My Guides For Cooling System Maintenance

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I figured I would share the directions I use for both annual/bi-annual drain and fills and for dirty cooling systems.

YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE IF YOU DAMAGE YOUR VEHICLE OR HURT YOURSELF USING THE DIRECTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
 
These directions are for annual/bi-annual drain and fill maintenance and assume the cooling system is clean and has a capacity is 14 quarts. Depending on the cooling system capacity, you will need...

(2) 1 gallon jugs of concentrated coolant.

(3) 1 gallon jugs of distilled water. No matter how tempted you may be to use municipal water or well water, DON'T! Distilled water is cheap and is your friend.

(1) Liquid funnel.

(1) Marker.

You will also need dish soap, a tooth brush, a wash cloth, and a large sink or bath tub.

Before you start, inspect the cooling system hoses. Look for cracks, blemishes, etc. Replace the hose(s) if you find any damage.

First we will need to make some pre-mixed coolant...

1)Drain out one of the jugs of distilled water. The loss serves a greater cause.

2)On the 2 jugs of concentrated coolant, you will see they are marked on the side with 1, 2, 3, and 4. These numbers represent quarts.

3)Open and drain each jug of concentrated coolant into the empty distilled water jug using the funnel until the concentrated coolant is at an imaginary line of 2.25 in both coolant jugs.

4)Open another jug of distilled water and fill each jug of concentrated coolant using the funnel to Line 4. This should give you a ratio of about 55 coolant to 45 distilled water.

5)Put the caps back on the coolant jugs and shake them. You now have 2 jugs of pre-mixed coolant.

6)Drain the remaining distilled water out of the distilled water jug you used to top off the concentrated coolant jugs with.

7)Empty one of the jugs of pre-mixed coolant using the funnel into the empty distilled water jug.

8)Now pour the concentrated coolant in the distilled water jug used in Step 3 using the funnel into the empty coolant jug to the imaginary line of 2.25 then top it off with distilled water to Line 4. Put the cap back on it and shake it. Now you have a third jug of pre-mixed coolant.

9)Now with a marker, label the formerly empty jug of distilled water that is now has concentrated coolant in it with the name of the coolant and the date.

10)Label the three jugs of pre-mixed coolant that they are pre-mixed and the date.

Now to drain and fill...

1)Remove the radiator cap. If it is in good shape and maybe just needs to be cleaned, you can probably re-use it, but have the radiator cap pressure tested just to be safe. If the radiator cap is in bad shape, replace it with a new radiator cap.

2)Disconnect the overflow tank's hose IF THE OVERFLOW TANK IS UNPRESSURIZED and separate of the radiator. This hose is a small diameter rubber hose running from the throat of the radiator where the radiator cap goes to the overflow tank. If this is not the case then you have a PRESSURIZED overflow tank and its cap is actually the radiator cap so DO NOT disconnect its hose from the radiator as this allows you to fill the radiator. If you do disconnect the unpressurized overflow tank's hose from the radiator, put the hose in a safe place so it doesn't get caught in any belts, fans, or pulleys. Leave the hose connected to the overflow tank.

3)Disconnect the lower radiator hose to let both the radiator and the engine block drain into a bucket. I usually disconnect the lower radiator hose from just the radiator and carefully tilt the hose down while it is still connected to the engine to ensure the engine block drains. Remember the engine block will never fully drain out but what is left in it is minimal using this system of draining.

4)After the draining completes, reconnect the lower radiator hose. Be sure to not over-tighten it's clamp(s).

5)Open the bleeder valves if the cooling system has them. Refer to the vehicle's owner's manual to see if you cooling system uses them or not and where they are located.

6)Fill the radiator with pre-mixed coolant.

7)Close the bleeder valves when coolant starts coming out of them.

8)Turn the vehicle's engine on and wait for the thermostat to open.

9)When the thermostat opens, the level of coolant will go down so add more pre-mixed coolant to the radiator until it is full again.

10)Put the radiator cap back on.

11)Run the engine for 15-30 minutes at normal operating temperature with the heater on its hottest setting and its fan speed on the highest setting. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge while doing this. If it starts to over-heat then turn the engine off, allow it to cool down, and add more pre-mixed coolant to the radiator then start this step again.

12)Turn the engine off and wait for everything to cool down enough to safely touch.

13)Remove the radiator cap to verify the radiator is full of coolant. If needed, fill the radiator with pre-mixed coolant.

