Has anyone taken there car to a shop to get the cooling system machined flushed instead of doing it in your driveway? Are there any downsides to getting the cooling system machined flush that I should be aware of and are there certain machines that are better then others?

I have two reasons for asking this, one, I just checked my coolant with a volt meter and it is reading .48 volts, so the coolant has to come out soon! I am thinking(hoping) that this is the original coolant the previous owner put in and didn't have things properly grounded at first and once I change the coolant with some new stuff it should fix the problem. Radiator seems to be grounded now. The coolant in there now is a pink coolant that i believe is some type of fleet coolant that the previous owner put in at his shop, so i also want to switch the whole system over to Zerex G05 for all the aluminum parts in the system and its easily available for me to find going forward. oh, and my heater currently doesn't work, so I would need to clean out the core too. So I was thinking that a machine flush would be a good way to make sure all of the old coolant is out of the system.

Two, I am in the middle of remodeling my house and I don't really have much time right now to work on the car, but i don't really want to leave this coolant in over the winter, so this is another reason why i am thinking a machine flush would be the quickest way to get it done.

Any comments or opinions of getting the cooling system flushed by a machine on our first gens instead? Didn't see anything during a search on here. My current setup is just basically a stock system with aluminum radiator, heads and intake. Not sure how old the heater core is but I am pretty sure its not the original one. thanks for all the help

The nice thing about a machine flush is that it gets all the old coolant out of the block as well as the radiator. Where just draining it won't get the coolant that is left in the block out.

The block has a drain plug on each side just below the oil pan rail. Pull that plug from each side and WATCH OUT, because the coolant starts to POUR OUT. Sometimes depending how long it's been since they've been out, you may have to stick a screwdriver in the hole to break up the crud that has plugged the hole. It really only takes about 30 minutes at the most. Do it yourself and save yourself the money, especially if you're remodeling your home. You can use that money to renovate something. That's jus my opinion. With the economy the way it is right now, any chance I have to save myself some money, I jump on it.

Do it yourself and save yourself the money,

+1. Drain all the coolant, refill w/ straight water (and a bottle of cooling system flush if you'd like), get the car up to operating temp, drive it around for a couple miles, drain again, fill w/ coolant. Done.

And forgive me Sean, but you checked the voltage of your coolant? :confused:

thanks for the replies

Can anyone tell me how much coolant is left after draining both the radiator and block? Will this remove all of the fluid? One reason i was leaning towards a machine flush was i didn't think that all the coolant would be removed by just draining, and since i am changing the coolant to a completely different brand, I wanted to make sure that all the old coolant was removed. I guess If I do decide to do it, then i could use the shop vac trick and hook it up to the lower hose to get the remaining fluid out.

My main reason for asking if anyone had used a flush machine before is to find out if it caused an problems with the older parts of the system.

Aaron, after coming across a few threads about electrolysis and how damaging it is to aluminum, while I had the volt meter out the other day trying to track down a problem with my fuel gauge i decided to check the old coolant in my car too and that's when i saw the high reading and decided its time to drain it now.

thanks for the replies

Can anyone tell me how much coolant is left after draining both the radiator and block? Will this remove all of the fluid? If both block plugs are removed, yes. The heater core is next.

Remove the thermostat, a heater hose, and flush both sides of the block and core. Don't forget the radiator.

You should be able to flush the heater core by pulling the heater hoses from the water pump and intake and attach the inlet side of the core to a hose and let it run out of the the other hose into a bucket for proper disposal later. This way, you can avoid a mess all over your engine.

And forgive me Sean, but you checked the voltage of your coolant? :confused:
http://www.4s.com/fourseasons/tech_tips/tech_tips_english/AB350_Electrolysis_02.pdf

You can safely use a flush machine but it will not flush out a stopped up heater core. You will have to flush it separately like Charlie said but don't use too much water pressure, a heater core is not designed to handle the pressure a water hose could put to it. The pink coolant is probably GM dexcool. I had never seen as many coolant leaks before GM came out with this stuff as I do now in cars that use it. If you want to get the voltage as low as possible, use distilled water and a neutralizer in your cooling system.

thanks for the replies.

