changing coolant??
Technical Article Contributor
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 25,641
Likes: 19
From: MI
Yea , I broke that "petc^ck" the last time I flushed here out. That reminds me I have to get one. Mine broke when I tightened it back up with my fingers - cheap thing!! -
I refill after flushing with the top hose disconnected. Once I see coolent start to make it's way out , I connect the hose then . I think that's a good way to void the air pockets in the block if your draining and flushing that as well.
BTW - My coolents Green
I refill after flushing with the top hose disconnected. Once I see coolent start to make it's way out , I connect the hose then . I think that's a good way to void the air pockets in the block if your draining and flushing that as well.
BTW - My coolents Green
Last edited by jbrew; Dec 15, 2007 at 01:08 PM.
Senior Member
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 614
Likes: 0
From: Troy, NY
IMO it's worth paying the $50-60 to get it done at a shop. The machine does a better job in much less time. Doing it yourself requires you to drain it (on my 93 the petc^ck was broken, so it had to unscrew the valve all the way out and let it drain out of the valve hole, which took a long time and got coolant all over everything.
Then you have to refill it with water and some nasty flush chemical, drive it around, wait for it to cool, and drain again. Then a pure water flush, then a refill, then you have to keep "burping" to get the air out. It's a hassle, and even afterward the coolant wasn't bright green, still a kinda murky, dull green. Better than before for sure, but still not great. And it took an entire afternoon and like $25 for coolant, distilled water, and a new cap.
It's one of those things a dealer/shop can't really screw up.
I used the cheap wal-mart brand anti-freeze. Propolyne glycol is propolyne glycol, it's the same chemical in every bottle. It's like people that insist on paying $5 a gallon for Clorox bleach, when the $0.90/gallon wal-mart bleach is the exact same stuff and works just as well.
Then you have to refill it with water and some nasty flush chemical, drive it around, wait for it to cool, and drain again. Then a pure water flush, then a refill, then you have to keep "burping" to get the air out. It's a hassle, and even afterward the coolant wasn't bright green, still a kinda murky, dull green. Better than before for sure, but still not great. And it took an entire afternoon and like $25 for coolant, distilled water, and a new cap.
It's one of those things a dealer/shop can't really screw up.
I used the cheap wal-mart brand anti-freeze. Propolyne glycol is propolyne glycol, it's the same chemical in every bottle. It's like people that insist on paying $5 a gallon for Clorox bleach, when the $0.90/gallon wal-mart bleach is the exact same stuff and works just as well.