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How to: Flushing Radiators With Pressure

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ExplorerDMB

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2004 Acura TL
The other day a car came in with the heater radiator blocked, so I decided to revese flush this radiator with a garden hose turned up high. It did the trick; blew all the sludge out of the radiator and the radiator started working again. Now i am thinking i should remove the large radiators and flush them this way too (you have to turn them upside down to get all the muck out thats why i recomend removal). Only thing is getting customers to pay for this better way of flushing. Hope this helps someone.

If you do this type of flushing, with any type of flushing - replace the fluid and. If you have a gummed up cooling system, look into replacing the water pump and thermostat.

-Drew
 



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question:

i'm starting to see this "radiator flush" stuff on the shelves at my local auto parts store. supposably you pour this into your radiator, turn the truck on for like 15-30 min (idle or crusing) then drain the radiator and it gets rid of all the crap in it.

my question is: isn't this harmful in the long run? i mean, it attacks all the sludge and grime but not the fragile hoses and aluminum block? i would think you would have to flush the system for like 20 min with a garden hose to get all that stuff out before you refill it with new antifreeze. i dont think that i want any of that stuff to stay in the system. i have yet to use this stuff for this reason. what's everyone's feedback/opinion on this?

Viper
 






The problem with the chemical flush products is getting all of them out of the system. I don't recommend their use.

Good luck .......
 






We flush cooling systems at the shop. I've done it personally on mine. what we do is put the flush in the coolant system and then drive it around and then we hook up our flush machine. That is so all of the old/flushed coolant gets out. :thumbsup:

-Drew
 






They make similar chemicals for boilers in houses. If a cooling system is cleaned out once a year (car, or house boiler), it will remove most of the dirt that is accumulated inside of it. Boilers in houses require more periodic cleaning since the size of the system is much larger, and has a lot more iron, compared to autos which now have aluminum, and plastics replacing iron. So it is not necessarily a bad thing to use flushing chemicals. They are not as strong as drain cleaners which could eat a hole in a pipe if not used properly. If you connect a garden hose to your cooling system, and flush it out for a few minutes, there wouldn't be any left over radiator chemicals inside of it. It's not like the chemical is going to adhere to the inside of the engine block, or radiator like stop leak chemicals.
 






be very careful with the garden hose some city's run 90 psi and I have seen more than a few cases where some one will blow out there heater core or other components by using 2 much presser, one way to eliminate the possibility of problems is to put a 16 psi regulator on the hose bib.
 






also check any flush that you use to make sure it is safe to use with aluminum. many are not.
 






The average pressure where I live (results from a couple of houses I've worked in) are between 42-52 PSI. Just out of curiosity, which places have 90 PSI? Hot water tanks have a 150 PSI relief valve.
 






A trick I have learned and have done and it works like a charm on cloged heater cores, especialy on those turd s-10 blazers. disconnect the hoses to the heater core pour some windshield washer solvent into it and let is sit for about 20 to 30 min, then take a blow gun and lightly blow it out. I have been doing this for years and have never had any problems or ill effects on the cooling system. I am not a big fan of flush chemicals or additives.
 












The average pressure where I live (results from a couple of houses I've worked in) are between 42-52 PSI. Just out of curiosity, which places have 90 PSI? Hot water tanks have a 150 PSI relief valve.

When I moved here in my current house about 10 years ago, I had so much water pressure, it hurt to take a shower with the water all the way on. There was also a lot of noise in the pipes when turning on, or shutting off, the water valves throughout the house. I put a gauge on and it showed about 120 psi. Eighty dollars later, I had a regulator installed and I have it set at about 65 psi....and the previous owner was a plumber, go figure!!!

Anyway...the pressure is something to watch when backflushing. You don't want to overdo it.
 






OK--Yesterday I added a bottle of "Prestone super flush", and the wife and I went for a long cruise--
Today I disconnected the left, or passenger side, heater core line-and inserted a double ended brass nipple to the hose. On the other end of nipple I used a 10' (or so) length of garden hose, which I had cut in half-so I could control the flow of water into the alley---Use the male end of hose for this.
I then drained all I could from the system, and poured it into used oil containers for disposal--
Next, I used the female half of the garden hose to plug onto the heater core stub.Just use the cut end, it will slide right on.
To this hose I attached my garden hose, and turned the water on.
Water immediatlely started flowing out of the hose that I had placed in the alley--

I left the radiator drain **** open, I have a small length of rubber line hanging off of it, to direct drain flow into a bucket. I then started the engine. I let it run this way for about 20 minutes.
Once the drain water from radiator was clear-I closed it off and let the radiator fill. Next I shut off the engine.
Then, I quickly re connected the heater core lines, started the engine and added a bottle of water pump lubricant--Then shut off engine and recap radiator.
I disconnected the overflow-and using a toilet brush along with the still running hose-I filled it while scrubbing it, letting it overflow to wash out the debris, in the process declogging my overflow tube.
I filled the overflow, ran the truck 3 times to burp it--and now am looking forward to cooler temps I hope---

For the summer I am using straight water--but I really think I fixed the slight overheating by unclogging everything--

Good luck!!

Here are the items needed to make the flushing tool-

` double brass nipple
1 cheap garden hose-cut in half-
2 hose clamps, so you can re join the hose and use it for other things--
 

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For the summer I am using straight water--but I really think I fixed the slight overheating by unclogging everything--

Perhaps I missed something, yes the car will run cooler with plain water, but I thought you also need a rust inhibitor like they have in the antifreeze. I think it can also be purchased separately.
 






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I have a flush tee on both sides of the heater core. One time my heater core got blocked, and the tee didn't work on one side. It worked when I put another tee on the opposite side. There is an adapter for connecting a hose directly onto the radiator where the cap goes onto if you want to get the full force of water pressure directly through the radiator. They are sold through Motormite's Help! product line.
 






flush warning

im all for the flushing,but a bit of a warning,if the system is really really gunky you could end up with a leak afterward,some of the gunk and corrosion may be all thats sealing up a weak and rotted gasket. aka intake or timing cover and once i had a head gasket leak after a flush.i know the chances are slim but have had it happen to my customers and now warn them in advance hope it saves somebody some grief TURBO
 






Just a comment here re: jtsmith's proposal to run straight water for the summer. Although plain water is a better coolant than a 50-50 mix, you should NOT just run plain water for any length of time at all. You must add either coolant or rust inhibitor. Plain water will corrode the snot out of any iron or steel parts in a very short time. Plain water must only be used under emergency conditions. Here is a really good article on cooling system 101 - http://www.troubleshooters.com/tpromag/200204/200204.htm
 



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Wouldnt straight water also have a lower boiling point than a mixed solution? Sure, straight water would run cooler but in the event that your system did get hot, your water would dissapear really quickly and wind you up with no cooling system at all O.O
 






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