help coolant/radiator flush...this the right way???? | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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help coolant/radiator flush...this the right way????

EliteConcept

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City, State
LaPorte, Indiana
Year, Model & Trim Level
04 Civic LX
i've searched but still have questions

A. right now my radiator is empty, but theres still coolant in the "overflow" tank. How do i get that coolant out of there?

B. To flush the radiator would i just run water though it with the engine off??

C. To achieve a "heater core flush" how would i do this?
1. Would i close the petcock, fill the radiator with water, start the truck with heat on HIGH and let run for a while with keeping an eye on the temp gauge. Then after so long shut truck off, and open pet **** to drain water out. Then fill with 50/50 coolant/distilled water?
OR
2. LEAVE PETCOCK OPEN, put hose in radiator, turn on. Start truck with heater on HIGH, and allow water to run though engine and out the open petcock. This way seems like a wrong way but i don't know thats why i ask.
 



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when we flushed mine we had to dissconnect the line to the reserve tank to clean it out... we also decided to bypass the tap thingy and remove the hose going from the engine (or which ever the one at the bottom goes) we filled it with water and warmed it up a few times to flush it completely out...
 






A true engine flush is acheived by using a little fitting that goes in one of the lines going to the heater core...IT is a T fitting that you screw the garden hose to.

As for the flush itself, you can leave the rad cap off, ans insert water via that adapter....after the water coming out of the rad top becomes completly clear, it is flushed.

The coolant tank can be drained by removing the hose, or a pump.

And remember....after you drain the system to empty, and you want to to add the new coolant to make it 50/50 mix.....Pour in the antifreeze first.

Say the system holds 8 liters. Pour in all 4 liters of antifreeze first...then add the remaining water to top it up....If there was any water left in the system from before, it will become part of the 4 liters of water in the 50/50 mix.
 






Here's the easiest way to fully flush your system.

1. Drain your radiator the normal way. Dispose of the antifreeze properly.

2. Disconnect the upper hose from the radiator. Take the cap off the radiator and fill it with water. Put the cap back on the radiator

3. With the hose disconnected, start the truck. Put a garden hose into the radiator upper inlet and turn it on. Make sure the garden hose continually fills the radiator! When the truck starts to warm up and the t-stat opens, you will be power flushing the whole system. Once the water runs clear out of the top radiator hose for a couple of minutes, shut the truck down and drain the system again. Then refill with a 50/50 mix.

To clean out the overflow tank, disconnect the rubber hose that runs from the radiator to the overflow tank and then use a garden hose in the fill hole to purge everything out the overflow hose.
 






I would use the hose, but I have really hard water. Would this have any bad affects? Is there another way I should do mine?
 






the upper rad hose is the return from the engine block then?

i have hard water too..i'd say using a hose is ok to clean the system out...but use distilled water when you fill it back up.
 






So when I stick the gardenhose in, it goes into the place where you disconnected the upper radiator hose correct?


Also how high should the garden hose be on?

Does everyone just let the water running through and flushing the system drop onto their driveways than?



Also I couldn't find how much coolant/water will fill the radiator in my 94 XLT, does anyone know how much I will need to put in?
 






i always just drained the system, used the Radiator flush addititive with water, drain it, fill with water, drain it and then put in the 50/50 mix,

at most dealerships now they have really nice flush systems and they do a really good job, i'm thinking about taking my car in for that sometime
 






I just put the Prestone "T" that goes into the heater hose, such that I can hook the garden hose to it and give a good flush. Then I drain all the water, add sufficient coolant and then distilled water.

The fitting is also good to pruge all the air, I leave the cap off of it until the mixture starts to ooze out. Most of the time there is no bleeding the air afterwards.
 






I also use the Prestone T - its cheap and easy to do. Since I replace my thermostat every time I flush the system, I pull the stat before I do the flush. It takes a little longer, but this way I don't risk clogging the stat with anything that breaks loose from the flush.
 






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