Changing coolant Chevy LS Engine

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My last maintenance item for the year was changing the coolant on my 2008 Chevy 6.0 liter V-8. For those with the good old Chevy small blocks there is a bit of a difference. For one ,there is no fill neck on the radiator and the other difference is there in no drain plug on the rad.

Draining is done by using pliers or a clamp tool to loosen up the lower hose. A bit of a pain but bad once you get used to it. You can come in from above but might have to move the air inlet and/ or you can come in from underneath once you turn the wheel to the right and undo the plastic fender liner.

I've seen several you tube videos on changing the fluid and the range from a
Simple drain and fill, drain, flush and fill, to some sort of garden hose heater core flush. I really don't like dealing with disconnection those plastic GM fittings but if someone has a cool system of doing a flush I'd like to see it.

I decided to do a drain and two simple flushes. My total system volume is 4.4 gallonns. Draining the rad and fill tank yields only 1.5 gallons. My goal was to get to at least 50% new Antifreeze. The coldest I've seen here in the last 5 years is -32 C.

My first drain was 1.5 gallons of the original fluid. It was Dexcool that was mixed by the dealer at approx 60 % as indicated by the -45 C on the density based analyzer. That's pretty common up here.
I then re-attached the lower hose and filled the rad and tank with 100% distilled water and took it for a spin to get the thermostat open and get water circulating through both heater cores. I then drained the rad and tank again. The fluid was diluted down to 40% Antifreeze as indicated by the -18 C reading on the analyzer.
Going for supper. Right ba
 
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Major PITA not having a drain cock when flushing.

You only run coolant that is good to -18c? Doesn't it get cooler than that up there? I live in Toronto and I want at least -25c. I'm going to assume you know something that I don't.
 
I usually take out the air cleaner lid with hose to throttle body and remove lower hose at water pump and a hose off heater fitting on water pump next to lower hose. It drains a lot and it goes quickly.
 
There is a brass plug above the oil filter that takes a 17mm Allen Hex socket. Removing it will drain anything above the water pump passages & the entire left side of the block.
It can be really tight & requires a LONG 1/2" breaker most of the time.
 
Back from supper. After draining another 1.5 gallons I filled with Dexcool and distilled water to get my concentration near 60%. Here are shots of the original fluid, the freeze temp measurement of the original fluid, the freeze temp measurement after one fill and drain with distilled water, and the final freeze temp measurement. Enjoy.

BD12195F-3AC4-4B83-B22C-7D5BDF621A51.jpeg


7DCF3D38-7AC3-446E-84F7-1FE4CABCFC15.jpeg


D19BB6AA-8C0C-4095-B57C-3D579E829235.jpeg


CD067A01-3A3A-45D5-9BF9-CD29B831FE8E.jpeg
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Major PITA not having a drain cock when flushing.

You only run coolant that is good to -18c? Doesn't it get cooler than that up there? I live in Toronto and I want at least -25c. I'm going to assume you know something that I don't.


Sorry. I had to break for supper. That was the concentration after the first fill and drain with distilled water. On the 2nd fill I used Dexcool and water to try get back to 60%. I then did a drain, confirmed I was at 60% in the retained fluid in the block and then filled the rad and tank with 60% Dexcool and distilled water. The final freeze temp is about -50C. ( overshot it a bit).
 
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One thing I noticed is the tank drains quickly with the rad fluids, fills quickly when filling and the system de-gasses easily after starting the engine.

Trying to get rid of the old fluid by dilution always leaves some old Antifreeze behind unless you do a lot and and fills with driving in between. Very time consuming.
 
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I drain the rad and refill once a year on my 02. I have an aftermarket radiator so it has a drain valve.
 
Originally Posted by Snagglefoot
One thing I noticed is the tank drains quickly with the rad fluids, fills quickly when filling and the system de-gasses easily after starting the engine.

Trying to get rid of the old fluid by dilution always leaves some old Antifreeze behind unless you do a lot and and fills with driving in between. Very time consuming.



Haha, you should try it with a 2 gallon heat exchanger plumbed into the system!


I've known folks who literally blew their head gasket by filling the system through the radiator neck, sure hope everyone uses the top radiator hose to fill!
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Major PITA not having a drain cock when flushing.

You only run coolant that is good to -18c? Doesn't it get cooler than that up there? I live in Toronto and I want at least -25c. I'm going to assume you know something that I don't.


He's in "SE British Columbia" which is probably around the Vancouver area, the climate there is very mild compared to the rest of Canada.
 
My 6.0 liter Corvette has the petcock on the passenger side of the radiator. I just do a drain and fill every couple years. It takes a while to get the system burped of air when doing this job. It's a real pain but I have nice clean looking anti freeze and I like to keep the system clean since the car is now about 13 years old and has been a good vehicle.
 
Originally Posted by FordCapriDriver
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Major PITA not having a drain cock when flushing.

You only run coolant that is good to -18c? Doesn't it get cooler than that up there? I live in Toronto and I want at least -25c. I'm going to assume you know something that I don't.


He's in "SE British Columbia" which is probably around the Vancouver area, the climate there is very mild compared to the rest of Canada.


Thanks. Actually what happened was I reposonded to Max that I had to leave my posting without finishing it. That -18 C reading was from the fluid that resulted after filling the radiator with distilled water and running the engine. After dumping that fluid I added more Antifreeze and water and brought the freeze temperature all the way down to - 50 C. The worst it gets here is about -32 C. Over on the west coast they have it much milder, just as you suggested. I'm in the south eastern interior in the valley that separates the Purcell mountains from the Rocky Mountsins, just north of the USA border. Happy New Year!
 
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One other thing I noticed is that orange Dexcool looks red or pink in color when poured into a opaque plastic container but with time it really does turn reddish. You can see it in the clear plastic Antifreeze tester. My final -50 C fluid was orange.
smile.gif
 
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