What's up! Make sure to check the links in the description for all the SUPPLIES used in this video. I linked to some really NEAT TOOLS that help too!!! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Matt's Shop Thanks for the video. My Jeep has been overheating I'm gonna use this stuff right now. I made the mistake of using a radiator stop leak and may have ruined my radiator. Worst part is I already replaced my hoses thermostat and water pump (water pump was leaking) hopefully those didn't get damaged with that sealant as well
Matt great job. Few suggestions. Use distilled water all the time including the flush part. Using 50/50 at the end after three full flushes will result in very low concentrate levels overall - probably in the 25-40% range . Every time you filled and ran the engine you diluted the overall system coolant level with water. This is good especially if you use distilled water. It is key to know what the total capacity is as well as what you drained. Doing the water flush several times results in the block getting mostly water in it. Depending on the total capacity, use of 50/50 premix like you did will result in a very poor coolant percentage in almost all cases. If you used 100% concentrate, you would have ended up with a much better chance of hitting 50/50 total system (recommended) when finished. Thanks for the video.
Madhawa vishwajith - you need to know your total system capacity. You also need to know and measure how much you get out of a typical drain from the radiator. The difference will be the fluid within the engine block. With those two capacities you can figure out what percentage you need to add pure coolant to get you to the 50-50 desired level. Are usually flush several times which leaves the engine block portion as 100% distilled water. That is why you need 100% coolant on the final addition to get you to the 50-50 ratio desired
Phil PJ Davis - for topping off occasionally using just coolant or just distilled water if either is handy or 50/50 mix as well. Doing one or the other in that quantity won't make any significant difference on the overall system percentage.
I bought a v6 ecotec 3.8 litre Commodore from a mechanic! He was a teacher for MTA, Motor trades association in Australia! The Asshole put Alumaseal in the radiator and I have flushed the cooling system about 10 times! I'm still getting slimey Brown goo! I bought a hose and compressor gun to superflush the system! Another guy on RUclips in Australia with identical car had same problem! Good video!
@@MattsShop yes true! But the fact it only had 147000 km on the clock. He was a useless mechanic as some of the things were a joke! I'm not certified and I was taught everything by my older brother! He used to specialize in performance trans rebuilds, different rebiulds etc! So the way he taught me I've done pretty well. Cheers
Just remember that when you drain the radiator you're only draining about half of what's in the entire cooling system. So even after doing all these flushes you still have about half water left in the engine block/heater core (notice the amount you drain out after each flush is not all that the system holds). If you use the 50/50 mix you'll end up with a diluted mix because of the water left in the engine block/heater core. I would recommend using straight antifreeze and put in half the amount the system holds. Top it off with distilled water if needed. That should give you pretty close to a 50/50 mix.
its nowhere near half the capacity,,more like 10-15 % ,best is to see what is your capacity and then see what is left after your final drain and trust me its nowhere near half,,its actually very little but all you do is take the amount left in the system and add the same amount of concentrated coolant then top off the rest with 50/50 but even if you skip doing this and juts top off with 50/50 yes it wont be 50/50 but not that far off and no big deal
Helped me out with my 2017 ram 1590 3.6 .I had a lot of sludge due to faulty oil filter housing and dealer ship wanted to charge me for brand new radiator because they didn’t want to do this part .just saved me $500 thanks a lot
Thanks for your knowledge and patience with the you tube community. I have done many flushes and your ease of delivery was refreshing. Watched the entire video , very refreshing .!
Thanks for the how to video. It helped me alot. Also flushed heater core. I'm not much of a mechanic, but finding it to be more and more needed for repairs.
