Need to flush my Ecotec 2.2

[[email protected]]

I have a 2002 Saturn L200 with a 2.2 Ecotec engine. It has 106,000 miles on it. I just bought the car in December, and it had the original spark plugs, cabin air filter, and fuel filter so I know its got to be the original coolant!

So what is the recommendation? Refill with Dex-cool? Do I flush the system out first with water or some chemical (flushing product?) I keep on reading about peak lifetime global and how its comparable to the coolant that they use in rocket ships or something...lol. Help?

 

[MrMeeks]

Radiator flush is available everywhere and it works.I've heard bad things about dexcool.Avoid things designed for spacecraft or rocketships.Get the thermostat replaced while doing the flush.Do you know a stat can be installed backwards and overheat the engine.

 

[jkhawaii]

dexcool works just fine on all current GM vehicles, heck of a lot better than most universal coolants out there. it would be good to check/replace coolant hoses and the thermostat. for me I would just drain and refill the thing insted of trying to get all the old coolant out or flushing with water ether way make sure you have a 50-50 mix of water and dexcool

 

[Thax]

Originally Posted By: jkhawaii
dexcool works just fine on all current GM vehicles, heck of a lot better than most universal coolants out there. it would be good to check/replace coolant hoses and the thermostat. for me I would just drain and refill the thing insted of trying to get all the old coolant out or flushing with water ether way make sure you have a 50-50 mix of water and dexcool

+1 hawaii , DexCool is fine and recommended for this motor.Unless there is extreme rust/corrosion deposits there is no need to "flush" the system ,a simple drain and refill will suffice. It is a good idea to go ahead and replace your hoses and Thermostat at this time however and I recommend using OEM parts from the dealer. This may be more expensive than aftermarket i.e Auto Part chain parts ,however you will get what was exactly designed for the vehicle. I know because I work a O'reilly and I see many failed aftermarket "quality" hoses and thermostats.

 

[JustinH]

I just drain the radiator once, then refill with water, then drain it again, and fill with a 50/50 mix of coolant.

I'm using walmart supertech coolant and distilled water.

Once a year, I just drain the radiator, and refill with 50/50 mix.

 

[drg]

When I did my Saturn Ion 2.2 ecotec only about a gallon came out.I understand there is a block plug somewhere up above the oil drain plug in the back of the engine but I did not look for it.I just put a gallon back in and I"ll do it again real soon . The Dexcool that came out after 100,000 miles looked the same as the new Dexcol I put in.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: JustinH
I just drain the radiator once, then refill with water, then drain it again, and fill with a 50/50 mix of coolant.

I'm using walmart supertech coolant and distilled water.

Once a year, I just drain the radiator, and refill with 50/50 mix.


When you "fill it with water" do you then run the engine? If so, after draining it again and filling with 50/50, you're going to be way under 50/50 concentration.

 

[MarkM66]

Originally Posted By: [email protected]
I have a 2002 Saturn L200 with a 2.2 Ecotec engine. It has 106,000 miles on it. I just bought the car in December, and it had the original spark plugs, cabin air filter, and fuel filter so I know its got to be the original coolant!

So what is the recommendation? Refill with Dex-cool? Do I flush the system out first with water or some chemical (flushing product?) I keep on reading about peak lifetime global and how its comparable to the coolant that they use in rocket ships or something...lol. Help?


Can you see the cores by looking down the radiator cap? Probably not, but if you can, and they look clean, I would just drain and fill with the coolant type that's currently in the radiator.

You could do it more the once if the current fluid looks really bad.

 

[[email protected]]

Mark - there is no cap on the radiator, its one of those plastic reservoirs that have the pressurized cap on it. So, unfortunately, I cant easily look into the radiator. However, there is no crud in the reservoir container.

With that being said, is 1 gallon of Prestone Dex-cool 50/50 going to be enough for the ecotec? I thought I heard somebody say they drained/refilled about 1 gallon.

Its on sale right now at Meijer (for those of us in the midwest) with a mail in rebate. Thinking of going and getting some.....

 

[mechanicx]

I'd probably grab 2 gals if you are going to use the 50/50 premix. You could always return one if you don't need it, but you might need to top up over a day or two or use it in the future. Just draining the radiator and refilling with Prestone Dexcool should be good enough. Ecotecs with a pressurized reservoir are pretty much problem free.

 

[scott37300]

I just did this on a 04 impala 3.8L. They car only had 50K miles on it but the fluid was 6 years old and dexcool says 5 years. There was a little sludge by the radiator cap so I decided to "flush" it by doing multiple drain and fills, as this is what the gm factory service manual says to do. Personally I would flush it with distilled water to be more effective. I went threw around 8 gallons of distilled water(88 cents at walmart). I did let the engine run to operating temp and cycle the heater(fan off, heat on hot) to circulate the water.

Then my plan was to add 6 qts of straight dexcool since the system holds 11.7 qts total, and then top off with water. After the last drain I started adding dex and only got 3-4 qts in the system. I tested it and only got -12 protection instead of the -34 recomended. So I ran the car for a while and then drain the radiator again and going to add straight dexcool again and hope to get the right mix.

I don't believe there is anything wrong with dexcool. I did A LOT of reading on dexcool and how to flush the system before I did this and came to the conclusion dexcool is alright. I found there are lots of strong opinions of what to do and what not to do when flushing the cooling system.

My results from the above were better heat quicker.

I also changed the radiator cap, but you said yours doesn't have one. And I also picked up a new thermostat and will change that when I drain to get the right 50/50 mix. Another thing is your car should have a bleeder screw up high on the engine, should say in the owners manual.

 

[[email protected]]

Originally Posted By: mechanicx
I'd probably grab 2 gals if you are going to use the 50/50 premix. You could always return one if you don't need it, but you might need to top up over a day or two or use it in the future. Just draining the radiator and refilling with Prestone Dexcool should be good enough. Ecotecs with a pressurized reservoir are pretty much problem free.


Cr*p. I just read this, and already went and bought 1 gallon of Dex-Cool Concentrate (NOT 50/50). I have 3/4 gallon of distilled water left over from this summer from topping off my boats batteries, so I will mix the distilled water with the full strength dex.

When I drain the radiator (assuming that there is a drain on the radiator, right?!), I take it the pressurized reservoir will drain too? Or do I need to disconnect the hose on the reservoir and gravity drain/flush that seperately?

 

[drg]

Just take the cap off the reservoir it will drain into the rad and out the drain at the bottom. Don't expect to much to come out mine drained less than a gallon.

 

[mechanicx]

What drg said. Mixing distilled water with concentrate is fine just as long as you get it 50/50. It's cheaper that way than buy premixed.

 

[[email protected]]

Ok so I drained my radiator tonight, I removed the pressurized reservoir cap too. Let it drain over an hour...

Pour my drain pan into an empty 1g jug, turns out about 2/3-3/4 gallon drained out...alrighty then!

I then mixed about 60% dex and 40% distilled water (I was low on water - was using leftover distilled water from the summer that I used to top off my boat batteries) into another empty gallon jug (I save all of my windshield washer fluid bottles in case I need them to recycle used oil that didnt come in a jug) and refilled. Let it idle with the heat on for 10 minutes, then brought it for a ride. Temperature is good, heat is great, and coolant didnt burp! I did give it a lot of time when I topped it off so I bet a lot of the air came out when it idled for 10 minutes or so.

A 60%/40% coolant solution will be fine, right?

 

[The_Eric]

yup.