Cooling
System Flush & Fill Procedure |
Disclaimer-First off, let me start by saying that
the contents in this document are for use at your own risk.
Any damages to personal property or bodily damages are not the responsibility of the author. If you agree with the above statement, then
proceed with the rest of the document. If you
do not agree, please delete this document immediately. Abstract-The following procedure is meant to be a guide
to help you with the tedious task of servicing the cooling system on your car without
removing the block plug and knock sensor. I
have done this several times on my cars and the cars of my Family and friends. So far I have not had any complaints and I feel
that I do a better job of it myself than to let a mechanic do it. That’s not to say that I think all mechanics
are inept and incompetent. Getting started-Before you start to work on your car, get
organized! Make sure that you have all the
tools, chemicals and safety equipment and have them close by so that this all goes
smoothly and as quickly as possible. You will
need one gallon of ethylene glycol (green stuff) and about four or five gallons of
distilled water. Check your hoses and
radiator cap and replace them if necessary. You
may also want to have a replacement thermostat handy and one 8oz bottle of Red line water
wetter (optional). Safety equipment-I cannot stress enough the importance of safety. Do not at any time put yourself, your car or others in an unsafe situation. Listen to that little voice inside your head. I highly recommend the following personal protective equipment that will help you to do the job safely. §
Goggles §
Heat resistant rubber gloves §
Long sleeve shirt and pants §
Jack stands or ramps §
A large catch pan Comment:
I do not recommend the use of Dexcool or leak sealing tablets. Your best bet is to stick with the green ethylene
glycol mixed 50/50 with distilled water. The
use of Red line water wetter will help your radiator to cool more efficiently and it also
fights corrosion. One bottle will work for
the entire cooling system. This is an ideal
time to replace the thermostat and to delete the throttle body coolant. I recommend a 160-degree thermostat from
Hypertech. Get to work!1.
With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap. Make sure that your car is parked on level ground
and you can reach the radiator drain plug. 2. Place a large container under the
radiator drain to catch all of the coolant as it is drained. 3. Carefully unscrew the drain plug and
let all of the coolant drain out into the catch pan.
If you can’t remove the drain plug, try removing the lower radiator
hose. If you need to do this, be very careful
as the coolant will gush out and most likely drench you if you are not careful. 4. After the coolant has stopped draining,
put the drain plug back in. 5. Remove the reservoir and dump the
coolant into the catch pan and thoroughly clean the reservoir inside and out with fresh
tap water. You will need to remove the
battery first as it sits on top of the reservoir. 6. Fill the radiator with distilled water
to the top and turn the engine and heater on. Do
not put the radiator cap back on as you will need to top off the radiator with distilled
water as the thermostat will open and the level will go down. 7. Let the water circulate for about five
minutes and then turn the ignition off. 8. Once the water is cool enough, repeat
step #3. 9. Repeat steps #4,6 until the water
drains clear. 10. If you are satisfied that the water was
as clear as it will get on the last draining, then you can go ahead with thermostat
replacement and/or throttle body coolant bypass. Be
careful to not over tighten the thermostat housing bolts, as they just need to be snug. If you want to delete the throttle body coolant,
then follow the directions in step 10a. 10a. Disconnect the black coolant lines
on either side of the throttle body. Be ready
to catch the coolant that will drain out of the throttle body and lines. Route the lines so that they meet and overlap each
other. You will need to cut about 2 to 3
inches off one of the ends so that they come together flush. You will need a 3/8” brass fitting and band
clamps to join the two lines. Once this is
done secure the lines with some zip ties so that they are out of the way of the fans. On my Camaro, I routed them on top of the fan
shroud and under the intake elbow. Plug the
metal fittings on either side of the throttle body with vacuum line caps and you’re
done. 11. Install the reservoir and fill it about
half way with coolant and distilled water mixed 50/50.
Use the dip stick to measure the level as it should be at the cool line. 12. Put in one gallon of coolant into the
radiator as there will be approximately one gallon of distilled water in the block. Fill it to the top and then turn the ignition on
and let it circulate for a few minutes. This
will allow the large air pockets to purge and you can top off the radiator when the level
goes down. 13. Turn off the ignition and put the
radiator cap back on. Check for leaks or any
other loose items as you are about to bleed the cooling system. Make damn sure that you used a reverse flow
thermostat and that you installed it properly. If
it is not done right, your car will soon over heat. 14. You’re almost finished! Drive your car up on ramps or use jack stands to
get the nose up in the air. You need to do
this in order for the tiny air bubbles remaining in the system to escape through the bleed
screws. Don’t forget to pull the
emergency brake handle up. 15. With the engine running, the car in
park and the parking brake on, open the top-most bleed screw until a steady stream of
coolant comes out. Be careful not to get any
coolant on your optispark. What I do is form
a funnel, or deflector out of aluminum foil. You
can form it around the bleed screw on the heater hose and route it down to the catch pan. 16. Once there are no more air bubbles
coming out of the bleed screw close it, but be careful not to strip the threads as it is
made of soft brass. Make sure everything is
closed and tightened and then put your car back down on the ground and go for a test
drive. 17. While driving check for the low coolant
light and observe the temperature gauge. If
it starts climbing into the red zone you better find a place to pull over and find out
what’s wrong. If you notice that the
needle on the temp gauge bounces a little, there is probably still air in the system and
you will need to go through the bleeding process again.
Don’t worry as this is normal, it just takes a little time and driving
to get all of the air out. Be persistent, as
air bubbles will form hot spots on the heads and cause detonation. Conclusion-Well, I hope that this document has
helped you to successfully service you cooling system.
If you have any questions or constructive criticism, please e-mail me at bigc23@hotmail.com. Best of luck to you and feel free to give this to
anyone you feel can use it. Best regards, Chris Morris A.K.A. Chris 94Z A4 on the forums |
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