I don't know how you determined that the stuff in the overflow tank was stop leak, but that seldom happens if the stop leak is inserted as it is directed. If done properly there will be no residue from it. The stuff stays in suspension until it reaches the air under pressure at which point it begins to react as it is designed to do. I have used it (bars leak) to stop a leak in a radiator that was severely damaged from an accident during a trip - the antifreeze was literally 'peeing' out of a big hole. The car's fender was damaged as well, but it was possible to drive it. So after inserting the stop leak and topping the radiator, the leak stopped within five minutes (actually less) - we continued our trip (we were half way there when it happened), stayed a few days and returned to our home without further trouble and with no leaks. The radiator was so badly damaged that it had to be replaced, but the stop leak did its job. and I am sure that many others have similar stories. I have used a brand called Silver Solder (I think it was) that worked very well, too. The chemical makeup of it prevents it from separating from the solution except at an opening. Many people pull the crud out of their radiator and claim it is from stop leak when it is only sludge and organic growths from micro organisms that can live in the water when it is not a high enough concentration of antifreeze. And even with half and half it is good bet there are some of them growing as well as junk from the water and rust, etc. BTW that crud at the opening is due to foaming and settling of stuff in the antifreeze solution. The only reason that it is there is that the level of the water concentrates it there when the engine is shut off and cools down. You might actually find some of the stop leak come out of solution there because most of the requirements for it to set up are met. If there was enough stop leak and if the cap leaked enough, it might be fooled into trying to fill the entire opening. Other than that, there is no location in the cooling system where the stuff comes out of solution because its requirements are not met elsewhere. You will get more solids from combination of the minerals in the water with the antifreeze than from stop leak. That is why distilled water is so important. You should not use tap water that you know is heavily mineralized to even flush a system. It is better to mix the antifreeze mixtures that the manufacturers claim is compatible with others than to use that kind of tap water. In most locales in Texas I don't believe that there is enough minerals in the water to bother, but I am not familiar with other than Dallas and Austin areas. The water here is so soft that there are hardly any minerals in it that will bother, but I still use distilled water due to the other chemicals in the tap water. The chlorine and fluorine are so active that you never know what they will react with - including the metals of the engine and radiators.
What is the small black tube on the side of the radiator cap? Can it be removed and replaced during the radiator flushing?or is it able to drain the water out of the radiator?
Good video! I appreciate your time on showing us how this is done. My heater core is blocked so I might as well do a coolant flush. That leak patch stuff is awful. Never knew that. Great to see how you clean out each component. Q1 - After draining all coolant out, you can run the engine with Radiator Cleaner and tap water, right? I could do that with vinegar and water too, But plain water is fine, correct? I'll use distilled when refilling it with coolant. Q2 - Would it make sense to clean out the heater core separately as it may be even more dirty that the radiator? First clean that out, then flush out radiator, then the reservoir tank, then the whole system. Would this work? My heater core must be heavily gunked up as I have zero heat. Worried about how bad it is. There is a lot of conflicting info on what to use as a cleaner: 1. White vinegar - this seems to be the best option. The heater core and radiator are both made from aluminum. White Vinegar is kind to aluminum and removes rust and calcium deposits. Sells for $4 at Costco for 2 gals. I use it for toilet bowl cleaner and also lime scale on tubs, sinks, etc. Vinegar can make other metals rust, but its only in there for 30 mins max and gets flushed out fully, so best cleaner, I think. It is also eco friendly and can be disposed of in any acid loving plant bed, diluted. 2. Prestone Radiator Flush - sells on Amazon for $22. The complaints are that it did nothing, and did not remove any calcium build up on fins. Recycle chemicals, costs money, not effective. The Sodium Chlorite in it, corrodes aluminum. 3. Baking soda mixed with water - this discolors aluminum. 4. Distilled water - great for dilution but useless for cleaning. I also saw a nice coolant flush gun on Amazon for $44 that you can connect your air compressor to. Now that would be smart. It controls water pressure from hose as you can damage fins, and allows air to mix, dislodging debris, rust, calcium and I'm guessing blowing out the water at the end for coolant replacement. What do you think?
Yes. I did my heater core separately. You disconnect both hoses and pour your cleaner of choice into it. I used CLR. You wait for a bit and then use the hose to flush out the core. Make sure you backflush it for best results. Cheers.
Thank you... oh! Try simple green in your engine compartment. Spray it on pretty strong and use a kitchen dish brush to scrub. This works and it brings interior plastics back up to factory color and finish. I just did my 88 Chevy truck and boy it's a shock to see the color pop out. Works in carpet well, too. Use a pressure washer to wash out the engine compartment.
Could I keep my Lisle spill-free funnel on for the entire multi-flush process? Even when car is on and idling, and then off while cooling? Or is there ever a time when best to have radiator cap on?
If you live in real cold areas up north I would mix more antifreeze then water if you do this procedure because you still have water sitting in the engine block etc, after you drain it, so the mixture is not gonna be 50/50 anymore. Mix it maybe 70/30 or it will be slushy or freeze in real cold weather.
Dill Wiggle That's a good tip for anyone who sees this. I don't live where it gets very cold at all, but if you live up north I could see it being a problem.
