I'm thinking of doing coolant flush with tap water from my house. I have done it before and I never had a problem with my car. But I recently heard some people saying that you should only use distilled water.
Coolant flush with tap water
- Thread starter LOLVO
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Whay exactly do you mean by a flush? To clean rust or crud out out ?
Are you about to change your coolant and do a flush prior?
I, several times, have drained out old coolant, filled with tap water from the hose, drove around until hot, drained, filled with tap water from the hose, drained, and repeated that cycle about 3 times.
I always make my final fill (after lengthy final drain) with 50% distilled water and 50% of my chosen coolant.
I think you'll be ok.
I, several times, have drained out old coolant, filled with tap water from the hose, drove around until hot, drained, filled with tap water from the hose, drained, and repeated that cycle about 3 times.
I always make my final fill (after lengthy final drain) with 50% distilled water and 50% of my chosen coolant.
I think you'll be ok.
I meant a flush by draining the old coolant, then running the engine with tap water constantly pouring into the top of the radiator with the bottom radiator valve open and run the engine like that for about 10 minutes with the heater on high to flush out all the old fluid that is in the engine and the radiator.
Then I would just fill the radiator and the coolant reservoir with 100% coolant since I assume that 50% of tap water will still remain in the engine.
Then I would just fill the radiator and the coolant reservoir with 100% coolant since I assume that 50% of tap water will still remain in the engine.
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Originally Posted By: LOLVO
I meant a flush by draining the old coolant, then running the engine with tap water constantly pouring into the top of the radiator with the bottom radiator valve open and run the engine like that for about 10 minutes with the heater on high to flush out all the old fluid that was in the engine and the radiator.
Do the procedure you mentioned above, except use 6 gallons of distilled water instead of tap water, then fill with coolant to get to a 50% final fill.Distilled water is about 75 cents per gallon.
I meant a flush by draining the old coolant, then running the engine with tap water constantly pouring into the top of the radiator with the bottom radiator valve open and run the engine like that for about 10 minutes with the heater on high to flush out all the old fluid that was in the engine and the radiator.
Do the procedure you mentioned above, except use 6 gallons of distilled water instead of tap water, then fill with coolant to get to a 50% final fill.Distilled water is about 75 cents per gallon.
Originally Posted By: qship1996
Originally Posted By: LOLVO
I meant a flush by draining the old coolant, then running the engine with tap water constantly pouring into the top of the radiator with the bottom radiator valve open and run the engine like that for about 10 minutes with the heater on high to flush out all the old fluid that was in the engine and the radiator.
Do the procedure you mentioned above, except use 6 gallons of distilled water instead of tap water, then fill with coolant to get to a 50% final fill.Distilled water is about 75 cents per gallon.
I have done the exact procedure with tap water running from my house on 02 tacoma about two years ago. I need to do a flush on another vehicle and I'm starting to worry about 02 tacoma. But I have never had a problem after using tap water. Will the tap water damage the radiator and engine?
Originally Posted By: LOLVO
I meant a flush by draining the old coolant, then running the engine with tap water constantly pouring into the top of the radiator with the bottom radiator valve open and run the engine like that for about 10 minutes with the heater on high to flush out all the old fluid that was in the engine and the radiator.
Do the procedure you mentioned above, except use 6 gallons of distilled water instead of tap water, then fill with coolant to get to a 50% final fill.Distilled water is about 75 cents per gallon.
I have done the exact procedure with tap water running from my house on 02 tacoma about two years ago. I need to do a flush on another vehicle and I'm starting to worry about 02 tacoma. But I have never had a problem after using tap water. Will the tap water damage the radiator and engine?
Just use tap water.
If you knew the number of cars that I worked on running around with tap water and coolant mixed up in their cooling systems and doing just fine, you wouldn't hesitate for a second to use tap water also.
If you knew the number of cars that I worked on running around with tap water and coolant mixed up in their cooling systems and doing just fine, you wouldn't hesitate for a second to use tap water also.
That depends on the tap water. Our tap water in Southern Nevada will etch concrete. If you saw what comes out of the hot water heater when it's flushed, I suspect you would not want to use it in a radiator.
That being said, I just did a backflush with it. I'm changing out the Deathcool in my '97 truck and going with G-05. After the flush, I did 2 drain and fills with reverse osmosis filtered water to dilute the tap water. After I finish changing out the radiator, I'll do a final fill and drain with distilled water, then fill with G-05. The residual water in the system will give me about a 50-50 mix.
That being said, I just did a backflush with it. I'm changing out the Deathcool in my '97 truck and going with G-05. After the flush, I did 2 drain and fills with reverse osmosis filtered water to dilute the tap water. After I finish changing out the radiator, I'll do a final fill and drain with distilled water, then fill with G-05. The residual water in the system will give me about a 50-50 mix.
Flush it with the garden hose stuck right into the rad hoses. See if you can remove the old thermostat for the flush job and replace it with a new one later.
Originally Posted By: KLowD9x
Just use tap water.
If you knew the number of cars that I worked on running around with tap water and coolant mixed up in their cooling systems and doing just fine, you wouldn't hesitate for a second to use tap water also.
