DIY coolant flush @ 65,000 miles?????

[Scootman!]

I'm planning to do a coolant flush tomorrow and I want to make sure that I have a clue in terms of what to do. I've searched and did not find much with supporting posts, so let me know what I'm missing or can be improved upon. Here we go:1. With a cool engine drain fluid from radiator.2. Use some sort of coolant flush or radiator cleaning agent, topped off with water.3. Put cap back ON and run car with heat on full blast until the car reaches normal operating temp. and turn car off.4. Let engine cool.5. Drain the radiator.6. Fill with coolant (any suggestions on what to fill with?)7. With radiator cap OFF start car and monitor coolant level in the radiator and fill as needed until the car reaches normal operating temp AND the fluid remains at the neck of the radiator.8. Over the next few days check the coolant level in the radiator and top off as needed.Any thoughts on what type of fluid and type of cleaning/flushing agent if even needed appreciated. Also, should I replace hoses and thermostat also?

[B14CK_H4WK]

here is a pdf from MO i made. it says what they used and how to do it.http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KPRBK5S4im actually putting together an entire how to guide if you need any more pdf docs before i release the entire how to

[MarkM04]

I'd just do a drain and fill with correct coolant.I wouldn't want any type of flush liquid in my system. No, you don't need to replace the hoses and thermostat yet.

[djb383]

I would suggest that you turn the heat setting to hot but set the blower fan to low......the engine/cooling system will heat quickest with the fan speed set at low. I did not use any chemical flush, just distilled water to get the DexCrud out. Did it twice and refilled with Prestone straight. Make sure the cooling system "burps" all the air (can be tricky) and like you said, check the radiator and overflow bottle (engine COLD) for seveal days following. If you drain both the block and rad, refill with 50/50 coolant/water.

[joejoev]

Added suggestion when using a flush/cleaning agent...After draining the flush/cleaning agent, fill the system with water only. Run the engine for about 10 minutes after it reaches normal operating temperature. Let the engine cool, drain, and then replenish with your fresh coolant/water.

[PlatinumVibe08]

Quote, originally posted by Scootman! »I'm planning to do a coolant flush tomorrow and I want to make sure that I have a clue in terms of what to do. Any thoughts on what type of fluid and type of cleaning/flushing agent if even needed appreciated. Also, should I replace hoses and thermostat also?I suppose you've already did your flush and fill. If so, how did it go? What brand antifreeze did you use and did you replace any parts?My opinions regarding your original questions are as follows: 1. I suppose you could use any silicate free coolant once you've flushed out the system.2. I'm not sure a flushing agent is really necessary, although, if you use one, I would recommend really flushing with clean water until all the agent is gone.3. I will probably have the same dilemma regarding the replacement of hoses and thermostat when I go to do this same job down the road. My gut will probably tell me to leave well enough alone because with my luck, I'll end up replacing perfectly good parts with inferior ones.Just my 2 cents. PlatinumVibe08

[Kincaid]

In the past I used those Prestone back flush kits on some of my vehicles. With the last two cars I just drained the fluid, refilled with water, ran the engine for a short while, opened the petcock and then ran it for several minutes all the while putting in new water from the garden hose. Eventually the water in and out is clear and then I'd stop the motor, let the water drain out, then refilled with the recommended level of antifreeze.Anyone think that is insufficient to remove all the old antifreeze?

[djb383]

Tap water is NOT good for the cooling system (lots of crud). Buy 5 gals. of distilled water and flush several times (run engine to circulate). If not draining the block, refill with straight Prestone, not the 50/50 premix. The 100% Prestone will mix with the distilled water in the block to give the proper mix of water/coolant.

[Ol' Timer]

I have a Prestone Flush 'N Fill Kit. I have used these kit in the past with much success only because it was easy to follow the simple instructions printed on the back of the card. The 2nd step of the instructions state "Two heater hoses extend from the fire wall to the engine, in both front and rear wheel drive vehicles. Hose #1 runs from fire wall to water pump. Hose #2 runs from fire wall to top of engine. This is the heater inlet hose. Ask a qualified mechanic if uncertain."I need a qualified answer as to which of the hoses coming out of the Vibe firewall is the Heater Inlet Hose. The top one? Or the bottom one??