You can get away with 50/50 here in Canada for the most part. If it's an extremely cold winter, we bump it to no more than 60% and never beyond 70%. If such Arctic Blasts persist for days or months, I'll just drain out about a Quart and a Half, and replace it with the same amount of Concentrate or Unmixed Coolant...that puts you at roughly 60% which is more than adequate for most conditions. MORE...isn't always better? In the case of Antifreeze/Coolant beyond 70%, you'll still risk Freezing because straight unmixed coolants will Gel under extreme cold much worse than water. So you'll still risk freeze-up!
Theres a much easier way. I do a final 2 flushes with distilled water. Its cheap enough and then i know whatever is left in the block is mostly mineral free. Then just check your owners manual for the total cooling system capacity and add half that amount of straight undiluted coolant and top off with more distilled water. For instance, if your cooling system takes 10 quarts, pour in 5 quarts of undiluted coolant before topping off with distilled water. That way, even if you can only get 3 quarts of distilled water in, you know the other 2 quarts are in the block and itll have the right mixture once it circulates.
No dude, 50/50 ratio gives the best protection. Do not make shit up and go against the recommended procedures. It's a good thing to use an anti freeze tester to confirm the protection level
@@steveneumeyer681 Do you have a proper name for such tester? Because the hydrometer tester only gives a reading of, at which temperature the coolant is protecting your system. If you meant for the tester to be a hydrometer, how do you determine the water to coolant ratio, according to the reading? Thanks.
i have a ? if you are using tap water to do this flush now you have tap water in the block an heater cor i have been told tap water is bad so how do you remove all the tap water so you can add your Antifreeze and Distilled water mix .
I mean, there's always going to be some tap water in the block if you flush it this way. You can flush it this way and then flush it with a couple jugs of distilled water at the end if it really bothers you.
Does the bottom radiator hose drain all of the coolant/ water from the engine? Also how possible is it to complete a flush without removing the thermostat?
I usually dumb a hole jug of coolant and a jug of distilled water in a bucket then refill 2 empty jugs of coolant but I like your method of half a jug of coolant and other half of distilled water! Less mess and easier!. Thanks!
This is very true!! A guy said he worked in a shop and was twisting wires on the fuel pump and using tape. Later I saw him turn a truck on its side to work on it. There are nothing but hack mechanics where I live LOL!
how did you drain the reservoir? is there a hose leading down to the rad or did you gravity feed that hose into your bucket too?,,also dont bother turning up your heater as it only makes it longer for the eng to come to temp,,wait till it comes to temp then turn on the heater,also i think you only need to make sure its on full hot and no need to turn the fan on as it does nothing but heat the cabin,i think the fluid automatically should circulate in the core either way but ok to be sure turn everything on full blast but only after eng comes to temp otherwise it takes longer for that to happen
@@MattsShop why did you need to pull the hose off it to drain? does that means that your surge tank does not have a hose leading back to the radiator or to the lower radiator hose? like my car does,,mine all drained out through the petcock
Do i have to hook up my radiator to flush(replacing radiator, system had dexcool in it) or can I just used pressurised water and shoot it through the lower radiator hose and have the upper radiator hose drain in a big bucket 🤔🤔
You can do it the way you are talking about. If the thermostat is still in you won't flush anything. You have to take the thermostat out, flush everything, and then put it all back together.
Thank you my friend what a crazy to you you wouldn't stay by step-by-step this video is very very useful I appreciate it very much I got a problem with my Expedition 2023 thank you my friend
Most newer vehicles will do that, the AC compressor will run if the controls are set to defrost most owners manuals tell you to turn AC on when using defrost for faster clearing of the windshield
Doing a proper coolant flush is definitely a pain in the ass and takes a fair bit of commitment to do properly. I have an LS3 Chev highly modified engine and just to get all the air out of the system after all the initial work takes a lot of time and top ups. But it definitely saves lots of angst in the long run.
@@MattsShop Quite correct. And maintaining your radiator with flushing it either on a yearly basis or two year basis will keep thing running healthy without hardly any problems to have to deal with such as hearing problems that may come up when you need heat in the much more colder weather time, because driving a car or truck without any heat gets rather difficult to handle. Like everything else out there, matainance is and has always been a big factor in a reliable car or truck especially when you rely on them for whatever or whare ever you go or whatever you do within your lifetime.
