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Coolant Flush Advice

So, you want to try a coolant flush? This is one of those DIY auto repair jobs that seems like it should be the easiest job ever, but can turn out to cost you a lot of money if not done correctly. This can be a simple auto maintenance task that you can do yourself if you know a few things about your cars cooling system. Let's take a look.

A Few Things You Might Have Heard About This Job

-Doing a this job is easy
-You need to use some store bought chemicals to get debris out of the radiator
-It can only be done at an auto repair shop

What's The Truth?

Well, the truth is that you don't really need anything special to replace the antifreeze in your radiator. You need to be sure and get the right type of coolant and you need to be sure and use an auto repair manual so you know how to drain the radiator, how much fluid to put back in, how to bleed the system, etc.

Coolant "Flush" vs. "Drain and Refill"

First we need to define is the term "coolant flush". Many people get this confused with "drain and refill". There is a big difference. While a drain and refill is fairly straight forward and generally not difficult a flush is much more difficult. A drain and refill generally only includes draining the radiator and reservoir then refilling it with new fluid. This is a fairly easy job for most people. Just make sure you have a plan for getting rid of the old fluid as you cannot just pour it down the drain or onto the street.

So What Exactly IS A "Coolant Flush"?

Here is what an actual flush entails; The best way to remove virtually all of your fluid is to hook your car up to a machine that removes it while putting the right amount of new fluid in. These machines can circulate the fluid through your vehicles cooling system a couple times which will remove any debris that might have built up over time. This is really the only good way to have this job done right.

So, make sure you know the difference between the two.

Do I Need To Use Chemicals To Flush The Radiator?

There are many brands of special "flush fluid" that the manufacturers will say you should use to flush your cooling system. My professional opinion is that these are not needed. Especially if you drain and refill your cooling system at the intervals listed in your owners manual. These products are there to get you to buy more stuff. They are generally not needed.

How Much Fluid Should Come Out?

If you are doing a backyard "coolant flush" (you are trying to get ALL the old stuff out) then you should realize it is virtually impossible to get all the old coolant out of your cooling system. Even when the radiator is completely drained there is still usually about half of the total system capacity of coolant left in your engine block. The only good way to get this all out is to take it to a professional that has a coolant flush machine.

My Final Advice...

is to drain and fill your cooling system regularly. You can find how often you should be doing this in your owners manual. If you do this then you will probably not ever need to have a real cooling system flush done on your car.

Other Pages You Might Like

Radiator Repair Information

Information About A Blown Head Gasket

Ask Your Auto Repair Question Here

Good Coolant Drain and Refill Video

This video is vehicle specific. While your vehicle will probably not be exactly like this one you will see the general idea for draining and filling your system. Also keep in mind that most drain plugs do not take any type of screwdriver, they just turn with your fingers.