Coolant smells like strong ammonia?

[crashz]

Thanks guys.

Does anyone think I'm doing this wrong by flushing out the 2 gallons each day, while still driving the truck? Could the straight distilled water harm the cooling system?

Last night I flushed out another 2 gallons, draining into a clean, white 5 gallon pail this time. I was surprised by the amount of small black particles that came out. I assume this is rust, even though its not rust color. This is the fourth or fifth time I have flushed through the coolant, and yet it still has a little crud inside.

Not to be a total pest here, but what would you guys recommend for the new coolant? I picked up some "Valuecraft" Autozone brand coolant because it was the only green coolant on the shelves. The rest were the long life or pre -mixed stuff.

 

[John K]

crashz - Yes, you are doing it wrong; definitely should not be extending the flush over several days as doitmyself and RayH said. The flush should be done in an afternoon.

RayH - citric acid is one product used to clean large industrial and utility boilers....it will dissolve iron oxide and other contaminants at 200F or so, does take some time.

Stink P - good advice and info.

John

 

[John K]

y_p_w - for all practical purposes mg/L is the same as ppm, so you can compare them. A milligram is .001 grams, and a liter is 1000 ml = 1000 grams (water), or is 1 gram per million grams.

 

[Stinky Peterson]

quote:

---

Originally posted by y_p_w:
What about chloramine treated water? Or is the amount used too little to make a difference?

---

Don't know about chloramine but the chloride limit it 40 ppm.

John is right, you don't want the water in there any longer than it takes to flush and drain. Make sure you got your heater set to hot so it circulates through the core.

 

[IslaVistaMan]

Toyota recommends flushing radiators with coolant. I did a double-take on this the first time I came across it in the OEM service manual of my 2004 RAV4, but it's there, sure enough.

 

[Ray H]

quote:

---

Originally posted by crashz:
Not to be a total pest here, but what would you guys recommend for the new coolant? I picked up some "Valuecraft" Autozone brand coolant because it was the only green coolant on the shelves.

---

There's less and less of conventional silicated antifreeze available. The Autozone "Valuecraft" should be fine for your cast iron application. You're not a pest.

 

[crashz]

Thanks again guys. I got my work cut out tonight then. I'll finish flushing it and then add in the appropriate amount of anti freeze. Maybe to make things a little quicker, I'll drain the block and radiator.

 

[crashz]

Thanks Ray!

Finished up last night. Got a 50/50 mix of anitfreeze and distilled water in the truck now. Should be good for another year or two.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[Meistersinger]

You could also pick up some Shellzone. Its conventional green. Carquest, Parts Master or Pronto, all are good.

 

[Ray H]

You ended up with a lot of work, but now it's behind you. Good job! Check coolant level and condition (cold engine) at the radiator weekly for awhile. (Should be checked at least monthly, anyway.)