Honestly, I do not know. Whatever you do be extremely careful if you are doing it inside your case! Why not just remove your cooler from the computer and take it to the hose or sink and blast it out?
@@MattsShop that's exactly what i had intended to do, taking the radiator out of the loop and flushing it like you did outside. One thing i wanted to also try is to use only yhe pump and connect the rads with the solution and run it like that
I don't think there would be that much scale and gunk in your radiator. A car has sooo many different metals and chemicals. A computer water cooling system is pretty clean.
It won't cool well. Anti-freeze sucks at cooling. That's why you mix it with water. You need the cooling properties of water and the anti-corosion/anti-freeze properties of the anti-freeze.
I see some videos where they use distilled water for the flush instead of garden hose does it matter? I assume garden hose water is fine? I c you talk about it at the end of video saying must use distilled cuz of minerals so during flush it does not matter?
Gotta be carefull. While flushing and running with the tap your engine will couse arking and putting in your cylinder walls. Always use destilled water and even then filter it again if yea can. But regardless you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The tap water isn't going to mess anything up if you put the right ratio of anti-freeze to distilled water in when you are done. The anti-freeze protects the metal with corrosion inhibitors.
I am not sure. I've never done it that way. I've just heard of people doing it. I'd look up a video on it. Whatever the ratio is. I'd fill it and let it sit preferably overnight and then flush it out.
Liked & subbed. Thanks. This looks so easy. I think that I can do it now. Local shop wanted to charge WAY TOO MUCH, so I am glad that you showed me this. I really believe I can do it myself.
Until you find out the thermostat has to be removed in order to drain the water...at least on mine freaking Ram 1500. Third engine too in about 4 years. Smh.
So tap water, even with the minerals, is ok to use, so long as it's not the final mix with the coolant? Are we certain that tap water should NEVER be introduced into radiator system at any time whatsoever??
Minerals build up in the radiator. Distilled water is pure with no minerals in it. It has a neutral PH of around 7. They use is so that scale doesn't build up in the cooling system.
I generally flush every four yrs.. I remove the thermostat and rinse everything out a couple times. I'll add my flush, and run it for about a week with the heat on hot. You don't actually need the fan running for the water to circulate through the heater core, you just need to set the temp control to hot. Dump the nasty stuff and rinse it out a couple times. I then add another flush, and run it another week. Keep doing this till it gets pretty clear. Install a new thermostat, distilled water, and 50/50 Coolant. If you don't allow it to get into bad shape, it won't be near as difficult.
Why did you run the aircon while on heating? Don't need to. The aircon is cooling function only, while the car interior is heated by engine water via a heat exchanger in the cabin, no need to run both at the same time as they are separate systems completely, unlike a domestic aircon which has a reverse valve for heating.
+Warren Gage I didn't. I ran it full heat. I think I had the knobs in the wrong position then changed it in a later clip. I know they are completely separate.
You can actually use distilled white vinegar with water, 50 - 50 mix. Leave it in the raditor for about 7 days and it will remove all rust. However if rust is holding anything from leaking in the block or radiator you will spring a leak.
+Wes Karcher Yea, I know that trick. I didn't know that you are supposed to leave it in the radiator for a week. It makes sense though. Thanks for the tip.
+Travis_ Williams I just replaced the thermostat, and didn't want to take it all back apart. I'd have to wait for the gasket maker to dry too. I wanted it done right that second!
I really can't help but wonder since you're right there and it's working, and you know there is remainder being left in the block, why not do a few more flushes and now with distilled water since you have the extreme worse out? It is a shame to put such a great video out there as a learning tutorial and then stop halfway; making people people think if they can get it that clear it's fine. It's better than it was, sure. Antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors, but if all those bind with the loose metals/rust already in the system... Just saying, as a learning tool, it may have been better to have advised to have got a lot cleaner. 3 times is usually enough, but you had someone's really neglected system there.
Does it matter if the flush is done with distilled water or garden hose? I see some videos say distilled only but this is my 1st time. Any help will be appreciated
You could have just took the lower hose off and on the upper take out the thermostat then flush the block and back flush the radiator until you get everything running clear water. You left that system still muddy looking when you could of no matter how old your vehicle is running clear water. Then you drain and the clear water then add the coolant .