Oldrocker, I do plan on using distilled water and either Zerex G05 or Zerex Low Silicate Original Green as they say this is also good for aluminum as well as metals found in older vehicles. What type of neutralizer do you recommend and we can you find it at? Are there not neutralizers already found in the new coolant? How much needs to be added? thanks again

http://www.4s.com/fourseasons/tech_tips/tech_tips_english/AB350_Electrolysis_02.pdf

Thanks Tom.... anybody used those radiator caps with the little sacrificial anodes hanging from them?

DexCool = DeathCool

Get it out ASAP. I hear there is a class action suit going on over that stuff.

I use BG brand, but you can't buy it in a store. I think I have bought a coolant neutralizer from Auto Zone or O'reilly's but don't remember the brand name (maybe Redline?). As far as the Dexcool lawsuit you can read about it here http://www.dexcoolsettlement.com/ . As a shop owner I love dexcool. I can do intake gaskets on the Vortech engines and the 3400's pretty quick now! I do hope that GM has to do some paying out due to these problems.

I use the BG machine at work and it works OK but some of the old and new coolant still mixes together during the flush. Most newer engines do not have drain plugs in the block so this is a good alternitive but I still think pulling the lower hose or opening the drian on the rad. and removing the block plugs is the best way. Unless your cooling system is very dirty I don't recomend using any acid based cleaners. I have noticed that after these cars come back in for service the rad hoses seem soft and kind of sticky. I am not sure but I wonder of the acid is doing something to them.
As for the Dex Cool web site this is the first time I have seen this. Those engines all have major intake gasket problems but I thought is was just poor quality gaskets. We have seen problems with dex cool in S-10s and blazers when it first came out but have not had any problems in the past few years. So is it the gaskets or the coolant? Interesting.

The gasket isn't a good design, but I've got vehicles I put the same style gasket on 10 years ago(before the fel pro problem solver came out). The difference is that I flushed the Dexcool out and put in regular green coolant. Have never had one come back leaking. Google dexcool and you will find pages of different takes on the subject, most negative.

I wouldn't think you would want to use any acid cleaner, I'd be afraid of breaking something loose later that would clog the cooling system, especially on an older block.

To clean accumulated stuff like that requires a full rebuild where you can throw the entire block into a hot tank, otherwise you risk damaging your existing motor.

I used to run Dexcool in my aluminum rad until I changed it one time and found all kinds of crap in it. Now I won't use ANYTHING except good ole green Prestone. If you maintain your cooling system the need for EXTRA additives is not necessary. The extra stuff is for people who like to neglect their system. I, for one, change my coolant frequently. There is no need to use ANYTHING other than the original green antifreeze, unless you plan on leaving it in there indefinately.

thanks for all the replys. I was going to use a store bought cleaner, but maybe I will just flush with plain water and replace the coolant instead!

anybody used those radiator caps with the little sacrificial anodes hanging from them?

Aaron, I use them caps also on my radiator. When I bought my car the original owner put the cap linked below on the radiator. (I could only find a replacement on Mustangs sites!). I am going to order an new cap soon also as they are only $16 and I can't find anywhere to buy just the anode replacement.

http://www.metropartsmarket.com/catalog/image_classicmustang_c7_61368.html

Yeah, not really sure how much the bottles of "radiator flush" cleaner really help out, just flush it with straight water before you fill w/ coolant and you're probably way ahead.

never talked to anyone who's used those little anode thingies. wonder how long they last before they've eroded away?

Drain the old coolant out of the radiator, disconnect the top hose from the radiator. Use some old shop vac extensions and hoses and clamp them to the top hose so that you have a place for the coolant to exit out of the engine bay. Grab some 5 gallon buckets and put the end of the hose in one of those buckets. Start the car and let it idle and watch for the t-stat to open. When it does, take your garden hose and refill the radiator. Let the car continue to let the motor idle and refill the rad until nothing but clean clear water comes out of the top rad hose. Turn the car off, let the engine cool overnight, drain out the water and refill your system. This way, the block, rad, and heater core are all cleaned out and you can do this at home in your driveway in about 30 minutes.

I've done this to several of my daily drivers and one car ran about 40 degrees cooler when I finished this process. The previous owner let the coolant stay in there so long it was dark brown from rust.