Dad has owned cars 20+ years all original cooling systems including the water pump and the radiator. He'd drain one gallon from the radiator a year and replace it with the proper mix of AF and water. He never did a complete drain and refill or a flush. Looking into the radiators they are as clean as a whistle, no leaks no problems.
Just use tap water.
If you knew the number of cars that I worked on running around with tap water and coolant mixed up in their cooling systems and doing just fine, you wouldn't hesitate for a second to use tap water also.
Dad has owned cars 20+ years all original cooling systems including the water pump and the radiator. He'd drain one gallon from the radiator a year and replace it with the proper mix of AF and water. He never did a complete drain and refill or a flush. Looking into the radiators they are as clean as a whistle, no leaks no problems.
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Flush it with the garden hose ...
I installed Prestone T-Flush to the heater hose of 1994 LS400 since 1998 and used garden hose to back-flush the coolant every 2 years without any problem. May be the tap water in So Cal is not so bad after all, because we use tap water for cooking and drinking too.
Flush it with the garden hose ...
I installed Prestone T-Flush to the heater hose of 1994 LS400 since 1998 and used garden hose to back-flush the coolant every 2 years without any problem. May be the tap water in So Cal is not so bad after all, because we use tap water for cooking and drinking too.
When I switched from Dex-Cool to Prestone Low-Tox I first drained and flushed 2 times with tap water, then I poured cleaner and tap water in the radiator and drove for a few hours. Afterwards I drained and flush again 3 times with tap water, then flushed again 3 times with distilled bottled water (wal-mart $0.69 a gallon). Refilled the radiator with distilled water and Low-Tox. A little anal, but I wanted all the dex-cool out of the system and any municipal chemicals that is added to tap water.
First, what type, year/model is your vehicle? What does your owners manual say? Usually it will tell you if distilled water is recommended.
I would say for cars with aluminium blocks/heads you should stick with distilled. In the older models using conventional green I've used tap water and a flushing T. Now though, I've gone to a distilled water flush series when I flush my vehicles. Distilled is ~83 cents @ Wally World.
That said, if your water is fairly soft, ie., not too high mineral content, and you regularly service your vehicle's coolant, tap water could be OK. Check your OM first.
I would say for cars with aluminium blocks/heads you should stick with distilled. In the older models using conventional green I've used tap water and a flushing T. Now though, I've gone to a distilled water flush series when I flush my vehicles. Distilled is ~83 cents @ Wally World.
That said, if your water is fairly soft, ie., not too high mineral content, and you regularly service your vehicle's coolant, tap water could be OK. Check your OM first.
Our Wal*Mart has a Culligan system that produces demineralized water for $.33/gal. Cities such as Detroit that use river water have relatively low mineral tap water. If they were written elsewhere, owners' manuals might read differently.
Originally Posted By: Audi Junkie
Flush it with the garden hose stuck right into the rad hoses. See if you can remove the old thermostat for the flush job and replace it with a new one later.
haha
Is it that bad?
The flush is for 97 toyota land cruiser. The owner's manual does not mention the significance of using distilled water. The instruction on the back of the coolant jug(toyota red) does not specify it either. I guess it depends on the condition of tap water in your area. I just want to know if anyone has had any bad experience using tap water.
Flush it with the garden hose stuck right into the rad hoses. See if you can remove the old thermostat for the flush job and replace it with a new one later.
haha
Is it that bad?
The flush is for 97 toyota land cruiser. The owner's manual does not mention the significance of using distilled water. The instruction on the back of the coolant jug(toyota red) does not specify it either. I guess it depends on the condition of tap water in your area. I just want to know if anyone has had any bad experience using tap water.
called a local toyota dealer.
They wanted 28 dollars for a gallon of red antifreeze.
The other dealer wanted 38 dollars for a gallon.
I can't believe it.
They wanted 28 dollars for a gallon of red antifreeze.
The other dealer wanted 38 dollars for a gallon.
I can't believe it.
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Toyota coolant prices are whacked. Had the timing belt, tstat, and water pump done on my 01 Tacoma recently. It required 2 gals of Yota coolant at ~ $28 a gallon.
Originally Posted By: sayjac
Toyota coolant prices are whacked. Had the timing belt, tstat, and water pump done on my 01 Tacoma recently. It required 2 gals of Yota coolant at ~ $28 a gallon.
How much was the total for the timing belt, tstat, and water pump job?
Toyota coolant prices are whacked. Had the timing belt, tstat, and water pump done on my 01 Tacoma recently. It required 2 gals of Yota coolant at ~ $28 a gallon.
How much was the total for the timing belt, tstat, and water pump job?
Had a moonlighting auto tech teacher at a local high school do the work. The Toyota dealer parts came to ~ $260, his mechanic prices, normally ~$65 more. He charged $225 labor. Dealer was going to be substantially more.
For ~4 years prior I had used Prestone AMM LL with no issues. You can bet I'll test the life Yota coolant in there now.
For ~4 years prior I had used Prestone AMM LL with no issues. You can bet I'll test the life Yota coolant in there now.
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