14)Remove the empty overflow tank. Leave the hose connected to the overflow tank.

15)Using a bath tub or large sink, remove the overflow tank's cap and add some dish soap to the overflow tank. Using HOT water, fill the overflow tank a little past half full and swish the HOT soapy water around. Let some of this drain out through the overflow tank's hose to help clean the hose out as you do this. Then drain what is left out of the overflow tank's opening. Repeat this until the water drains out clear and has no soap in it. Keep doing this until the overflow tank is nice and clean. Be sure to clean the overflow tank's cap as well using soapy water, a toothbrush, and a wash cloth as needed along with the radiator cap if it can be re-used.

16)While you have the overflow tank in the bath tub or large sink, fill the overflow tank a little past half full with distilled water. Swish the distilled water around letting some of it drain out through the hose. Repeat this one more time. Rinse the overflow tank's cap and the radiator cap with distilled water as well.

17)Reinstall the overflow tank back into the vehicle. Go ahead and reconnect the overflow tank's hose back to the radiator.

18)Fill the overflow tank to the HOT mark with pre-mixed coolant then put the overflow tank's cap back on.

19)Keep an eye on the coolant levels in BOTH the overflow tank and radiator over the next few days. Check both of them twice a day as there may be a little bit of air in the cooling system and it will burp the air out which will lower the coolant levels. Top the radiator off and fill the overflow tank to the HOT mark with the pre-mixed coolant you made as needed.

20)Get into the habit of checking BOTH the overflow tank and radiator at least once a week thereafter.

21)Keep one of your pre-mixed jugs of coolant in the vehicle. You just never know when you may need it. If you need to top off and don't have it with you, either buy a pre-mix of the coolant that you used if you can or use distilled water.

22)If any leaks develop, get them fixed!

23)Once every year or two years, repeat the directions in this guide.
 
These directions are for neglected cooling systems and assume the cooling system capacity is 14 quarts. Depending on the cooling system capacity and how dirty it is, you will need...

(3) 1 gallon jugs of concentrated coolant. Preferably OEM, but I and many others have had bad luck with GM's Dex-Cool so I would recommend replacing it with either John Deere Cool-Gard II or Zerex G-05. If you want to get rid of Dex-Cool and your GM vehicle is still under warranty, you can use Mopar's G-05 (Chrysler) which has a similar color to Dex-Cool but is a superior product. It is YOUR decision to stick with Dex-Cool or not.

(15-20) 1 gallon jugs of distilled water. No matter how tempted you may be to use municipal water or well water, DON'T! Distilled water is cheap and is your friend.

(2-4) Bottles of either Prestone Super Radiator Cleaner or Zerex Radiator Super Cleaner.

You will also need dish soap, a tooth brush, a wash cloth, and a large sink or bath tub. You will also need a full tank of gas, time, and temperatures where the low will not be below freezing for a few days.

Before you start, inspect the cooling system hoses. Look for cracks, blemishes, etc. Replace the hose(s) if you find any damage.

1)Remove the radiator cap. If it is in good shape and maybe just needs to be cleaned, you can probably re-use it, but have the radiator cap pressure tested just to be safe. If the radiator cap is in bad shape, replace it with a new radiator cap.

2)Disconnect the overflow tank's hose IF THE OVERFLOW TANK IS UNPRESSURIZED and separate of the radiator. This hose is a small diameter rubber hose running from the throat of the radiator where the radiator cap goes to the overflow tank. If this is not the case then you have a PRESSURIZED overflow tank and its cap is actually the radiator cap so DO NOT disconnect its hose from the radiator as this allows you to fill the radiator. If you do disconnect the unpressurized overflow tank's hose from the radiator, put the hose in a safe place so it doesn't get caught in any belts, fans, or pulleys. Leave the hose connected to the overflow tank.

3)Disconnect the lower radiator hose to let both the radiator and the engine block drain into a bucket. I usually disconnect the lower radiator hose from just the radiator and carefully tilt the hose down while it is still connected to the engine to ensure the engine block drains. Remember the engine block will never fully drain out but what is left in it is minimal using this system of draining.

4)After the draining completes, reconnect the lower radiator hose. Be sure to not over-tighten it's clamp(s).

5)Open the bleeder valves if the cooling system has them. Refer to the vehicle's owner's manual to see if you cooling system uses them or not and where they are located.

6)Fill the radiator with distilled water.

