okay, so after a few searches, I found somewhat, what I was looking for, but at the same time not all. Has anyone ever used the coolant flush and fill kits, that could shed some light, about if it's worth installing or not. Don't really want to cut my heater inlet hose, to install the T fitting if people have had issues with the kit. Then I'll have to replace the entire hose to uninstall it.

I guess, I'd like to flush my radiator/ heater core/ entire cooling system.

I read in one thread that backflushing was bad, because it unsettles all the crap and pushes it back thru. Then I read in another that backflushing was the way to do it. maybe there's a diff when flushing heater cores and radiators. Not too sure.

On the flush and fill kit, the "T" that you install goes into the upper/ inlet heater line. To that, you attach your garden hose, start the truck with heater on full and hot, and cycle straight water thru it, until the water coming from the radiator opening is clean. It says on the box it's back flushing, but how does putting that hose make the flow backwards while the engines running. Just confused if it's actually back flushing, or just flushing reguarly. lol.

If any of that made sense, enlighten me please :P I'd like to flush the coolant system, since during the winter, my heat was pi$$ poor, after bleeding numerous times. Don't really recall though, the condition of the coolant last time it was emptied.

 

backflushing your heater core, and flushing your radiator and block are good.
flushing your transmission is bad.

i think the flush kits are overpriced, and don't include what you really need.

check your heater hose sizes. i think they are both 5/8, but they might be 3/4, so check.
edit - i checked my 01. the heater hoses are 5/8 ID and about 7/8 OD, which makes them 5/8. not 3/4.

buy 2 heater hose connector pipes and 4 clamps. dorman makes them, available at any parts store. cut your heater hoses smack in the middle, at a convenient point. use a water hose to flush the core several times in both directions. cutting the hose and reassembling it is much easier and safer. it prevents you from breaking a heater core pipe, etc.

but don't reassemble yet...

locate the 2 block drain plugs on the side of the block. down low, middle of block. conveniently located directly in conflict with the engine mount. spray them down with penetrating oil. the plugs are hex headed, but are a bit soft and tend to round off. use a good pair of vise grips or a 6 point ONLY socket to break them loose and remove. now flush the block through the cut heater hoses toward the radiator side.

remove the lower radiator hose and flush the radiator. flush or remove and clean the overflow tank as needed.

replace t-stat if you wish. get the stant super-stat. avoid Failsafe and the $5 cheapo's. give this one some thought. some people experience a broken bolt when removing t-stat housing. this might be one of those - if it aint broke don't fix it....

reassemble everything and fill with your mix of coolant. it'll take about 2 gallons. on the block drain plugs, use some pipe sealant, or teflon tape and don't overtighten.

edit
http://www.dormanproducts.com/p-15749-47094.aspx

 

thanks man. good info. The pic u post looks kinda like the T fitting im supposed to install in my heater inlet hose, except the kit one, the bottom of the T connects to the garden hose. But I'd personally rather do it your way, as I can tell which part was clogged/ dirty. (If I use the kit, it supposedly flushes all of them at the same time, which wouldn't tell me anything about what part was dirty, and may have become clogged with the particles I just loosened.)

Now let me make sure I got this straight as I'll likely be doing it tomorrow.

The Heater core: understood

The block: When you say "flush the block through the heater hoses toward the radiator side", you're saying to do like I did with the heater core, just spraying the water into the other side of the cut hoses, toward the front of the motor. And will it flow in/ out like the heater core will? Meaning If I spray into the heater inlet hose, toward the block, it'll go through the block and drain out of the heater outlet hose?

The radiator: this one is probably a noob question, but feel free to poke fun at me: You said to remove the lower radiator hose (I think goes to the water pump), and then what? flush from the top, where i normally put the coolant?
This is where i read mixed reports of how to flush it. Backflush or not.

I know my thermostat housing is cake to take off though, as I had it off like 3 times last fall, to replace those stupid fail-safes. And then my truck was throwing "engine not reaching operating temp" code with a regular 180 degree t-stat, so I stuck a regular 195 in it, and haven't had a problem since. 4th t-stat in a 2 month period, lol.

Sorry to make such a difficult post of a seemingly simple operation. I've just never done it before, but after bleeding and messing with my heater last winter multiple times, I'd like to get it straightened out. Trucks got 120k on it, and I can 99% say it's never been flushed or cleaned out. my dad was the previous owner, and he never rough housed it, or anything, and always kept up with oil changes, but I doubt if he ever went farther than that. He's a "works with his brain, not his hands" type of guy.

Maybe i'm the only noob, but a coolant system flush DIY would be nice. I think dhvaughan's response would cover it pretty well.

 

The block: When you say "flush the block through the heater hoses toward the radiator side", you're saying to do like I did with the heater core, just spraying the water into the other side of the cut hoses, toward the front of the motor.
--yes.

--passenger side heater hose will dump into the intake and drain out the bottom of the block BECAUSE you removed the block drain plugs.

--drivers side heater hose will dump into the water pump and most of it will drain out the bottom of the pump BECAUSE you disconnected the lower radiator hose.


