.

i cant remember, but i think i had to either cap the now open port on the coolant res.

give it a try

-Carl

tjwong

The only way to really get all of it out is to pull the block plugs out of the block. Or you can pull the water pump, use a vacuum device like I do, which is a Mity Vac, and I am not talking about the baby Mity Vac that you use a hand pump with. I am talking about their air powered 2 gal capacity unit. It comes with 3/8 and 1/4 inch tubing to suck with. I remove the water pump, stick the small tube into the water pump ports of the block and suck the water out. This method truly gets 95% of it out.

Pulling the hoses off gets it to the level of the water pump ports in the block, using the pump to pump it out does the same.

If the block is empty and the radiator is empty your fluid capacity to replace would be 2.5 to almost 3 gallons.

Here is what I use:
http://www.mityvac.com/hq_images/07300.jpg