I want to get the coolant flushed in my 2019 Z06. I figure my options are:
1) Do it myself. Which I have done over the years on my 79 Camaro. But then I have to get rid of the drainage and the supercharger part wigs me out.
2) Take it to my great local garage that I has done that on my wife’s car- it’s a really great place and well equipped. Again, supercharger concern, though I’m sure that they’d research it to find out the procedure.
3) Take it to the dealer, which has great Corvette specialists and Obviously should have the process down, but I’m sure it is the most expensive option.
what do the dealers typically charge?
what are the opinions on the option that most would choose?
My other todo is to flush the brakes, which I’ve also done for the last 46 years on my Camaro -lm pretty sure that I can find the procedure on here and I do have a 4 post lift, so that makes it easier.
Thanks for your opinions on he coolant system flush.

 

For routine maintenance (brake flush, coolant flush, oil change, etc.) my dealer is competitively priced. I have a standard Stingray so I don't know if the Z06 would require more fluid, but I believe it was about between $100-150 when I had it done. It doesn't hurt to pick up the phone for the local shop and the dealer and ask how much it would cost.

 

Was thinking it might be a bit soon on our 2019 GS as the manual says every 150k, but then it says (4) - "or every 5 years". Time to search out a good You Tube video as something I can easily do.

 

If you enjoy working on the car, do the radiator flush yourself. You'll need to do multiple drain / refill with distilled water cycles until the water is clear (typically 3-4). Then a final drain and fill with a coolant/distilled water mix at a ratio of your choosing.

For the supercharger, I'd take it to a shop that is familiar with the Z06....and not all dealers are....so they can properly fill and bleed the system so you don't end up with air in the circuit and then have overheating issues.

Awesome Z28! btw

 

I had the engine coolant done by the dealer and it wasn't expensive at all.

I don't believe the supercharger coolant was touched, is it supposed to be replaced every 5 years like the engine coolant?

 

No. If the factory fill was good. Check the plastic reservoir low on the passenger side front. You should be able to see pink fluid in it. Ideally you should only have two bubbles the size of quarters at the top of the bottle. I've never seen a factory fill that good. If you are within an inch or so of the top you should be good. Most dealerships don't have knowledge and or the equipment to bleed the intercooler circuit. Best to leave that alone. Given my experience, I would drive halfway across the country to find a willing owner of a cooler/bleeder if I needed a bleed.

 

My local dealership charged $100 for a coolant flush on my 2017 stingray.

 

Coolant flush for my 2019 Grand Sport:
Dealership Service Dept charge was $160, but with a discount, I paid $140 total for coolant flush last year.
(The cost for 1 gal of DEX-COOL at Amazon = $35)

BTW I priced this service at two other Chev Dealerships and their cost was $200-220.
Remember to use the proper coolant mixture, per the 2019 Owner's Manual (p.243):
"Use a mixture of 40% DEX-COOL
coolant and 60% clean, drinkable
water. If using this mixture, nothing
else needs to be added.
Here's a good video on coolant:

 

Do the engine coolant flush yourself. It isn't any different than doing any other car. Just drain/refill until the drained fluid runs clear. Then close the petcock, add the proper amount of Dexcool to get to 40% of the total coolant capacity and top off with clean drinkable water.

The 2019 OM indicates the engine coolant capacity varies depending on whether you have RPO V08 heavy-duty cooling. If your car has V08, the capacity is 12.7 quarts and if it doesn't have V08, the capacity is 11.7 quarts. The amount of DexCool required to get a 12.7 quart system to 40% is 5 quarts (rounded down from 5.08) of straight DexCool (don't use 50/50). To get an 11.7 quart system to 40% you would need 4.5 quarts (rounded down from 4.68).

If you choose a dealer to flush the SC then make sure they use the vacuum bleed tool specified for bleeding the ZR1. The original bleed tool called out in the FSM was inadequate to do the job and wouldn't get the air out of the system. The ZR1 tool can get you down to two air bubbles the size of a quarter at the top of the reservoir, but it takes several hours of bleeding to get it to that level.

