So i drove it to work since i only work like 3-4 miles away and she was over heating on my way home. i turned the heat on and it wouldn't work. it was blowing out cold air. So now my heat doesn't work.

Than when i got home i opened up the hood and there was steam coming up from the drivers side of the radiator. on the drivers side of the radiator towards the bottom. I think there might be a leak from down there? but it is directly below that little over flow hose.

Any ideas guys? I don't wanna pay 100 bucks for a coolant flush how would i go about flushing all the fluid out at home?

Also on top of this when we did change the t stat i'm pretty sure what drained from the durango was orange and what we topped her off with was lime green almost yellowish in color.

Is it harmful to mix antifreezes? they're both 50/50

I'm going to flush the cooling system today or tomorrow and i was wondering guys where is the bleeder valve on the system and where is the drain plug?

And do i just drain the whole system fill it with water than run it for a few mins than drain the water and keep doing this until its clear water draining out of the system? than just top her off with 50/50 coolant either green or orange?

 

I believe that there's a drain on the bottom passenger side of the radiator, but it's easier just to pull the lower hose and drain it that way.

A complete (power flush) flush is done by pushing water thru the block, heater core, water pump, etc. When I do my own I just flush the radiator & heater core with a hose on the top & let it drain from the bottom. Pull the heater core lines and do the same. You also may have second (rear) heater core in your truck.

Be VERY CAREFUL not to overheat the 4.7 too often, it's a sure way to warp / crack a head on it. Happens very easily. You need to find the underlying cause of overheating and fix it properly. Since you've posted a couple times on this issue, it's time to really start investigating it. The 4.7 will not overheat if everything is working properly (water pump is good, thermostat is not stuck, hoses are in good condition, all the air is "burped" from the lines, etc.) Once it's closed up, there's little reason to open up the system up again. If fluid level is going down, you either have a leak or it's going into the engine through one of the head gaskets.

If you're overheating after 3-4 miles that means that little if any water is circulating through the engine. First thing to do is to fill the radiator and "burp" the system by squeezing the upper hose a few times. It'll push excess air out of it. Next, start the motor and let it idle. If the water pump is working at all you should see the level in the radiator go down as it draws the water thru the pump. Let it run for a minute, then shut it off, top off the water again, burp it some more, and repeat until the radiator stays to within two inches or so from the top. With the engine running and warmed up (thermostat opened) you should be able to see water circulating through the radiator by looking into the cap opening. Close up the cap, fill the overflow bottle to the "full cold" line, and drive it for a bit. Running with diluted / mixed antifreeze isn't going to hurt anything for a short time while troubleshooting.

If you don't get this far, suspect the water pump, thermostat, or a *badly* clogged radiator and troubleshoot accordingly. Once you get the problem solved, drain out the water / antifreeze mess that you have and refill with 50/50 premix, repeating the burping process. Personally I use Prestone (green) stuff and have never had any issues. I don't think it's wise to mix two different types. Not really sure what the difference is though.

If the whole thing clears up "for awhile" but then starts overheating again and you see nothing dripping under the vehicle, suspect a bad head gasket. When mine went it overheated and I was low on fluid. I refilled / burped and had no problem for a couple weeks, but slowly it would creep up there again. I never saw any white smoke out the exhaust, but when I tore the engine down I found a cracked head that allowed water to go directly into one of the cylinders. Truck never ran rough, no codes, but it was very obvious what cylinder was affected because the valve faces / piston were perfectly spotless on that cylinder. Looked like it was steam cleaned! Compression tests should be able to pinpoint this, as well as look closely at your oil for residual water in it. Look at the tailpipe and "smell" for antifreeze. These are telltale signs.

Don't be tempted to use "silver seal" or any of the other magic fixes out there. They cause more harm than good, and can clog up really difficult to change parts, like heater cores.

Hope this helps!

Bob

 

Thanks bobman, That was all good information. At this point anything is helpful. when you say you pulled the lines and let it drained from the bottom did you mean just your lower radiator line? Also do you know roughly how much coolant is supposed to be in the system? i mean is a full amount of coolant one gallon or two gallons? i think i'm going to drain it all now. And try and clean it up as best i can.

Also for burping the system do i leave the top cap off or is there a small plug somewhere in the line that i loosen up?

 

There should be about 2 gallons of coolant in the system (not sure exactly the specs to the 4.7) and to drain it completely un-do the lower hose. Also, make sure to use none other than distilled water or you will get nasty deposits in your system that are practically irreversible without some hard work.

As for mixing the two they are not the same and shall never be mixed because the orange and green fluids both have different properties and mixing them can cause them to gel up and cause a blockage. I know in my Durango it's the highlighter green fluid and I'm sure the 4.7 is the same thing.

