Flush coolant question

[MetalSlug]

My 85 mustang gt radiator leak . I'm plan on doing complete coolant flush and replace all coolant part . I'm plan on flush coolant when cold . Take off thermostats and just tight just the housing in . Pull off upper and lower radiator hose at the radiator . And connect garden hose directly to upper radiator and let water go thru engine and come out lower radiator until it clean and clear . Is this ok ?

 

[cat843]

Does it need a flush or just a drain and fill which is will get anyway because of the radiator replacement.

Remember you want to end up with only distilled water and coolant in the system. No water from garden hose.

 

[AandPDan]

It's a lot easier to just put in a flush kit.

 

[The_Jeff]

Flush it before you get started. Open the rad petcock and put the hose in the top. Start a trickle then start the car up. The thermostat will eventually open a little. Of course you can pull it too if you want.

When that's all done, pull the rad. Your two-hose suggestion will have it draining too quickly from the bottom and could cause localized overheating.

 

[MetalSlug]

Originally Posted By: eljefino
Flush it before you get started. Open the rad petcock and put the hose in the top. Start a trickle then start the car up. The thermostat will eventually open a little. Of course you can pull it too if you want.

When that's all done, pull the rad. Your two-hose suggestion will have it draining too quickly from the bottom and could cause localized overheating.


I'm plan on doing it on cold engine ? Run without thermostat

 

[901Memphis]

If your going to pull the thermostat there's no need to pull the radiator hoses. With the thermostat out you will be flushing everything at once even before the engine is warm.

With the thermostat out you can just drain the radiator from the petcock and keep draining and filling after you run the engine to mix it all up.

The first thing you can do to keep extra crud from recirculating is drain the rad and run the hose til clear. After it runs clear close it up and get some Prestone super radiator flush. It's not necessary but could help remove stubborn stuff.

The thermostat out approach is great though because your circulating the clean water into the dirty coolant as soon as you start the engine, you skip the waiting for warmup step which is a huge time saver.

I would suggest after running the rad clean to only use distilled water as your drain and fill water to keep total dissolved solids Low. The garden hose should only be used to run the radiator clear or if you have a T flush kit installed.

 

[MetalSlug]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
If your going to pull the thermostat there's no need to pull the radiator hoses. With the thermostat out you will be flushing everything at once even before the engine is warm.

With the thermostat out you can just drain the radiator from the petcock and keep draining and filling after you run the engine to mix it all up.

The first thing you can do to keep extra crud from recirculating is drain the rad and run the hose til clear. After it runs clear close it up and get some Prestone super radiator flush. It's not necessary but could help remove stubborn stuff.

The thermostat out approach is great though because your circulating the clean water into the dirty coolant as soon as you start the engine, you skip the waiting for warmup step which is a huge time saver.

I would suggest after running the rad clean to only use distilled water as your drain and fill water to keep total dissolved solids Low. The garden hose should only be used to run the radiator clear or if you have a T flush kit installed.


my 28 year old rad is leaking ( small leak, but something I want replace right away ), that reason why I want flush the system, you all think I should install new radiator then doing the flush ? or flush with leak radiator then change the new radiator ?

 

[901Memphis]

I think its best to flush it BEFORE you install the new rad to keep the gunk from getting a chance to even get inside the new rad.

What i was saying though, is you have a lot of options to flush the system since your taking the thermostat out. You could still pull the lower radiator hose if you want to get the water out faster, but its not necessary unless you think there is too much junk to come out of the small hole in the petcock.

 

[fpracha]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
I think its best to flush it BEFORE you install the new rad to keep the gunk from getting a chance to even get inside the new rad.

What i was saying though, is you have a lot of options to flush the system since your taking the thermostat out. You could still pull the lower radiator hose if you want to get the water out faster, but its not necessary unless you think there is too much junk to come out of the small hole in the petcock.
If the leak is minor, is there a solution without uninstalling The radiator and without the need to replace the old radiator with a new one?

 

[901Memphis]

Where exactly is it leaking from?

If you have the means to replace the radiator and it isn't too hard, it might not be the worst idea to just go ahead and replace it, especially if its the original one.

 

[fpracha]

Originally Posted By: 901Memphis
Where exactly is it leaking from?

If you have the means to replace the radiator and it isn't too hard, it might not be the worst idea to just go ahead and replace it, especially if its the original one.
I will take a photo of the leaking section and then post it. Original radiator not available and since the leak is quite minor, if fixable without dismantling, it will be much more preferred.

 

[94JeepCherokee]

I flush the block separate from the radiator and heater core. In my Jeep, it's easy to disassemble, clean, and put the whole thing back together. It's a helluva lot easier and gets everything cleaned out. Add distilled water, run it for 20 minutes and dump it again. Add antifreeze and purified/distilled water and drive it for another 2 years lol... I might do a quick flush in the summer, but not a deep clean.