Cooling system flush or clean and clear?

[DJStillman]

Hi all:

1991 Plymouth Acclaim 2.5 120,500 miles

I have had this car for about 2 months now, and still have a lot of work to do...

The previous owner of the car said that there was a slight coolant loss after time. I have not noticed any change in level after 2 months of using it hard. I have noticed, however, that the radiator is quite dirty, and the coolant is kinda dirty too. The oil was not murky, and there are no bubbles coming from the coolant reservoir. Does this sound like the normal loss that all fluids have?

Since everything is dirty, and I have just gotten this car I was thinking about flushing the system. I went to Autozone, and got a new radiator cap, thermostat, thermostat gasket, flush hardware, and flush solution.

Does anyone have any suggestions about flushing the cooling system? Will this majorly harm anything? Mainly, I am worried about causing leaks by flushing the system. Should I try and use clean and clear instead? Would this clean my system of the crud as well as the flush? Which is preferrable?

Also, Autozone recommended that I use the 192 degree thermostat. Does this sound right? They said that the only difference was that the 192 degree thermostat would give me more heat from the heater in the winter. What are the pluses and minuses of warmer versus cooler thermostats?

Also, they only had an Autozone branded thermostat. Will this brand be alright? Is there a better brand that I should be looking for?

I appreciate all thoughts on this matter.

Thank you.
David

 

[W.T.McGlynn]

Get a "Stant" thermostat,they are the best for your type of car.
I would also put in some "BarsLeak".
Good luck....

 

[ruking77]

Not to freak you out or anything but I had to replace a radiator due to leaking app the 14th year, on one vehicle and it received every two year dealer flushed and extended Toyota coolant. I would recommend you do the chemical flush routine. Whatever long term damage will probably reveal itself and you should deal with it at that time.

The up and down side to that is if you wait and it decides to go south on the road you will be looking at being stranded away from home and possibly other than radiator damage.

I would look for the factory recommend thermostat.

[ August 10, 2003, 12:27 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]

 

[Spector]

At this mileage as much as I hate to do it I would go a flush route with the coolant. I have changed my opinion on coolant changes (having been a drain and fill guy for years) and believe a flush is needed to get the debris out etc. (recently replaced a radiator that had never been flushed) Bad news is that you may be facing a new radiator and if you can see debris and crap in the overflow tank or floating in the radiator then it needs to be flushed. Drain and fill will never get it all. The stop leak after may help but you will be introducing this non disolvable sealer into your system so I would wait and see what happens after the flush.

 

[DJStillman]

I have just removed and cleaned the reservoir and drained the radiator with the heat control on max, but I only got out maybe 5-6 quarts. Does this sound like I have gotten everything out? I then filled the radiator with the flush solution, 22 oz., and about 1 quart of water, and the radiator was filled. I then ran the engine for 10 minutes with the heat control on high at normal operating temperature, which with the flush and water in, was considerably higher than normal (1/4 to 3/8 vs. 1/2 to 3/4). I am now in the process of cooling the car down for draining.

How can I get all of the old fluids out without overheating? At what point do I install the new thermostat and radiator cap?

I welcome all suggestions and thoughts for this procedure.

Thank you.

David

 

[Dave H]

To get all the old fluid out, there are probably drain plugs on the engine block. A Haynes manual would be handy to find them.
Draining 5-6 quarts does not sound like it would have been all of it. For instance, my '97 Maxima holds about 10 quarts. I'd bet you still have old fluid in the block, which will mix with the new you put in. May not be a problem, but I like being thorough.
I use a flush kit from Prestone on mine. Only a few dollars at Auto Zone. It's basically a Tee fitting on one of the heater hoses that allows you to hook up a garden hose to flush the old fluid completely out of your system.
On some cars, you can flush by removing the thermostat and reinstalling the hose. Then remove one of the radiator hoses from the block, and insert garden hose in it (flowing into radiator). The old fluid should go completely through the system, and the flush water exiting the block will turn clear. A Haynes manual could give you specifics on this for your vehicle.
I would install the thermostat and radiator cap as the final steps. If your system has a lot of crud, you'd rather have it flushed out before putting on new parts. Just my opinion.
Hope this helps.

Dave

 

[Mike Thompson]

DJ, Prestone makes a flush kit for around $3 which includes a capped "T" which goes in the heater inlet hose. I think this is the best thing since, well, you name it. Try it, you can't go wrong.
Mike