Coolant Flush...

I got a 1997 Camaro 3.8

I want to flush my entire coolant system, Radiator, Resivoir, Block, ect... I'm going to add some cleaner because everything is all fudged up in there... I guess I add and run the cleaner through the engine before I drain everything right?... My question is, how do I flush the system? what do I unplug to drain it and where is it located? and where's the thermostat on our cars?

They make a flush kit that you splice a water hose connector in on the coolent hose. Any auto shop should have it.

But what do I unplug or open to drain all the antifreeze?...oh yes and where on earth is the thermostat on these cars?...

But what do I unplug or open to drain all the antifreeze?...oh yes and where on earth is the thermostat on these cars?...
I haven't messed with the coolant on the Maro, but there is typically a petcock valve on the radiator. Obviously it will be towards the bottom. Open that and you will drain a lot of the coolant. For the thermostat, I seem to recall it being on the driverside front of the engine. Follow the radiator hose, you'll find the housing. remember that these cars run Dex-Cool coolant, so do not add the green anti-freeze!

97 + was dexcool ???... My 98 had Green Antifreeze in it and ran perfectly fine from the dealership... These were 3.8's btw...

You shoud change your coolant regularly because the rust particals can ware you pump and scale can clog you raidator passages up.
It is not fun.

You shoud change your coolant regularly because the rust particals can ware you pump and scale can clog you raidator passages up.
It is not fun.

I know, but I just got the car and it was like this... I checked everything but forgot the coolant and assumed it was good... well apparently it wasn't...

I think this might be a job you pay someone to do.
I could be wrong. but I think after a certain time and age that if you change the coolent you could do more damage then good(new stuff might disturbe some of the rust) you also have hi miles too.
It didnt cost that much, I'd just pay someone cuz if it gets messed up then you have someone to fall back on, coolent systems are so tempermental.

~Chris

Thats why you drain every bit of coolant and flush lots water through the radiator because that's where the rust tends to settle.
Then put the hose up to the inlet of the water pump and run the engine and let the water pump fulsh all the crap out the water neck.
If you have a water hose, bucket, screw driver to remove the hose and a plase to take you used coolant you should not have to pay some one to do it. I don't think any one could screw up a coolant flush. Unless you lived in Maine and replced the coolant with plain water during winter.
Trust me that if you take it some where to have it done they will half ass it.
You need to put raidator flush in there and run it and then let water run through it for like a half hour while running like I do.
I don't like any one working on my stuff, my step dad just paid 1500 to have the ATV worked on and they half assed it so bad I will make sure he never takes it back to the dealer ship. If I did it would have cost less than half that and the quality would have been 4 times as good.
I flushed a detroit diesel a few months ago it must have had a pound of rust in the bottem of the raidaitor, water ran brown/red for all most 5 minutes. and there was dirt like rust particals all over the floor when I was done.

1) Dex-Cool = crap

2) Flushing and adding new coolant is always a good idea. It is never too late...you would only harm your car by not changing the coolant.

3) Re-read Seth's post

4) Zerex G-05 is the future.

That is all.

1) Dex-Cool = crap

2) Flushing and adding new coolant is always a good idea. It is never too late...you would only harm your car by not changing the coolant.

3) Re-read Seth's post

4) Zerex G-05 is the future.

That is all.

Seth = Oilpan4 right?

Hey which radiator hose do I follow to the thermostat? I guess the upper one on the driverside to the block? is the thermostat in that housing that kinda sticks out to the right of that hose? Where's the water pump inlet on our cars? and it's okay to have the engine running while I'm squirting water into it? do I need to unplug anything else? and if I'm squirting water through the inlet if the pump, where's it going to come out at? :confused:

Oh yes when I refill it with antifreeze, I'm definately using green antifreeze. Our blazer had Dexcool in it and the whole system got all clogged up and now our heater coil went out :rolleyes:. So I can't use regular water when I refill the antifreeze? I really didn't know that. Where can I get distilled water from and whats the difference?

Sorry I'm all confused and stuff but I gatta know what I'm doing before I do it.

Dex-cool is not crap. it;s designed to work with modern motors and alum radiators. If you take care if it then it will take care of you. You just have to understand how the system works and what it reacts to. if you do it right you will never ever have an issue with dex cool.. yes they had a problem with it in the early SUV's that it was in but thats done with.


the best way to drain and flush the system is to drain the radiator and the block (there is usualy a drain plug in the block or you can usualy remove teh knock sensor and let it drain from there) then fill it with water and a solvent and run it. then would be a good time to flush it witha hose or adapter.


if your car came with dexcool then run that with it when you fill back up. since your going to have the system open anyway it would be a good idea to change the hoses, thermo and rad cap. it;s preventitive maintenance. fill with a 50/50 mix of dexcool and DISTILLED water and you will be ok