7)Close the bleeder valves when distilled water starts coming out of them.

8)Turn the vehicle's engine on and wait for the thermostat to open.

9)When the thermostat opens, the level of distilled water will go down so add more distilled water to the radiator until it is full again.

10)Put the radiator cap back on.

11)Run the engine for 15-30 minutes at normal operating temperature with the heater on its hottest setting and its fan speed on the highest setting. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge while doing this. If it starts to over-heat then turn the engine off, allow it to cool down, and add more distilled water to the radiator then start this step again.

12)Turn the engine off and wait for everything to cool down enough to safely touch.

13)Repeat Steps 1-12 until the drained distilled water comes out clear and pretty much odor-free. This usually takes 3 or 4 more times.

14)Reconnect the lower radiator hose.

15)Open the bleeder valves if the cooling system has them.

16)Shake then pour in 2 bottles of either Prestone Super Radiator Cleaner or Zerex Radiator Super Cleaner.

17)Top off the radiator with distilled water.

18)Close the bleeder valves when distilled water starts coming out of them.

19)Turn the vehicle's engine on and wait for the thermostat to open.

20)Add more distilled water to the radiator until it is full.

21)Put the radiator cap back on.

22)Turn the engine off.

23)If you disconnected the unpressurized overflow tank's hose in Step 1, remove the overflow tank's cap and flush the coolant out of the overflow tank using distilled water. You can either work the overflow tank's hose down so it goes towards the bucket and let it it slow drain itself. Repeat until you get all the coolant out of the overflow tank. Or, you can remove the overflow tank (leave the hose on it), drain it, fill it a little pass half full with distilled water, and swish the distilled water around until you get all the old coolant out of it. Be sure to let some of the distilled water drain out through the overflow tank's hose to help clean the hose out. Reinstall the overflow tank when finished.

24)Reconnect the overflow tank hose back to the radiator.

25)Fill the overflow tank to the HOT mark with distilled water then put the overflow tank's cap back on.

26)Drive the vehicle for a total of 4-6 hours. This can be on and off but should be done within 2-3 days. Also do this when the outside temperature is well above freezing. Water expands when it freezes and can destroy the cooling system and the engine if the outside temperature gets cold enough. It is preferred to drive the vehicle with the heater on its hottest setting and its fan speed on the highest setting so the cleaner can attempt to clean out the heater core.

27)After the 4-6 hour time frame has been reached, repeat Steps 1-12 at least 3-5 times to make sure all the cleaner has been removed.

28)If the cooling system is still somewhat dirty, repeat Steps 14-27 one more time. Short of replacement, the cooling system will be as clean as it ever is going to get through chemical cleaning means.

29)Remove the empty overflow tank. Leave the hose connected to the overflow tank.

30)Using a bath tub or large sink, remove the overflow tank's cap and add some dish soap to the overflow tank. Using HOT water, fill the overflow tank a little past half full and swish the HOT soapy water around. Let some of this drain out through the overflow tank's hose to help clean the hose out as you do this. Then drain what is left out of the overflow tank's opening. Repeat this until the water drains out clear and has no soap in it. Keep doing this until the overflow tank is nice and clean inside and out. Be sure to clean the overflow tank's cap as well using soapy water, a toothbrush, and a wash cloth as needed along with the radiator cap if it can be re-used.

31)While you have the overflow tank in the bath tub or large sink, fill the overflow tank a little past half full with distilled water. Swish the distilled water around letting some of it drain out through the hose. Repeat this a few more times. Rinse the overflow tank's cap and the radiator cap with distilled water as well.

32)Reinstall the overflow tank back into the vehicle. Go ahead and reconnect the overflow tank's hose back to the radiator.

33)Reconnect the lower radiator hose.

34)Open the bleeder valves if the cooling system has them.

35)Fill the radiator with concentrated coolant. If you have a 14 quart system, you will need 1.75 full jugs (which is 7 quarts) of concentrated coolant to achieve a ratio of 50 coolant to 50 distilled water. 2 full jugs will get this closer to a ratio of 55 coolant to 45 distilled water which is preferred. Do not go past 65 coolant to 35 distilled water.

36)Close the bleeder valves when distilled water or coolant starts coming out of them.

37)Turn the vehicle's engine on and wait for the thermostat to open.

38)Add more coolant if you were unable to achieve the desired ratio of coolant to distilled water. If you have already added enough coolant, fill the remainder with distilled water until full.

