Chet1185

95 Z, there is trans fluid mixing with the coolant so im assuming there is a leak in the radiator. How do I completely flush the engine and hoses to remove all the fluids? I am going to be switching the radiator from my TA to the camaro.

Zfbod94

Drain rad from petcock on lower right side. Remove both block drain plugs. Driver side plug is just a plug, passenger side is the knock sensor. If you cant get the knock out, the driver side should drain enough coolant to replace the rad without making a mess.

After that plug everything back up, refill with water and get all air pockets out. run till warms up, redrain and refill with water, repeat til water comes out clear, redrain and refill with 50/50 mix antifreeze

bw_hunter

I would drain the radiator only and replace it. Then fill the cooling system with water and a tablespoon of dawn dishwashing soap.The soap will emulsify the oil and allow it to be flushed out. Run the engine for a few minutes, allow it to cool and drain the radiator. refill with water with 1 pint of alcohol. Run again, cool, drain.

After you do this flush the system using plain water and pulling the block drain. You should also pull the thermostat and clean or replace it.

Just using plain water to flush the engine does not guarantee oils wil be removed....

Yep, it's a pain..it also works.

Good luck!

PA94Z

I would be much more worried about the coolant in the transmission fluid. You need to flush the transmission fluid... a fluid exchange machine would be best to do this.

To flush cooling system you can buy a fitting at your local auto parts store or walmart that connects inline to your heater core hose and hooks up a garden hose to it. Remove thermostat. Remove both block drains. Drain radiator. run water through the system for 30 minutes. Refill.. done.

Guest47904

While it's a good idea to use an emulsifier, it's probably not a good idea to do it with a type of soap that bubbles. Either a dishwashing DETERGENT that is used with automatic machines that does not foam or a radiator flush might be a better choice.

I also would not do the block flushing with the NEW radiator connected. Just one idea would be to pull and plug the tranny lines. Do the complete flush with the old radiator in place. Then connect and refill with a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water.

Correct about the tranny being contaminated but a flushing machine is wrong. Most tranny's use a paper filter and once coolant gets into it, it is destroyed and must be replaced. Otherwise the filter could collapse and damage the tranny.

bw_hunter

Soaps and detergents differ in how they're made but have the same chemical affinity...a water loving end and an oil loving end. Both detergents and soaps foam readily in soft water. However, the presence of the oil in the system will minimize or eliminate the foam. This is a mixture of theory and actual use...I've done it myself and foam is not a problem. Additionally, the second flush with the alcohol removes any residual soap/detergent and really eliminates any chance of foaming. I recommended Dawn for a reason...it has a very high HLB rating meaning it will really attach itself to the oil...

I suggested using the new radiator simply because of the oil trapped in there will be flushed into the engine and then removed from there.

Chet1185

I got it all out by adding some dawn and I just kept filling and draining it. The overflow was the biggest holder of the trans fluid and once I got it cleared out of there it was fine.

thanx for the help!