 

Hey widow, i was literally out in the garage now trying to open up the **** to let all the coolant drain out of the reservoir. I cant seem to get my hand or a pair of pliers in there. i must be doing something wrong. and its getting frustrating

Also you say the lower radiator line is that the one that connects to the t stat housing?

And when you say add nothing but distilled water is that to make the 50/50 mixture? because i usually just buy the prestone premixed Antifreeze.


I'm getting really tired of this whole thing i'm about ready to to take it to a shop and let them do it for some hundred odd dollars. god this really sucks.

 

If you can't open the valve easily don't try to force it. You'll most likely break it and then really have a problem. Open up the lower radiator line (either end, doesn't matter) and it'll drain.

50/50 mix is fine, that way you're not adding water. My example of adding water was *not* for long term driving, it was just to troubleshoot. A few days with water / mixed antifreeze won't hurt anything and you're going to end up draining it anyways this way you're not wasting new antifreeze.

Leave the cap off when burping it, you'll see the bubbles come out and feel water going into the top hose. Don't worry about getting 100% of it out right away, you're just trying to get the air out of the lines and get water to flow into the pump / block. It's a closed system, and the air will be trapped in there with fluid pushing on it from both sides. (the lower hose and the upper hose).

When you get enough of it out and are able to see water running through the radiator (with the cap off / engine running & warmed up enough for the thermostat to open) the level will drop as the air is forced out. Just add more fluid to bring it up higher. The thing you're looking for is a good flow of fluid through the radiator to rule out a bad pump, blocked radiator, or stuck thermostat.

4.7 holds just about 2 gallons as well, possibly just a little bit less.

Bob

 

Sorry, missed something in your post. Are you saying that there's a valve on your overflow tank? I don't have that, but you can drain it by pulling the lower line off of it at the radiator.

Bob

 

OK so bobman you're saying if i cant get that drain valve open it'll all drain out from the lower large radiator hose that connects to the t stat housing? ok i wasn't sure if it would get it all when draining i want the engine off right? I'm sure i want it off dumb question but just double checking.

Also when burping the system what if i don't get all the air out? will i have a problem and can air in the system really do a lot of harm? when me and my dad changed the t stat and topped it off with antifreeze i didn't know what he was doing but he burped the system.

Off topic, My dads English isn't the best and my "Gujarati" ((the language i speak at home)) isn't the best so communication for technical things is hard lol

Also can you walk me through a simple guideline of flushing my system

like first drain all coolant 2nd completely fill with water than run through system 3rd drain all water fourth add all new antifreeze than burp the system

Kinda like you were telling an expert what the procedure is?

thanks for all the help guys it sucks having my durango just sit in the garage all day.

 

you need a bottle of flush to clean out the radiator
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=248492_0_0_

 

Here ya go:


STANDARD PROCEDURE - REFILLING
COOLING SYSTEM 4.7L ENGINE

CAUTION: Failure to purge air from the cooling system
can result in an overheating condition and
severe engine damage.

(2) Remove the cooling system bleed plug from the
radiator upper hose inlet housing. Fill system
using a 50/50 mixture of ethylene-glycol antifreeze
and low mineral content water, until coolant begains
coming out of the cooling system bleed hole. Install
the cooling system bleed plug. Fill radiator to top and
install radiator cap. Add sufficient coolant to the
reserve/overflow tank to raise level to FULL mark.

(3) With heater control unit in the HEAT position,
operate engine with radiator cap in place.

(4) After engine has reached normal operating
temperature, shut engine off and allow it to cool.
When engine is cooling down, coolant will be drawn
into the radiator from the reserve/overflow tank.

(5) Add coolant to reserve/overflow tank as necessary.
Only add coolant to the reserve/overflow
tank when the engine is cold. Coolant level in a
warm engine will be higher due to thermal
expansion. To purge the cooling system of all air,
this heat up/cool down cycle (adding coolant to cold
engine) must be performed three times. Add necessary
coolant to raise tank level to the FULL mark
after each cool down period.


The use of aluminum cylinder blocks, cylinder
heads and water pumps requires special corrosion
protection. Only Mopart Antifreeze/Coolant, 5
Year/100,000 Mile Formula (glycol base coolant with
corrosion inhibitors called HOAT, for Hybrid Organic
Additive Technology) is recommended. This coolant
offers the best engine cooling without corrosion when
mixed with 50% distilled water to obtain to obtain a
freeze point of -37°C (-35°F). If it loses color or
becomes contaminated, drain, flush, and replace with
fresh properly mixed coolant solution.

CAUTION: Do not use coolant additives that are
claimed to improve engine cooling.