The hose from the bottem of the raidator going into the pump will push crap out the block when you run a water hose to it.
The Hose near top center of the moter also the easyiest one to see and get to goes from the block to raidator. That is where the water will come out of the engine at.
Use the green stuff. Dex-a-crap will ruin something it is one of the few new car products that is not an improvement. Use it if you have a Aluminium block,head and raidator engine.
I see you live in georgia you will want all most straight antifreze (100% or around 90%)in you car because of the heat, If you were in Tx of Fl I would say use pure antifreeze. I did it when I was in Texas.
The Ethylene Glycol in anitfreeze carries more heat that water, the hoter tht place you live the purer you should mix you stuff.
Pure antifreeze has the highest boiling point. But it can gel at -10'F, I don't know why.
66% antifreeze and 33% water has the lowest freezing point that's what i use in Maine, but the boiling point isn't as high.
The bottle will recomend 70%-30% mix mainly because it is slightly flamable when pure (and it can gel), 70%-30% is slightly less flamable then pure green stuff.
Don't use red stuff.
What is Zerex G-05?
I have never herd of it. Is is the purple $#!t?

Dex-cool is not crap. it;s designed to work with modern motors and alum radiators. If you take care if it then it will take care of you. You just have to understand how the system works and what it reacts to. if you do it right you will never ever have an issue with dex cool.. yes they had a problem with it in the early SUV's that it was in but thats done with.


the best way to drain and flush the system is to drain the radiator and the block (there is usualy a drain plug in the block or you can usualy remove teh knock sensor and let it drain from there) then fill it with water and a solvent and run it. then would be a good time to flush it witha hose or adapter.


if your car came with dexcool then run that with it when you fill back up. since your going to have the system open anyway it would be a good idea to change the hoses, thermo and rad cap. it;s preventitive maintenance. fill with a 50/50 mix of dexcool and DISTILLED water and you will be ok

But where's the water pump. the Knock Sensor and the Thermo's on our cars? I followed the radiator hose on the driver side and couldn't find it at all. Also this would probably be a good time to switch to a 160 Degree wouldn't it? So let me get this straight...

- I'm going to run the cleaner through the engine for about 10 mins
- Then when it's cool, I get under the car and look for the valve for the radiator to drain it.
- I run water through the water pump to drain the block (Where's the water pump and where's it going to come out at though? do I need to disconnect anything else?)
- I run and drain water through the radiator and resivior...
- I reconnect everything after doing the above processes a couple of times then I refill with 50/50 ...Where on earth do I find Distilled Water?
- If all else fails I take it to the shop because I don't know wtf I'm doing

Class Action Suit against Dex-Cool (http://www.cwcd.com/CM/ClassActions/ClassActions35.asp)

There are a lot of stories of people having bad experiences with Dex-Cool. With the problems our cars have with leaking intake and head gaskets, the air corrupts Dex-Cool. I know I've had my issues with Dex-Cool.

OAT + air = bad

This last refill, I used a Dex-Cool approved coolant that wasn't actually Dex-Cool and it has worked fine. Next flush, I'm moving to G-05.

Nothing is bulletproof and every coolant will go bad if the conditions are right but there have been too many concerns over Dex-Cool, as well as my own experience, to trust Dex-Cool.

Knock sensors are on each side of the block near the front ish. just look under teh car and you will see them. i do not know for sure if they thread into the water jacket on the 3.8's or not. most cars they do tho. there are usualy some kind of block plug that you can remove to rain the block. either that or remove the thermo, put it back together without it and remove teh heater hoses at the heater core and use a garden hose and just keep working through there. it;s a long procces to matter how you do it.

you can get distilled water at a gerocery store.








ad for the dex-cool. do you know what reacts with the dex cool the most? 2 things. minerals and electricity. there are countless minerals, chemicals and substences in water. minerals in a coolant system can biuld up. Thats when you run into issues with the dex cool turning into a chunky mess. distilled water is void of minerals and other objects. the other is electricity. water is conductive, so are the minerals in the water. distilled water is chemicly nutral and will very much aid in not alowing the system to be as conductive. electrolosis will not only ruin the coolant but will attack the radiator, heater core, water jackets etc etc etc. if you test the system (anyone with a multimeter can do this) stick the negitive prob on the neg batery post and take the red lead and dunk it in the radiator. you will see voltage. yes actual voltage. now. there is a range that you need to be in. achording to a study anything grater then 0.0516 volts will turn your 5 year coolant into a 4 year coolant, or 3 year, or 2 year or 1 year depending on the amount of voltage in the system. you could burn holes in the radiator and heater core very easy. I have seen bad grounds cause voltage spikes in the coolant well over a volt. not good. This is why GM itself issues many staments about using distilled water




sorry for the spelling. I'm home sick and I do not feel like spell checking

Most cooling system cleaners I have seen say to drain the coolant and refill it with water and add the cleaner.
I did my z28's cooling system last night and I un hooked the heater return line and kept pouring water in there till it ran clear with the engine running. then a thunder storm came :( and I'll finish it today.

I still can't find the Thermo.