coolant change, flush, new hoses?

[tbomb]

60k mile service: can i just change my coolant, or should i do a system flush? if i do a flush, exactly how do i do it?...ive heard that some people just use a hose and others use the flush stuff that you get at the auto parts store, so which should i do?..and WHAT do i do? what do i hook up to where? capacities/amounts of coolant? (i'm planning on buying the pre-mixed stuff to make life a little easier.) ive never really done anything on my own with the cooling system, but im doing everything else on my own (tranny, plugs, wires, etc.), so why bother taking it to a shop just for one lousy thing? ya know?

i also plan on putting in new rad hoses - any tips or advice?

TIA.

 

[MONMIX]

Yeah go ahead and do the hoses. No reason not to.
Prestone has a flush kit where you pour this stuff in run it for a wile and drain.
It is easy to do but it does take a bit of time out of the day.
You also have plenty of waste to deal with, you are going to need a good supply of empty jugs to collect the spent coolant.

Getting the hoses off should be the only real task. Squirting some WD-40 between the hose and the connect and some twisting will eventually break it loose. It will take some patients.

 

[RiverRat]

You can also cut the hoses off with a razor blade. Take off the old clamp and slit the hose open. A couple of tugs and it will come right off. You should also clean up all the fittings from corossion. Don't forget to change all the hoses. Intake, heater, bypass, etc. and use new clamps.

But I wouldn't bother with hoses on a 98 with only 60k. I'd rather buy

 

[xmodster3o3]

What do you guys do with the coolant?

 

[tbomb]

Prestone has a flush kit where you pour this stuff in run it for a wile and drain. It is easy to do but it does take a bit of time out of the day.

So i would just dump it in the radiator, run the engine for a little while, shut the engine off, let it cool down, then drain the system, change the hoses, then dump in the new coolant? that's it? i dont need to run straight water through it to rinse out all the "flush" stuff? well, i guess ill just get the stuff and read the instructions, heh. pretty simple

and i dont care how long it takes; time is one thing that i DO have.

 

[F14CRAZY]

Takes some time, but mix it in with your supply of used oil. They won't know the difference. If they complain, just say you had a bad head gasket

 

[MONMIX]

Tbomb, yeah, the instructions were something like that if I recall.
The bottle has real clear instrutions.

Xmodster, call a few garages or gas stations. One of them should have a tank you can use.

 

[tbomb]

bump. anyone else with any tips?