I about to change/flush the coolin'system and I was wondering what type of antifreeze to use,its realy dirty.rugular Prestone or do you need a spiecal type for aluminum heads and engines?
Also what is the best way to flush it all out,my old car we would pull of the top rad hose fir it up and pour water in the rad intil it came out clear? then unscrew the drian wing nut plug thingy,but my rad does not have one (A drain that is) .How do i get the water out of the block? is it true you cant use tap water? ive heard you have to use distiled water why?

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a.k.a hardlydangerous
91 LASER RS (N/T)
95 Honda VLX


[This message has been edited by Steve Leigh (edited October 11, 2000).]

This is how I do it;

I first remove the rad cap warm up the engine. Then I put a can of "Rad Cleaner" (This is not the proper name for it but you buy the crap at Canadian Tire, Walmart or your local part store). Next step is to idle the engine for 10 min with the heater going full blast (That also flushes the heater system). I then drain the stuff and refill it with fresh water and run the motor for 10 to 15 min. I do this twice (Fresh water). I drain every thing I can and then put some fresh fluid.

Now you got to take in consideration that some water is still in the engine. I think a 4G63 cooling system contains about 7.5 quarts of cooling fluid. I normally put 3Ltrs of pure coolant then top up with 50/50 and always end up with a -37 deg mix. BTW don't forget to drain the overflow tank, it gets yucky in there.

I check it a few days after and readjust the mix as require if need be.

Hope this helps.

Ghislain.

Oups.

BTW I use prestone stuff.

Ghislain.

so its OK to use tap water or should I go down to the lake and get that,:0) Ive already seen the over flow bottle thats how I know its time for a change. also it was right to the top almost when it was cold?

I always use tap water. Anti freeze has some stuff that prevents mineral deposit from damaging the rad and engine.

Ghislain.

I think you're safer to use distilled water instead of regular tap water. There is some discussion about it in <A HREF="http://www.ca.dsm.org/non-cgi/Forum2/HTML/001550.html">this thread</A>

Jeff Mitchell

You are safer using distilled water, but tap water will do fine.

thanks guys

Use distilled water, period. It's cheaper than a new RAD.
And, if you're going to try and flush your system, particularly at this time of year, make sure you have enough glycol back in there.

We're supossed to crack blocks at the track, not in the driveway on a cold winter morning.

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Andrew Bienhaus
1997 Eagle Talon TSi AWD - The Mongoose is loose!

My uncle was just trying to get my father to get him some 'pink' antifreeze because it was special stuff for his Volvo with an aluminum head. I pointed out to my father that mine's the same, and I always use regular antifreeze.

It's a pickle. (:

so how many jugs of antifreeze do I need?

To completly flush the engin you have to remove the water line from the turbo.



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Talon Tsi AWD 97
13.95 @ 100.09 mph
1.92 60 feet

Mmmm.

I got a NT...

Ghislain.

OK its done! I had a heck of a time with the guys at crappy tire and UAP, youngs auto etc findin' an antifreeze for aluminum engines/heads Prestone says "may be compatable with aluminum cooling systems parts" so I ended up buyin Havolene extended life stuff,It said it could be used with all regular and aluminum cooling systems,I flushed it out with RAD cleaner and fresh water then let it run for 10 minuts with fresh water pumpin in it from the garden hose until it ran clear,(I found the drain)I added 3 liters of pure antifreeze then mixed the left over in the jug to 50/50 mix and toped it off,I still need to have it tested!!.This stuff is cool its ORANGE.
btw I need a new RAD mine is missin' about an inch of its fins along the bottom of the rad so I sprayed it down with rust check PRIMER to stop it from gettin worse for now.

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91 LASER RS (N/T)
95 Honda VLX


[This message has been edited by Steve Leigh (edited November 05, 2000).]

Try GM Dex-Cool,it has a life of 240000kms/5yrs.

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Captain Bob Morgan
A pint a day keeps the bullshi$$ers at bay.

havolene Extended life is GM dex-cool
it says it right on the front of the jug DEX-COOL approved by GM.its is suposed to be good stuff