39)Put radiator cap back on.

40)Run engine for 15-30 minutes at normal operating temperature with the heater on its hottest setting and its fan speed on the highest setting. Keep an eye on the temperature gauge while doing this.

41)Turn the engine off and wait for everything to cool down enough to safely touch.

42)Remove the radiator cap to verify the radiator is full of coolant. If needed, fill the radiator with concentrated coolant if you were unable to achieve the desired ratio of coolant to distilled water or with distilled water if you have achieved the desired coolant to water ratio.

43)Fill the overflow tank to its HOT mark with concentrated coolant if you were unable to achieve the desired ratio of coolant to distilled water or with distilled water if you have achieved the desired coolant to water ratio.

44)Now would be a great time to make a couple of jugs of pre-mixed coolant for future top offs. Get an empty coolant jug. Most have a window on the side of them where you can view the amount of liquid in them. They are usually marked 1, 2, 3, and 4 to show quarts. Fill the empty coolant jug with concentrated coolant from a new jug up to the 2 mark. The jug you just opened should also be on the 2 mark. Fill both jugs with distilled water up to where an imaginary 3.75 mark would be. This should give you a pre-mix of about 55 coolant to 45 distilled water. Put the caps on the jugs and shake them to mix the coolant and distilled water. With a marker, write PRE-MIX and the DATE on the jugs.

45)Keep an eye on the coolant levels in BOTH the overflow tank and radiator over the next few days. Check both of them twice a day as there may be a little bit of air in the cooling system and it will burp the air out which will lower the coolant levels. Top the radiator off and fill the overflow tank to the HOT mark with the pre-mixed coolant you made as needed.

46)Get into the habit of checking BOTH the overflow tank and radiator at least once a week thereafter.

47)Keep one of your pre-mixed jugs of coolant in the vehicle. You just never know when you may need it. If you need to top off and don't have it with you, either buy a pre-mix of the coolant that you used if you can or use distilled water.

48)If any leaks develop, get them fixed!

49)Once every year or two years, use the steps in the SECOND post in this thread and you shouldn't need to do a full blown cleaning again unless the cooling system is dirty or becomes contaminated.
 
"Class, who would like to share this morning? OK, Coolant_Man, you've had your hand up for the longest time, go ahead"...


Whoa!! If I would have read this thread before servicing my radiator, I would have never done it!! Seriously, 23 steps to service a clean system? I did mine in 2 steps, drain out one gallon, replace with one gallon of 50/50 OEM premix.
21.gif


Nevertheless, I'm giving you two thumbs up
thumbsup2.gif
thumbsup2.gif
for class participation and thoroughness. Thanks for posting all this, I hope it doesn't intimidate anyone from doing it themselves.
 
This seems like a good guide for doing a radiator drain and refill. If I could, let me suggest a few different options or changes.


Originally Posted By: Coolant_Man


2)Disconnect the overflow tank's hose IF THE OVERFLOW TANK IS UNPRESSURIZED and separate of the radiator. This hose is a small diameter rubber hose running from the throat of the radiator where the radiator cap goes to the overflow tank. If this is not the case then you have a PRESSURIZED overflow tank and its cap is actually the radiator cap so DO NOT disconnect its hose from the radiator as this allows you to fill the radiator. If you do disconnect the unpressurized overflow tank's hose from the radiator, put the hose in a safe place so it doesn't get caught in any belts, fans, or pulleys. Leave the hose connected to the overflow tank.

3)Disconnect the lower radiator hose to let both the radiator and the engine block drain into a bucket. I usually disconnect the lower radiator hose from just the radiator and carefully tilt the hose down while it is still connected to the engine to ensure the engine block drains. Remember the engine block will never fully drain out but what is left in it is minimal using this system of draining.

4)After the draining completes, reconnect the lower radiator hose. Be sure to not over-tighten it's clamp(s).


What I would suggest to do if the pressure cap is on the radiator, leave the cap on and open the radiatorv drain. I think this siphons the reservoir and perhaps the upper radiator hose. Then once appears the reservoir has stopped siphoning I take the radiator pressure cap off. I do not think it's necessary to remove the lower radiator hose if the radiator drain is easily accessible. The lower radiator hose is connected to the radiator but the radiator drain should be as or lower than it is. So more coolant won't be drained from the block through unhooking the lower hose, only it might drain faster (and maybe messier), no matter how low you move the lower radiator hose at the radiator. Also you mentioned that very little will remain in the block, but I think 1/2 to 1/3 of the capacity will remain in the block whether you drain from the lower radiator hose, radiator drain or both.