There really should be a warning with modern cars pertaining to what what antifreeze to use. I'll give you a small example. Hyundai now uses green for Asian vehicles. However some of their cars are released from the plant using blue antifreeze recomended for Asian vehicles. Most common form of this is found in Valvoline antifreeze recommended for Hyundai. However surprisingly it can make a huge difference in gas mileage. I don't fully understand this myself but the green seems to get better gas mileage than the blue and I'm not talking a little different I'm talking a major difference. For instance if the tires are brand new and the car is running in top performance and it has green antifreeze. You can achieve 35 miles per gallon to 41 miles on the highway. As long as you drive normal and not crazy. However using the blue antifreeze the car will still run great but we'll find much less gas mileage like around 25 Max 32 Highway. And by the way this is driving in eco mode. And in both situations is using the recommended 5 20. Quaker State pure synthetic as directly recommended by Hyundai manufacturer. If somebody told me this I wouldn't believe it but I've experienced it firsthand. The color of your radiator fluid can actually make a difference in fuel mileage. If anyone out there has an explanation of this I would love to hear it. I know it has something to do with the exact temperature that the car is running at. But this is literally traveling in the same exact weather on the same exact Road taking the same exact paths. And there is a definite difference between having all green antifreeze. And having all blue antifreeze. What's even stranger is the car seems to run louder when using green. But quieter when using blue. You never mix fluids. No matter what always make sure you're either using all green antifreeze throughout the entire system. Or You're using completely blue throughout the entire system never mix. Mixing can actually cause overheating causing the fluids to gel up. Honestly I think there should be a warning right on the radiator or fill Reservoir. Because people out there must be making this mistake. I know this all sounds crazy but trust me if you do the research you'll see that I'm telling you the truth.
Great how-to. Couldn't you also use Purified water? As long as it doesnt have any minerals it should be good. Btw, has anyone ever told you that you sound like Nate Diaz...
Using that soap in the radiator will clean the pump. Within 2 months the pump WILL start leaking from the little hole by the pump shaft... You've cleaned all the graw-do away from the shaft.. The pump is going to need to be replaced. ITS happened to me numerous times. I quit using that soap while flushing, just distilled water. UNLESS you want some experience changing the water pump... While you were at it , you should have back-flushed the heater core with the garden hose .. Just Saying
That should have been flush like 2 or 3 more times in till the water came out clean over the years I have bought older cars that were so bad i don't think they were ever flush out and I got them to flush out to clean water. Then after you did your flush it has tap water in the black still that will help make it crowd up . So after you do the flush you need to flush with Distilled water then add full Strength Anyfreeze so you will at the end you will have a 50 50 mix if you add 50% Anyfreeze with waterintheblock it willbe like 40 30 at best if youdon'thavetheright amount of coolent it can freezeup the cooling system not good. The only time you use a 50 mix is if your coolent is low or if you drain your engine block or you rebuild your engine. Me i would not use other things to flush out cooling system be safe and by a Reader flush and do what the flush Instructions say to do. The newer automobile are more technical lot of aluminum and internal water pumps. Destild water is cheap so buy enough to do the hole job then you know it was done right.
Never use stop leak, plugs up the passages in the cooling system and makes a huge mess. I would rather get the car towed and throw a new radiator in for a $100 than basically ruin the cooling system with that crap
+reddyuda Well said! I didn't put it in there someone else did. You're right, all it does is make a giant mess so now you have to clean up the mess and replace the broken parts. I've never used it on anything.
Matt's Shop - I drive a Jeep Cherokee XJ so pretty much any single part is less than $100 brand new. And as stated, check Rock Auto, Amazon and Ebay for the best prices. Lots of new-old-stock factory parts for not much more than aftermarket. I prefer OEM where possible unless there is a better engineered part available aftermarket.
+reddyuda Agreed! I always check RockAuto. Their prices can even be as much as half the amount of the parts stores, even with shipping. The only negative to buying online is you can't swap parts out if somthing is wrong. You just have to make sure 100% before you press order!
Matt's Shop , absolutely you want it on max heat as well, rule of thumb on the defrost aspect is that on some vehicles there's actually a valve on the heater core lines that isn't fully open until its switched to defrost. Thus if not on defrost your not actually circulating the core un restricted and purging the system.. Mostly older vehicles but my new van has one and figured I would mention it. Basically your safe on any vehicle using max heat on defrost.. once you feel good heat you know the core has been purged, my minivan is a pain to circulate and get the air out of the system.. I typically only fill my rads 3/4 to allow any air pockets out while its running up to temp, thermostat open. Once the stat is open and the core lines are hot, top it up and off ya go!.. great vid tho! 👍
Wow, thanks for the info! I didn't know that. I will keep it in mind for the next time for sure. I've always just left the heat on max and it seems to work just fine. It takes forever though to get up to temp just sitting still and idling. I usually just fill the rad until I can see the fluid near the top and then just top it off after it warms up. Then I go on a test drive and top it off all the way after it cools off. Thanks for watching!
