coolant/antifreeze flush and refill

Post by **AkademikONE** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

i want to do my own coolant/antifreeze flush and refill, i want to know if I can do this by myself without having to worry about doing something wrong, like what materials do i need and about how long will it take me to do the entire process, thanx you guys

Post by **FTRS14.5** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

All you gotta do is remove the drain plug from your radiator and let the fluid drain out. Remove the cap on the top, flush water through it to get out any debris. Put the plug back and then fill it up with coolant. Bam!!!! Your done. Take you about 20-30 minutes.to complete the whol thing.

Post by **PalmerWMD** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

Be sure to flush thouroghly.You may also consider a chemical additive for extra cleaning action.Then flush some more.The final fill should be distilled water with antifreeze most manufacturers recommendations runa bit thick for AF tpo water mix, cuz they dont think PPL will renew fluid often enough.

Since you live in Cali a 50/50 mix is too thick.

make it 70% distilled water, 1 bottle redline water wetter and rest AF for an optimal mix.

Fred...

Post by **FTRS14.5** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

What he said

Post by **scuba_sean** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

when doing a coolant flush, dot you wanna do the engine too? like in the water jackets etc...?

Post by **Daunttless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

That's why most radiator flushes are considered a scam, at least 1/3 of your coolant is still sitting in your block.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

where do you find the drain plug to the radiator ?

Post by **special_K** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

After you flush/refill dont you have to bleed any air out of the system? If you are then how are you supposed to do it?

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

nismod_rps13 wrote:where do you find the drain plug to the radiator ?

By the A/C compressor, bottom corner of the radiator, right across the a/c compressor.

The way i flushed my block was to remove the thermostat housing and put the pressure hose to the opening, the water pressure will circulate thru the block and come back out the water pump opening.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

another stupid question... sorry.. .i dont know much about cars... but i sure like to mess with it bc i just bought a new tool set... so im like taking everything apart that has a bolt... hahaha... uhh... anyway

where is it ?!... what does an ac compressor look like ?! i see... the radiator... and then a circle thing... like a fan... is that what youre talking about ?... |o | so its kinda like that... haha... too bad i dont have a digi cam =(

but then i see like two tubes... on the right side... that seem to be able to unbolt with a wrench... but thats on the right side... and the circle thing is on the left... im confused =(

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

do you guys do it with the engine on or off... if its on... wont it circulate more ?... bc i still have tons of old coolant coming out... its ORANGE =(

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

Circled part is the a/c compressor, sohc and dohc motors have it in the same spot.

I did it once with the engine on and the heater on and then once with the engine off. Then I filled it back up with the engine running.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

is that custom piping i see for your intake ?... whoa... whered your fan go ? or am i just not seeing it correctly ? thanks a bunch

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

custom 45 degree pipe, battery relocated to the trunk, clutch fan removed for 2 12" eletric fans.

Post by **b240** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

nicely done nismo1182.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

ok, today i found the drain plug... THANKS soooo much... i was actually trying to unbolt something in front... whats that grill thing called ?... radiator is behind it... and this freaked me out so much... i had a BAG stuck in between my radiator and the grill thing... its like... WTH... when i unplugged it... ORANGE... nothing but ORANGE came out of the radiator... i looked through the plumbing of the system... rust EVERYWHERE.... covering everything it can.... im so saddened by that... and that still doesnt solve my leak problem... i have a leak somewhere in one of my houses =(

question, sorry if im bothering you... when you replaced your fans... did you add a switch to turn them on/off... and what are the advantages of doing that ?... just more hp/torque ?... and wouldnt it have been easier to place the batter on the right side the car... where the intake box used to be ?.. or was that not possible ?... car looks nice btw

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

nah dude, your not bothering me. Actually if you need help tracking down a heater hoses, i have a sohc motor and a dohc motor out on my garage floor. I can locate and tell you where hoses and what not.

as for the fans, removing the stock clutch fans adds a bit more power since it something less thats being driven off the engine. It also lets the engine rev a bit more freely. I have an override switch near my hood opener latch thing. But the fans only come on and off when the key is in the ignition and turned to on. The override switch is there for when i need to work on the car with the ignition on but the fans off so it wont kill my battery. The battery was moved to the trunk for weight reasons. Putting the battery on my side (drivers side) would only upset weight distribution. Plus remember theres a fuse box on that side too.

My rust problem:( I have to clean it with a wire brush again and paint over it this time.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

you have both of them on the floor... whoa... in that case i will take you up on your offer! haha... im pretty sure that i have a leak somewhere in one of the hoses... the problem is... getting to them and finding out which one is the leaky one... i have tried taking out the radiator out by itself but its connected or somehow attacted to the fan shroud thing... and the fan is in the way as well... so i couldnt do that, i took out the intake pipe that runs across the engine bay... i looked down and still couldnt see much of whats going on... i sprayed inthe radiator and saw little trinkets of water come out... but from way down there... and i dont know how to get into there...