One of the problems with having a shop do the work is that the FSM doesn't reference a fill level for the SC, so mechanics tend to do the minimum amount of work and move on to the next job (the more flat rate jobs that can be squeezed into a day, the more they make). Some shops will just hook a big funnel of coolant to the SC fill port and flush fluid in that way. If you can find a local person with a cooler/bleeder, then see if they will let you borrow it or do the job for you.

Bill

 

Thanks Bill. Always providing the best advice.

 

Thanks Bill!
It the interval for the SC the same as the main system? I don’t track my Z and it has about 9k miles. It’s a 2019 with the additional cooling.

 

I have a 2021 Mazda CX-30 - definitely not a Corvette and not equipped with a turbo or supercharger - and I changed my coolant about two months ago. I used the "Ranger Method" - drain and fill, drain and fill, drain and fill with tap water until it drained totally clear. It takes a while to get all of the coolant flushed out.

I then bought the pre-mixed (50/50) Peak anti-freeze. It is "green" and valid for Mazda and other 'Asian' cars, even though our Mazda was built in Mexico. One shop wanted $200 to do it and the other said they would do it for $250. I bought the two gallons of pre-mixed Peak (blue jug) for about twenty bucks. It definitely took a few hours of my time, but I saved money and at least it was done correctly. It took about a gallon and a half - including draining out the overflow reservoir. Best advice is to use a turkey baster to suck out all of the old coolant each time you drain/fill it. I definitely don't believe in leaving the coolant in there for ten years - even if they claim that it is "long life" anti-freeze.

I sold my Corvette before I had to flush out the coolant, but do know that DexCool is what is spec'd for most GM vehicles. Just make sure to get it all out of there before you put the new stuff in. Some brands claim to be "universal" but might not mix very well together. I had a Silverado truck for many years and always used DexCool in it. As far as the supercharger goes? That's way out of my realm. My 2017 was just a Stingray.

If you have a C7 with a manual transmission, the clutch reservoir fluid can be flushed out using the Ranger Method. I did it successfully after I had my 2017 Stingray for five years. That is where a turkey baster comes in handy. Just do one reservoir full each time - drive it for 50 miles, shift often and then repeat the process until the fluid looks very clean. NEVER leave the bottle of fluid open unless you are pouring from it. You don't want any air in there at all.

FWIW, that Camaro is very pretty. Is it a 1979 model? Nice hoist in your garage too.

 

Make sure that whoever does your coolant that they actually drain and fill the complete system with water numerous times until it drains clear. Thermostat = open. Too many shops will only drain the radiator and refill it and not the complete system. Less time = more $$$.

 

Thanks for your input! Yes, it’s an all original 79 Z/28 with 32k miles, that I bought June 1979.
It and my Z06 are MT and share time in the bunk beds, depending on which one is being driven.

 

For sure! It does take time to use the "Ranger Method" where you drain & fill, drain & fill, etc. It's not difficult, but it is time-consuming. I did it with our Mazda - taking it for a good long drive between the drain & fill. I wanted to flush it out pretty well.

Sometimes doing things right means spending more time on it. With us and our own vehicles, that makes sense -- but for a shop where they depend upon throughput, it's a lot easier (and more profitable) to cut corners. It is not unlike changing oil. Open the drain plug, let it all drain out - go make a sandwich or something - and then put the drain plug back in & refill the oil. Those "10 Minute Oil Change" places will not let all of the dirty oil drain out. They'll just wait until it is barely dripping and replace the plug so that they can move onto the next vehicle.

Fluids are cheap (relatively) and engines are expensive.

 

Sweet ride! I figured it was a 1978 or 1979 because of the wheels. I think the '80 and '81 had more "mag" looking ones. Glad that you preserved it so well.

 

For normal coolant flush, some dealers have some kind of vacuum system that sucks out all the old coolant, then refills with the proper Dexcool-water mixture, no multiple drain-refill-drain procedure required. Since the Owner Manual procedure is just a simple drain & refill that leaves some of the old coolant in the system, GM seems to think that it's not too important to get out all the old. But we all like to do it better.

Can anyone explain the vacuum drain/refill system works?

 

 

Good advice. To be clear, with each distilled water refill, the car needs to be driven to allow the remaining coolant and water to mix. I did 20 miles each time.) Make sure heater core is being flushed also.

 

If it were me, and not totally familiar with the process, I would opt for the dealer to do the job.