And will it flow in/ out like the heater core will? Meaning If I spray into the heater inlet hose, toward the block, it'll go through the block and drain out of the heater outlet hose?

--(it would) but no. you don't want that to happen. you want to remove the block drain plugs so the heavy rust scale goes out the bottom. you don't want to try and move it around in a circle.


The radiator: this one is probably a noob question, but feel free to poke fun at me: You said to remove the lower radiator hose (I think goes to the water pump), and then what? flush from the top, where i normally put the coolant?

--yes. the purpose of disconnecting the lower radiator hose is so that water put into the top of the radiator can drain out. also, water put into the top of the driver side heater hose and drain out.

--yes. just stick the water hose in the top of the radiator (at the cap) and run a generous amount of straight water through it. you can also disconnect the top radiator hose and run straight water through it to get some side to side flow. it might flush out some extra dirty, rusty water.


This is where i read mixed reports of how to flush it. Backflush or not.
--not sure if this is a question?


I know my thermostat housing is cake to take off though, as I had it off like 3 times last fall, to replace those stupid fail-safes. And then my truck was throwing "engine not reaching operating temp" code with a regular 180 degree t-stat, so I stuck a regular 195 in it, and haven't had a problem since. 4th t-stat in a 2 month period, lol.

--Failsafe's suck. Stant Superstat or Dealer is the only good one.
If your T-stat is pretty new then you're good to go here. no need to remove it.

--after flushing the radiator with lots of clear water, take a look inside to see if it looks pretty clean, or if it appears to have any sludge that you can scrape off with your finger or a gentle tool. if you still have sludge present, use a Prestone chemical flush. just follow the directions to run it as coolant for a short period of time, and then drain it ALL out. i don't see any reason to fear their flush product. just follow the directions and don't drink it.

all this will make sense when you do it. just treat each component as a separate thing to drain and flush - the heater core, the block, the radiator, and don't forget the stinky little overflow tank.

be aware that the block holds over a gallon of coolant, and a lot of rusty crap settles into the bottom. if you can get the block drain plugs out, you get a much cleaner and cooler running engine.

 

ty dhvaughan. That was precisely the response I was looking for. Where to expect the dirty water to come from when I spray water thru this/ that hose. Was kinda why I was only half expecting the flush kit to work, because they never say anything about removing the block drain plugs. So I was trying to figure out if i'd be back flushing all the crap thru my block and water pump, to see it come out. Wouldn't make much sense, as all that stuff would just clog up good parts of the motor. kinda like the tranny flush u warned about, and i've read about.

This is where i read mixed reports of how to flush it. Backflush or not.
--not sure if this is a question?

There's a reason that "question" was attached to the paragraph about the radiator, because on certain searches, i've come up with sticking the hose in the radiator where the lower hose comes out, and shooting the water out the top.( back flushing). Then i've read stuff about doing it the way u explain (regular flow flushing.) I was simply inquiring about the proper way to do it.

anyways, your response has covered all of my questions, and i think i know the proper way to do it.(and why, because i like to learn.) thanks for ur time, and i hope to have a close-to-new coolant system running soon.

 

attempting to force water into the bottom of the radiator and have it come out the top will probably be ineffective. you'd need to remove the radiator and turn it upside down to move water backwards. this is probably not needed.

you can sort of shade-tree flow test the radiator by plugging the bottom hose and filling it with water. then remove the plug and observe how fast it drains out. if it all dumps out pretty quick, then its likely ok. if it takes forever like an old man trying to ****, then it probably needs a Prestone-type chemical flush, or to be removed and flushed backwards, or replaced. you can get a new radiator on ebay for surprisingly little.

 

I think some radiator shops can also boil them out....... at least, that service used to be available around here. No idea on cost though.

 

Alright, this only halfway pertains to my questions, but it should probably be noted. Today at work, I'm driving the companies early 90's buick regal out to a job. After about an hour and a half drive, to the job, I notice the cars idling fast, and its hard to stop, due to the fast idle. I stop in front of the house, put it in park, and instantly, hear a pop and a hiss, and stinkin' coolant steam comes pouring out of every hole/ gap under the hood. I originally thought the car was on fire lol, but the "smoke" was white, so figured otherwise.

Me and the mechanic pop the hood, and start looking...radiator cap is still on, coolant overflow is ok, water pump looks fine....well, the heater core inlet hose, is busted in half, and low-n-behold what broke? A coolant flush n fill kit "T" fitting had basically exploded. Both parts that are inserted into the cut ends of the hose are just fine, but the part at the top, where you're supposed to screw your garden hose onto, is blown apart.

So after days of debating on installing this flush n fill kit on my truck, my mind was easily made up, lol. I wont bother with the "T" fitting, and i'll be installing a connector similar to the one pictured in dhvaughan's post. I have no idea when the "t" fitting was installed in the buick, but it showed no signs of overheating or anything. It just kinda randomly blew apart. Interesting how things sort of explain themselves in life. :P