You should have removed the thermostat and flushed until you got nothing but clean clear water. Then added your radio cleaner and flushed until clean water came out again then drain and add coolant.
If your system has that much gunk you need to pull the hose off and let it drain instead of only using the little valve at the bottom of the radiator. The valve is too small to let all of the big stuff out
I thought you drain some fluid then take the thermostat out ... seal system then dump the cleaner in run it for awhile cause without a thermostat it has more flow to clean the block. Let cool and fill many times over and over again. When satisfied put thermostat back in.... Then fill run and test the overall mix. I'm just a beginner at this though appreciated your video....I remember doing all this long ago to a van I owned " bought used",... I did this over and over but it still overheated. Little did I know they had installed the wrong radiator ! I could only run it without a thermostat until I replaced the radiator.
You should not use distilled water in you cooling system. Distilled water is pure water, stripped of all impurities. Pure water is a chemically imbalanced solution that is hungry for ions. When you put it into your cooling system, it will begin stripping ions from the metals of the cooling system and can lead to damage and eventually failure of the cooling system. Softened water is a good choice, because the minerals are stripped from the water, but the ion balance is left intact.
All water picks up ions when it flows across metal surfaces. Everyone uses distilled water because they are worried about calcium and other minerals building up and depositing inside the radiator/engine restricting flow.
It's fine to flush it. Honestly, most tap water is good enough. You ever see water faucets in people's houses with crusty white stuff on it? That's what they want to avoid.
What's up! Make sure to check the links in the description for all the SUPPLIES used in this video. I linked to some really NEAT TOOLS that help too!!!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Matt's Shop Thanks for the video. My Jeep has been overheating I'm gonna use this stuff right now. I made the mistake of using a radiator stop leak and may have ruined my radiator. Worst part is I already replaced my hoses thermostat and water pump (water pump was leaking) hopefully those didn't get damaged with that sealant as well
You are welcome. Yea, make sure that you never use that stop leak stuff. It will ruin everything. Hopefully you are still good.
Very informative video! You kinda sound like squidward from spongebob though lol
+Sam L Thanks! Lol that's not funny.
Sam L 😂😂
he talked while covering his nose... 🤔
Alex León it was squidword
Trust me, If I was the voice of Squidward. I would not be making RUclips videos. haha
Matt great job. Few suggestions. Use distilled water all the time including the flush part. Using 50/50 at the end after three full flushes will result in very low concentrate levels overall - probably in the 25-40% range . Every time you filled and ran the engine you diluted the overall system coolant level with water. This is good especially if you use distilled water. It is key to know what the total capacity is as well as what you drained. Doing the water flush several times results in the block getting mostly water in it. Depending on the total capacity, use of 50/50 premix like you did will result in a very poor coolant percentage in almost all cases. If you used 100% concentrate, you would have ended up with a much better chance of hitting 50/50 total system (recommended) when finished. Thanks for the video.
So you are saying we have to measure final flush as it is not equal to total capacity and there will be water in the system?
Madhawa vishwajith - you need to know your total system capacity. You also need to know and measure how much you get out of a typical drain from the radiator. The difference will be the fluid within the engine block. With those two capacities you can figure out what percentage you need to add pure coolant to get you to the 50-50 desired level. Are usually flush several times which leaves the engine block portion as 100% distilled water. That is why you need 100% coolant on the final addition to get you to the 50-50 ratio desired
condor5635 thank you very much for your explanation 👍👍
And a good idea to just add 100% coolant in the reservoir?
Phil PJ Davis - for topping off occasionally using just coolant or just distilled water if either is handy or 50/50 mix as well. Doing one or the other in that quantity won't make any significant difference on the overall system percentage.
I bought a v6 ecotec 3.8 litre Commodore from a mechanic! He was a teacher for MTA, Motor trades association in Australia! The Asshole put Alumaseal in the radiator and I have flushed the cooling system about 10 times! I'm still getting slimey Brown goo! I bought a hose and compressor gun to superflush the system! Another guy on RUclips in Australia with identical car had same problem! Good video!