With a pressurized reservoir the only difference is I would just take the pressure cap off prior to draining. The pressurized reservoir is the high spot and is self draining. Everything else would be the same.

I think steps 14-17 are out of order, since you should have cleaned and reinstalled the reservoir before refilling the cooling system. but other than that this seems like a fine guideline so far.
 
What a over-complicated drain/refill process!!!! I simply open the drain on bottom of radiator, allow fluid to collect in a drainpan, then pour into old used 1 gallon water jugs and measure the amount drained.....then refill 1/2 the amount drained with fresh 100% coolant and the rest distilled water....simple 10 minute procedure.Use a length of tubing to syphon overflow tank,rinse,and refill 1/2 coolant and 1/2 distilled water.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted By: Steve S
I drain the radiator and the block then replace the fluid. Included is the recovery/pressure tank.


Yeah that is how I would do it if the block drains are acessible. You get a full drain that way.
 
Originally Posted By: qship1996
What a over-complicated drain/refill process!!!! I simply open the drain on bottom of radiator, allow fluid to collect in a drainpan, then pour into old used 1 gallon water jugs and measure the amount drained.....then refill 1/2 the amount drained with fresh 100% coolant and the rest distilled water....simple 10 minute procedure.Use a length of tubing to syphon overflow tank,rinse,and refill 1/2 coolant and 1/2 distilled water.

It is not that complicated at all. In fact, I will argue that simply opening the drain on the radiator will not get all the junk in the cooling system out as well as removing the lower radiator hose doing it my way. The coolant drains much faster and the junk doesn't get the chance to stick to surfaces as it would have by the slower draining through the radiator drain.

On top of that, you actually remove more coolant doing it my way. Perhaps not as much as using engine block drain plugs which can be hard to find or access, but pretty close. Remember it is best to replace as much coolant as possible with a fresh dose.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
Quote:
IMO, the BEST coolant out there is John Deere Cool-Gard II.


Why is that?

Because it works flawlessly.
 
Originally Posted By: Coolant_Man
Originally Posted By: onion
Quote:
IMO, the BEST coolant out there is John Deere Cool-Gard II.

Why is that?

Because it works flawlessly.


It's only been out for about a year +/- and doesn't have much of a track record in real world use. How do you know it works flawlessly?

I doubt that JD would risk ruining $100,000 dollar tractors with this stuff, so it probably is good stuff. I'm just curious what you base your statements on.
 
Originally Posted By: doitmyself
It's only been out for about a year +/- and doesn't have much of a track record in real world use. How do you know it works flawlessly?

I doubt that JD would risk ruining $100,000 dollar tractors with this stuff, so it probably is good stuff. I'm just curious what you base your statements on.

From my conversation with a JD chemical engineer. It was nice in that the information came from a chemist instead of a salesman. I shared the information in another thread here. In a nutshell, it is the same formula with the exception of the sodium nitrite being replaced with 2 OATs (no idea what they are) which also allow a higher operating temperature, longer life, and legality in countries banning sodium nitrite in coolant. Also the color is different.

I have used the (as I call it) original Cool-Gard for about 3 or 4 years now with no issues of any kind in numerous GMs, Fords, and Dodges. Like you said, JD trusts it for $100K tractors. They also trust it for even more expensive combines and back-spec it for earlier Cool-Gard applications.
 
we have a seat for you here at OCD Anonymous

i like your attention to detail but you could have used another container to avoid wasting the distilled water. and why soap in the overflow? maybe just add RMI-25 if you can find it, i heard they were out of business?
 
hate2work,

I hear ya - a rad drain 'n fill every 1-2 yrs: fast, easy, low cost and all a cooling system needs to stay in great shape.
 
Originally Posted By: [RT
ProjUltraZ] we have a seat for you here at OCD Anonymous

i like your attention to detail but you could have used another container to avoid wasting the distilled water. and why soap in the overflow? maybe just add RMI-25 if you can find it, i heard they were out of business?

I usually top of the pets' water bowls with it as opposed to wasting it.

The thoroughness of the rinsing and soap seem to get the overflows nice and clean. I have had really bad ones before and used muriatic acid in them which got them as clean as new, but you can't use it if the overflow has a built in sensor as the muriatic acid will melt it, lol.
 
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