Prestone Coolant Flush? Possible ATF in Coolant

[TTopJohn]

I have a possible Dexron III ATF in my DexCool coolant situation. This is Dexron III ATF that is in the power steering system.

The coolant on the dipstick in the overflow tank looks normal (hard to say since Dexcool and Dexron III are both red), but the Dexron III in the power steering fluid reservoir looks milky, rusty red instead of dark red like Dexron III ATF normally looks. I've been sucking out and refilling the reservoir with fresh Dexron III, with no improvment- and yesterday the fluid level was much higher than a week ago.

The likely culprit is my power steering cooler - a factory part that is plumbed inline with the top radiator hose, seperate from the radiator. I'm going to change that out, or eliminate it all together. Then flush the power steering system with fresh Dexron III.

To address the possible cooling system contamination, I was thinking of using a few rounds of Prestone's flush product. Perhaps 2 drain and refills of the cooling system to rinse the system, then a 3rd and final refill. Does that sound good, or do y'all have some other recommendations? I'm also going to swtich it over to Zerex G-05 while I'm at it.

 

[Kestas]

You can save some money by using grocery store product. Many people mention using Shout to help flush out oil contamination in cooling systems. I imagine any other detergent would work just as well - Dawn, Tide.

If you decide to stick with Prestone, make sure it's not the citric acid flush. That's designed for removing scale deposits. I don't know if Prestone even makes a product to flush oil from the cooling system.

 

[TTopJohn]

It's not specifically to flush oil from the cooling system, but the Prestone Super Radiator Flush claims this:

Quote:

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"flush out harmful rust deposits, grease, and oily residue. It uses a strong chelating compound to bind rust and other corrosion deposits to help flush them out of the system prior to installing new antifreeze. Detergents emulsify oily residues. Super Radiator Flush is intended for cars with heavier build ups of rust and radiator and heater core deposits."

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And the Super Radiator Cleaner claims this:

Quote:

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"This premium formulation is designed to ermove heavy rust and scale deposits in neglected cooling systems. These deposits can dramatically restrict coolant flow and reduce heat transfer, which may lead to possible overheating, breakdown, or costly repair. A super chelating additive effectively removes heavy deposits by drawing metal oxides into solution. Though strong enough to help restore maximum cooling system efficiency, this non-toxic, non-acidic product is easy to use and safe for all cooling system metals."

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Super Radiator Flush mentions oily resitue by name (which I would think is what traces of ATF would leave in the cooling system) but Super Radiator Cleaner appears to be heavier duty, and it is left in the cooling system for a few drive cycles, which would seem to clean more thoroughly than the 10 minutes that Super Radiator Flush is left in the car for.

Thoughts?

Heck, I may not have any ATF in the Coolant, but I just can't figure out what else would make the ATF in the power steering reservoir so milky/rust colored - I do have a few power steering fluid leaks, but if they caused aration of the fluid, would it look like this? Got to be some kind of contamination, and the only other fluid that comes near the power steering system is the coolant.

 

[onion]

If you think you've got coolant in the oil (or power steering fluid in this case), then I have a foolproof test. This is going to reveal just how much of a hillbilly I really am:

First, look around and make sure nobody is watching you. Now, stick your finger in the suspect oil and TASTE IT. If there's antifreeze in there, it'll taste nasty/sweet/bitter. No antifreeze- no taste. I've found it to be #@$%! near foolproof for engine oil. Can't say that I've ever tasted ATF... but I imagine the same procedure would apply.

In my experience, cooling system flushed come in two varieties. Either they're acidic- used to remove rust and scale, or they're alkaline- used to flush out oil or fuel. You need a caustic (basic/alkaline) flush. I've seen flushed before that mentioned sodium hydroxide (a.k.a. lye) on the label... and that's the sort of thing you need.

Also, I'll agree with folks who say you can dish soap or that sort of thing. We always got good results using Cascade when I worked at a Cummins dealership. Worked great at removing massive amounts of oil in the coolant (from a leaking oil cooler). Possibly less harsh than an alkaline flush.

 

[TTopJohn]

Well, don't know if I'll be tasting it

But matching your description up with Prestone's description of the two cleaning products, it looks like Super Radiator Flush is the one I need - either that, or half a bottle of Dawn dish soap + distilled water run for a few hours

I think I will go the Super Radiator Flush route - this is a DexCool engine, so on the odd chance that there's any gunk as a result of this ATF contamination, a flush product would make me feel better that I got it out than just dish soap.

In the name of correcting this in a hurry, I'm just going to bypass the power steering cooler for the time being, and worry about fixing the leak in it at a later date.

 

[Donald]

You can have the coolant analyzed for $15-$20. That would tell you for sure.

As for what to clean the system with, I would suggest a product designed for radiators rather than a household soap or detergent. There are many radiator cleaners that are not acid based. A household detergent may suds up too much.

 

[Virtuoso]

Cascade will remove oils from your cooling system quite well apparantly - Saturn reccomends using it when flushing the systems of SOHC engines that crack heads.

 

[onion]

Also, it doesn't foam like plain ol' dish soap... which is why we preferred it at the Cummins shop.

 

[Chris142]

I use Purple power or Simple green to remove oil from cooling systems. If you do have oil in there you will need to change al the hoses.

 

[onion]

Not neccesarily. Oil will certainly do a number on conventional rubber hoses (as opposed to silicon hoses)... but it takes time and a certain quantity of oil. If he's only got a little oil in the system, and it hasn't been in there THAT long, then it may not be a big issue. I'd probabaly feel all the hoses- and if there all in good condition and don't feel squishy... I'd just flush it and forget about it.

I bet simple green or purple power would work just fine.

 

[TedT]

When I worked at the Porsche store we used Shout. It worked very well. I would use Cascade or Shout, in that order. Forget the Super flush. This type of product never worked well for me.
Ted

 

[Craig in Canada]

How much shout/cascade/dawn are we talking about here?