so... i think i would need help on what i need to remove from my engine momentarily to get to those hoses... along with how do it as well... =(... its kinda a lot i think... i was looking kragen at hose prices... its like $9.99 for each one... even like a small @$$ one !... and i was looking... and theres like 8 or so hoses for the entire car... rust is lined everywhere =(

yesterday i thought i flushed it out completely, bc it was draining out clear water for a long time so i thought it was good right ?... wrong =(... after that i filled it up with some coolant and water mix... i drove it around to get some gas... then got stopped by a cop (long story), then i drove home... the car was on for about 20 minutes or so... leaking out coolant slowly... went home... slept.. then before school i filled it up with water... i used my gallon jug and used up about 2/3 of the gallon... then i drove school... when i parked i was freaked out bc i saw ORANGE flow out of from underneath my car again! damnit.. .i thought i got all of it out of my system... i guess not.... btw... if i just keep adding water... is that bad for my car... or do i need some kind of coolant ?... but if i add coolant... its gonna leak out anyway !... so is it ok to just keep on adding water to my radiator ?!

when i have the chance, hopefully this weekend when i close my bank account (to take all my money out for my car =( ) ill buy like some clr or radiator flush and do it the right way...

what happened to your spare ?!... what if you get a flat ? and uhh... isnt the fuse box supposed to be near the battery ?... so that would make the battery on the left side

i have a SOCK.. i mean SOHC... send lots of pictures when you can please...

THANKS A BUNCH

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

Yeah, your going to have to remove the fan and the fan shroud to remove the radiator. Im thinking the reason it still coming out orange is that theres rust still stuck to the walls of the block. Your going to have to run some cleaner in there.

I didnt ride around with a spare for while but now the spare is resting next to the battery. Theres 2 fuse boxes, one next to the battery and another under the intake box on the drivers side. I only have a few pics, let me know what you need pics of and ill take some.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

ok... uhhh...

how do i remove the fan with the fan shroud ?... ive tried to take it out before... but i dont know how to remove the fan... i dont want to take anything apart that i dont know how to put back together... or is the fan pretty simple ?... after the fan is out... are the hoses pretty exposed and easy to see ?

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

brought my car into my school's shop today... we jacked it up... lowered it... up... down... over and over again... thought it was one loose hose clamp... but then it was one farther in nearer the engine block, after like an hour got that one... but it wasnt that one that was leaking... it was like one higher that was leaking onto that one.... it was a messed up hose or something... i have to like take out the throttle soon to get to all the plumbing =(... damn its gonna take forever...

btw... can you hook me up with any pics yet ?

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

be a little specific of what pics you need and ill take them.

as for the shroud and fan, theres 4 screws that hold the shroud, one at each corner. the fan shroud is hard to take off with the radiator hoses in the way, so i just cut the shroud in half and removed the pieces. then i have more access to remove the 4 10mm nut that hold the fan to the fan clutch. then another set of 4 10mm nuts hold the fan clutch to the water pump pulley. once you remove those, put the nuts back on the pulley and tighten them up or else the pulley will come off. this is just to free up some hp and space.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

what do i need ?... hmm... uhh...

i think id need pics of where all the hoses are... like how would i be able to get to them and stuff...

today i saw some stuff that said would fix leaky radiator hoses and stuff... its some additive that you put in... and it like seals up the hoses... are those worth it?... i dont think so... i dont want to replace all my hoses... but i might have to... anyway... im on spring break this week... so i guess thats lots of time for my car =(

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

the best and easiest way to replace all the hose on the intake manifold is to take off the manifold itself. if you dont think you can do it, have someone help you. with the manifold off, all the hoses on it are easily accesible. Even though its an easy job, it is time consuming.

Ill get those pics as soon as i can.

i wouldnt trust those additives, most of them dont work anyway.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

ok... today im about to take out my intake manifold so i could get to the hoses for a better look... question... is taking out the intake manifold hard to do ? next is... what color coolant do i use ?!... i mean like... i know its orange... but thats because of the rust... its lined everywhere in my hoses... and my radiator... like i added in some green before... but that was when i didnt flush it out.... and the orange mixed with the green... and it came out orange... but is it orange bc its orange coolant or bc of the rust ?!... i dont wanna mess up my radiator...

Post by **240canuck** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

it orange because of the rust you should use green coolant, orange is coolant is dexcool only for gm vehicles.

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

thanks 240canuck

hey nismo1182... ok... i finally found the freakin leak today... its all the way in between my intake manifold, hidden under my engine... behind the pulleys... =*(... i could barely see it... i can barely reach it as well to feel the running water flow out of it... i tried to take out the intake manifold... but its so hard... i dont know where to start... and i think i might have to remove the engine as well... i dont know where to start on that either... i dont want to take my car to the shop bc i dont have money to pay for the labor... and i know its gonna be a grip of labor to take out the manifolds =*(

so i need help on how to take out the manifold... and possibly the engine... be detailed as possible... pics would be greatly appreciated =) thanks !

Post by **Nismo1182** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

I just went to take a look at the engine, forget about removing the manifold. All the lines that run through it are metal so theres no chance those would break and leak coolant. The heater hoses on the back of the engine are easy to get too if they are leaking. Is the leak behind the power steering pulley? like right behind it? Or actually somewhere on the intake manifold?

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

i was planning on taking out the manifold just so i could get a better look at the hoses... yeah... stupid metal wires everywhere =(... kinda like right behind the pulleys... and under the engine... if that helps =T

Post by **wangless** » Mon Feb 03, 2003 12:51 pm

there ?!

coolant/antifreeze flush and refill

coolant/antifreeze flush and refill

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