flush cooling system?, how to do it properly? Options

[Hanyo]

how do you properly flush the cooling system of a car?

I know the basics like hook up a garden hose and run water through the system as the engine is runing and heater on to help remove all the rust and containaments in there.

But what do you do with all that radiator fluid? You can't just let that drain into the storm drains.


And your not suppose to get hard water into the cooling system, that is why distilled water is needed. And flushing the cooling with gallons and gallons of distilled water will be very costly....

What about those chemicals you can buy?

What is the best way to do it? To be honest i dont trust those jiffy lube shops to flush my car, they probably wont use distilled water...

[njccmd2002]

Installing a Radiator isn't hard at all. It's basically bolt off and bolt on. You need the radiator to be cool before removing it becuz you don't want to burn your hands.

1. Start by draining the coolant out of the engine by draining the coolant from the radiator. You need to look for the drain plug (It looks like a small white plastic piece shaped like a handle). I have a ST so the drain plug is located on the bottom passenger side on the Radiator. Let it drain out completely!
2. Now, tighten the drain plug again. Fill the Radiator with water. You do not have to fill it all the way full. Just enough to rinse all the dirty or used coolant out.
3. Next, turn on the car and let it run for about 20 seconds and then turn off the car. Now unplug the drain plug again and let all the coolant drain out completely.
4. Next, unplug both rubber hoses that are attached to your radiator by loosening the clamps. They are the TWO big BLACK hoses. Just unplug them from the Radiator, not the engine. There are TWO of them. One on top and the other on the bottom of the radiator. Also, don't forget the Coolant Reserve Hose which is located next to the Radiator Cap.
5. Next, unbolt the TWO Radiator Mounts on top. They are the two mounts that are holding the Radiator onto the front frame. The Radiator should completely be loose by now unless they are bolted onto something else that you need to unbolt. Just be careful when taking the Radiator out becuz it has TWO Radiator Pads on the bottom to mount it perfectly. DO NOT LOSE THOSE! YOU WILL NEED THEM FOR THE NEW RADIATOR!
6. Now, you have to unbolt the TWO Radiator Fans off of the Radiator. I think it's about 3 to 4 bolts. You should be able to take out the whole Radiator at this point.
7. Take out the old Radiator carefully. Remove the the TWO Radiator Pads on the bottom from the old Radiator and mount them on the new Radiator.
8. Now, install the TWO Radiator Fans back onto the new Radiator. Please make sure any sensor/plugs are correctly connected on the Fans. Afterwards, carefully mount the new Radiator correctly and accordingly. The TWO Radiator Pads should be resting at their original positions which should make the whole radiator mount correctly.
9. Now, mount the TWO Radiator Mounts and bolt them back onto the front frame.
10. Next, plug back all Radiator Hoses. Make sure the clamps are tightened and they are secure.
11. Now, take off the Radiator Cap and fill the Radiator up with coolant. Make sure the coolant reaches all the way to your Radiator Cap hole. Close the Radiator Cap and turn on the car. Let the car run for about 20 seconds and then turn it off. Remove the Radiator Cap and pour in more coolant if necessary.

And there you have it! Enjoy your new Radiator!!!

I hope this quick-through helps. I don't have any pictures considering that I did it two months ago. Enjoy.

found this so i decided to give proper credit.


My first drain was about 1 gallon, donk know if its ok, maybe some of it is still in the blok, so i refilled it with prestone 50 50 and ran it for 30 seconds.

am about to drain it again. i guess putting coolant instead of water is beter. I will redrain and install my rad. When i do the swap i will do better flush.