Those radiator seal products are HORRIBLE! All they do is plug up the whole cooling system and you can NEVER flush it all out. I never use them.
@@MattsShop yes true! But the fact it only had 147000 km on the clock. He was a useless mechanic as some of the things were a joke! I'm not certified and I was taught everything by my older brother! He used to specialize in performance trans rebuilds, different rebiulds etc! So the way he taught me I've done pretty well. Cheers
Just remember that when you drain the radiator you're only draining about half of what's in the entire cooling system. So even after doing all these flushes you still have about half water left in the engine block/heater core (notice the amount you drain out after each flush is not all that the system holds). If you use the 50/50 mix you'll end up with a diluted mix because of the water left in the engine block/heater core. I would recommend using straight antifreeze and put in half the amount the system holds. Top it off with distilled water if needed. That should give you pretty close to a 50/50 mix.
its nowhere near half the capacity,,more like 10-15 % ,best is to see what is your capacity and then see what is left after your final drain and trust me its nowhere near half,,its actually very little but all you do is take the amount left in the system and add the same amount of concentrated coolant then top off the rest with 50/50 but even if you skip doing this and juts top off with 50/50 yes it wont be 50/50 but not that far off and no big deal
Helped me out with my 2017 ram 1590 3.6 .I had a lot of sludge due to faulty oil filter housing and dealer ship wanted to charge me for brand new radiator because they didn’t want to do this part .just saved me $500 thanks a lot
Got 20 Lbs hanging in that key switch, will be replacing that soon
Ha! It broke but I'm not replacing it just yet. So you were only 50% right.
Dude this is the most thorough video ever
Thanks for your knowledge and patience with the you tube community. I have done many flushes and your ease of delivery was refreshing. Watched the entire video , very refreshing .!
Thank you. I appreciate your genuine comment and positive review of my vid!
Great video man! From a fellow Auto Mechanic, glad to see that you reply to people's comments and questions, good man.
Thanks! I try my best.
Great video
Thanks!
Thanks for the how to video. It helped me alot. Also flushed heater core. I'm not much of a mechanic, but finding it to be more and more needed for repairs.
You're welcome. Comments like this make it all worth it. Glad I could help!
I don't know how you determined that the stuff in the overflow tank was stop leak, but that seldom happens if the stop leak is inserted as it is directed. If done properly there will be no residue from it. The stuff stays in suspension until it reaches the air under pressure at which point it begins to react as it is designed to do. I have used it (bars leak) to stop a leak in a radiator that was severely damaged from an accident during a trip - the antifreeze was literally 'peeing' out of a big hole. The car's fender was damaged as well, but it was possible to drive it. So after inserting the stop leak and topping the radiator, the leak stopped within five minutes (actually less) - we continued our trip (we were half way there when it happened), stayed a few days and returned to our home without further trouble and with no leaks. The radiator was so badly damaged that it had to be replaced, but the stop leak did its job. and I am sure that many others have similar stories.
I have used a brand called Silver Solder (I think it was) that worked very well, too. The chemical makeup of it prevents it from separating from the solution except at an opening. Many people pull the crud out of their radiator and claim it is from stop leak when it is only sludge and organic growths from micro organisms that can live in the water when it is not a high enough concentration of antifreeze. And even with half and half it is good bet there are some of them growing as well as junk from the water and rust, etc.
BTW that crud at the opening is due to foaming and settling of stuff in the antifreeze solution. The only reason that it is there is that the level of the water concentrates it there when the engine is shut off and cools down. You might actually find some of the stop leak come out of solution there because most of the requirements for it to set up are met. If there was enough stop leak and if the cap leaked enough, it might be fooled into trying to fill the entire opening. Other than that, there is no location in the cooling system where the stuff comes out of solution because its requirements are not met elsewhere. You will get more solids from combination of the minerals in the water with the antifreeze than from stop leak. That is why distilled water is so important. You should not use tap water that you know is heavily mineralized to even flush a system. It is better to mix the antifreeze mixtures that the manufacturers claim is compatible with others than to use that kind of tap water. In most locales in Texas I don't believe that there is enough minerals in the water to bother, but I am not familiar with other than Dallas and Austin areas. The water here is so soft that there are hardly any minerals in it that will bother, but I still use distilled water due to the other chemicals in the tap water. The chlorine and fluorine are so active that you never know what they will react with - including the metals of the engine and radiators.
