how to flush your cool water ?

[Tappy]

I'm working n my electrics , or what they should be , for that i removed the coolwater expansion barrel

This thing is ful of rust ! not just a littje brown water but 4 spoons of rust in my barrel (or how do you call this )
so i was wondering how to flush the system , can i get all the rust out ? and how to keep it clean , things to think about etc

Every help or rederection to a tutoral is welcome , pls note i have barraly enoufh skills to hold a screwdriver

[rlux4]

Hi Tappy, I think you're talking about the coolant vecovery bottle. If your car has sat for a long time, or if it's been run without anti freeze you will get rust in the system. You'll have to do a "flush". The instructions will come with the bottle of flush, but basically what you'll need to do is drain the system, put a "T" (these are sold in auto parts stores as a flush kit)
in a heater hose. Fill the system back up, add the flush compound and run it as directed. This will start to dissolve rust and clean up the water passages. Drain the system afterwards, and fill with water and anti freeze. The anti freeze not only protects from freezing, it has a higher boiling point to handle the heat better than water, and acts as a rust inhibitor also.
If your flush kit instructions don't say so, it's a good idea to hook a water hose to the "T" and run water through the system first (take out your thermostat to get flow everywhere). This will break loose and flush out a lot of the sediment in there.
Hope this helps, good luck.
Ron

[Danno]

BTW, rust might be the only thing keeping your radiator from leaking, so if you have a LOT of rust in that system then don't be surprised if you develop a leak after cleaning. still better to have the system clean, then to bust your pump on a hot trip and seize your whole engine, you can always add more fluid in an emergency if you have a small leak. if your pump goes out then you are screwed, and sending a bunch of rust through a water pump can't be good.

[rlux4]

Good point Danno, I should have added that if a leak developes, just duct tape it!
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

flushing the system won't help the recovery tank much. Remove it, use Dawn dishwashing detergent and a bottle brush to clean it. You may have to soak it overnight to loosen the layer of rust that will be stuck to it

[Tappy]

hey guys , thx for the answers , but i'm not really getting it I suppose i'm slow (but not that slow that i'm repairing leaks with duct tape:))

The flush set seems like a handy tool , i've nevered heared about it and took a quick look @ the local parts shop , they dint know it or had it (but then again i beleave they better should be named the few parts shop , i think they have lots more stuff @ your "wallmarts" and they not even a carshop....)

I have an haynes manual (wich i dont understand, but i'll get back to that later) and they describe how to flusch your system


anyway i understand the value of the mix you poor in , and that you can bleed your system @the radiator and @the engine and that you can get rid of the air when refilled with the bleed valve @the t-piece on top of the motor (if i dont "have" it pls tell me now )

the part i dont understand is when you attach your garden hose to flush your system that you have prior to that to remove the themostat ? looks when i do that ,my fiat becomes all wet. (or is this the part where the duct tape comes in ? )



In the manual they tell you to (shortened) : bleeed your system @ the radiator/engine till ist emty then close them , and then remove your thermostat

Insert a garden hose into the botom radiator hose (7,figure3). Run water into the hose until cleat water flows from the upper engine-to-thermostat hose (5)

Insert the garden hose into the engine hose (5, figure 3) Run water into the hose until cleat water flows from the lower engine hose (6)

then (shortened) bleed dry again , closes valves , reconnect themostat , fill up , test etc etc


can somone get me a picture or explain wich hoses i need to put my gardenhose in ?


i got to put in the picture later as i need to scan it , will edit tomorrrow ....

[mdrburchette]

Philip, look at the right side of your engine at the lower radiator hose. It should be connected to an external thermostat. The thermostat has three hoses: 1 going to lower part of radiator, 1 going to water pump and 1 going to the upper part of the engine. In the book they're telling you to open the plugs on the engine block and radiator, but I don't think this is necessary. Take your garden hose and stick it into the hose going to the lower radiator.
1. Disconnect the three hoses and remove the thermostat. Make sure you mark which hose goes where so when you put the thermostat back on you will have it on properly.
2. Open the heater core by pushing the middle lever of your heat control down inside the car.
3. Take your garden hose and stick it into the hose going to the lower radiator. The water should flow into the radiator and back out of the top of the engine.
4. Move your garden hose to the upper engine hose. The water will flow out of the water pump hose.
5. Let drain. Attach your thermostat and fill radiator with 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water. This is where I jack the front end up to get the radiator cap higher than the engine so it makes it easier to bleed the air out.

Hope this helps!

[rlux4]

Tappy, the procedure Denise (mdrburchette) is explaining is an alternative way to "flush" your entire cooling system, not only the radiator, but the engine as well. By running water under pressure through the open system your flushing out any debris that's in there. By forcing the water to take an opposite path than it normally does it will break loose flakes that might stay if the flow is in the normal direction. Denise's method works great, and you don't have to buy anything. The thermostat needs to be out so water can flow through the entire system. If it were in, it would be closed and the engine wouldn't get flushed.
Ron

[pope]

Anyone have any thoughts of the type of antifreeze to use in the Spider. Old style or new style. green or orange.
I think PEAK is a universal type that allows it to be mixed with either color.

Does the new stuff have the same inhibitors for the old style radiators? Or are they just for the new aluminum style?
Inquiring minds want to know!


If your disconnect it from the system, you can use CLR in the recovery bottle to get rid of the rust. Just wash it out good before your install it.

[So Cal Mark]

use only green coolant (ethylene glycol), do NOT use Dexcool

[mdrburchette]

use only green coolant (ethylene glycol), do NOT use Dexcool

I second that comment! Dexcool will clog your cooling system. GM has been dealing with a lawsuit for years now over the damage Dexcool has caused in their engines. You need to especially beware of mixing the green and orange (Dexcool). It turns into a gooey mess and will cause all kinds of headaches.

[pope]

Good!
Cause i always thought the green stuff tasted better anyways!

[Tappy]

thats great , thanks denise

We have bleu stuff here for the cooling system , looks like cool aid taste the same

[paook]

I didn't get one of the results you listed, water into the upper engine hose did not produce water out of the water pump hose. It came out the lower radiator hose for me.

Radiator cap came off first. I removed the radiator drain plug and engine block drain plug to drain the coolant first (whoo! like a baby boy surprising a parent changing a diaper!). Then, the thermostat was removed and labeled for connections. Piping water into the lower radiator hose produced water and waste from the radiator cap. Piping water into the upper engine hose produced water out of the radiator cap. Piping water through the water pump hose produced water out of the radiator drain plug...I didn't pipe it in there long enough for other exits.

Should I have capped off the radiator and blocked the lower radiator hose, then piped water into the upper engine hose to get water exiting the water pump hose? Wouldn't this produce quite a bit of pressure in the radiator?