[CBUSVIBE]

question out there I just tried to flush my radiator it had dex cool and i switched it over to regular anti-freexe coolant/and used the prestone flush treatment. I did a regular flush on my mazda (reg antifreexe/coolant) and the prestone worked on my mazda but when i tried it using the same steps on my girlfriends 2003 vibe i just couldnt get all the dex cool out especially in the resovoir. im assuming i have to do it again, but has anyone else had the same problem?thnaks !

[Ol' Timer]

Quote, originally posted by CBUSVIBE »i just couldnt get all the dex cool out especially in the resovoir. im assuming i have to do it again, but has anyone else had the same problem?thnaks !I finally flushed out all of the original coolant out of the vibe at the end of August. If I remember correctly the overflow reservoir has a rubber tube that goes from the top of the radiator to the bottom of the reservoir. I just removed the hose at the top of the radiator and pushed the hose down, so it went below the reservoir and all of the coolant in the reservoir drained out. To get all of the old coolant out of the system, I removed the top heater hose (at the firewall) and attached the Prestone adapter to it. Then I attached a very small piece of hose to the other end of the adapter and attached it to the top connector to the heater core. Hooked the Garden Hose up to the adapter and flushed the system clear of coolant. I put the the top heater hose back and then performed the same routine to the bottom heater hose. I then drained all the water out of the radiator at the petcock. After closing the petcock, I filled the radiator with the Toyota Long Life Coolant. Put the radiator cap back on and started the car up. The temperature gauge was rising but I was NOT getting any warm air thru the heater. This is where I got a little nervous because I knew there was air in the system and I wasn't sure how/if it would bleed out. But FINALLY the thermostat opened and I felt the heat coming thru. I turned off the car after the cooling fan kicked in. I let the car cool down before I removed the radiator cap to finish filling the cooling system. Whatever coolant remained in the gallon of Toyota Coolant, I poured it into the overflow reservoir (which I hooked back up to the radiator earlier). I believe that I have something that approximates a 50/50 mix. But I know there are some purists out there that remove the lower radiator hose and some engine plug to get ALL of the mineral-laden water out (how they get that bad water of the heater core I'll never know) and fill the system with a scientific mix of distilled water and coolant to give it that 100% Pure 50/50 mix. But I promise you if/when my radiator, heater core or water pump fails because of mineral build up, I'll let ya know. Enjoy the ride!

[mntn-biker]

Quote, originally posted by Ol’ Timer »The temperature gauge was rising but I was NOT getting any warm air thru the heater. This is where I got a little nervous because I knew there was air in the system and I wasn't sure how/if it would bleed out. But FINALLY the thermostat opened and I felt the heat coming thru. I turned off the car after the cooling fan kicked in. I let the car cool down before I removed the radiator cap to finish filling the cooling system. I had the same issue with my heater not working right away but same thing, my radiator elec. cooling fan kicked on and then shortly thereafter I felt heat from my vents. I'm guessing I too had an air pocket in my heater core probably due to me purging all of the flushing water from my system with compressed air. I wanted to make sure I had the best chance of getting a 50/50 mixture by getting as much of the water out of the block and heater core in addition to the radiator.After I flushed the system with the Prestone flush kit, I pulled both heater core hoses off and blew compressed air thru the top hose until most of the water came out. I then hooked up the lower heater hose, opened the engine block drain, and blew compressed air thru the top heater hose again to aid in purging water from the block. After all that was done, I re-attached all the hoses and filled up with coolant.I might add that I did all this since I changed out my hoses (at a little over 100,000 miles).

[Ol' Timer]

Quote, originally posted by mntn-biker » I wanted to make sure I had the best chance of getting a 50/50 mixture by getting as much of the water out of the block and heater core in addition to the radiator.After I flushed the system with the Prestone flush kit, I pulled both heater core hoses off and blew compressed air thru the top hose until most of the water came out. I then hooked up the lower heater hose, opened the engine block drain, and blew compressed air thru the top heater hose again to aid in purging water from the block. After all that was done, I re-attached all the hoses and filled up with coolant.I might add that I did all this since I changed out my hoses (at a little over 100,000 miles).That is probably the best way to flush the system of all traces of the old coolant/water. If I get a compressor in my garage I'll try it your way. But until I'm due for another coolant change, I'll let 'er ride like this for the next 50,000 miles or so. Or if the OE hoses show signs of weakness. Nice job