Can the vehicle be placed on jack stands while doing this?
What is the small black tube on the side of the radiator cap? Can it be removed and replaced during the radiator flushing?or is it able to drain the water out of the radiator?
Hi Matt, I agree using distilled water. Great tips and great video. THANKS FRIEND
Yes, distilled pure water for the best results possible. You don't want all of those minerals from tap water in your radiator!
I Agree
@@MattsShop And when they are emptied out like you did, they are not!
Thank you for the tutorial. I didn't knew you were so good at mechanical, squidward.
Haha yea I'm good at a lot of things.
Matt's Shop I love how you can take my joke. Cheers :)
Haha I'm good with jokes. You should hear some of the hate I have to delete lol
He lives underwater so he understands how water works.
Good video! I appreciate your time on showing us how this is done. My heater core is blocked so I might as well do a coolant flush. That leak patch stuff is awful. Never knew that. Great to see how you clean out each component.
Q1 - After draining all coolant out, you can run the engine with Radiator Cleaner and tap water, right? I could do that with vinegar and water too, But plain water is fine, correct? I'll use distilled when refilling it with coolant.
Q2 - Would it make sense to clean out the heater core separately as it may be even more dirty that the radiator? First clean that out, then flush out radiator, then the reservoir tank, then the whole system. Would this work? My heater core must be heavily gunked up as I have zero heat. Worried about how bad it is.
There is a lot of conflicting info on what to use as a cleaner:
1. White vinegar - this seems to be the best option. The heater core and radiator are both made from aluminum. White Vinegar is kind to aluminum and removes rust and calcium deposits. Sells for $4 at Costco for 2 gals. I use it for toilet bowl cleaner and also lime scale on tubs, sinks, etc. Vinegar can make other metals rust, but its only in there for 30 mins max and gets flushed out fully, so best cleaner, I think. It is also eco friendly and can be disposed of in any acid loving plant bed, diluted.
2. Prestone Radiator Flush - sells on Amazon for $22. The complaints are that it did nothing, and did not remove any calcium build up on fins. Recycle chemicals, costs money, not effective. The Sodium Chlorite in it, corrodes aluminum.
3. Baking soda mixed with water - this discolors aluminum.
4. Distilled water - great for dilution but useless for cleaning.
I also saw a nice coolant flush gun on Amazon for $44 that you can connect your air compressor to. Now that would be smart. It controls water pressure from hose as you can damage fins, and allows air to mix, dislodging debris, rust, calcium and I'm guessing blowing out the water at the end for coolant replacement. What do you think?
Yes. I did my heater core separately. You disconnect both hoses and pour your cleaner of choice into it. I used CLR. You wait for a bit and then use the hose to flush out the core. Make sure you backflush it for best results. Cheers.
Thank you... oh! Try simple green in your engine compartment. Spray it on pretty strong and use a kitchen dish brush to scrub. This works and it brings interior plastics back up to factory color and finish. I just did my 88 Chevy truck and boy it's a shock to see the color pop out. Works in carpet well, too. Use a pressure washer to wash out the engine compartment.
Could I keep my Lisle spill-free funnel on for the entire multi-flush process? Even when car is on and idling, and then off while cooling? Or is there ever a time when best to have radiator cap on?
You can probably get away with it. Usually when it's hot it will bubble outwards. Just don't overfill the big cannister with a lot of fluid.
If you live in real cold areas up north I would mix more antifreeze then water if you do this procedure because you still have water sitting in the engine block etc, after you drain it, so the mixture is not gonna be 50/50 anymore. Mix it maybe 70/30 or it will be slushy or freeze in real cold weather.
Dill Wiggle That's a good tip for anyone who sees this. I don't live where it gets very cold at all, but if you live up north I could see it being a problem.
You can get away with 50/50 here in Canada for the most part. If it's an extremely cold winter, we bump it to no more than 60% and never beyond 70%. If such Arctic Blasts persist for days or months, I'll just drain out about a Quart and a Half, and replace it with the same amount of Concentrate or Unmixed Coolant...that puts you at roughly 60% which is more than adequate for most conditions. MORE...isn't always better? In the case of Antifreeze/Coolant beyond 70%, you'll still risk Freezing because straight unmixed coolants will Gel under extreme cold much worse than water. So you'll still risk freeze-up!
Theres a much easier way. I do a final 2 flushes with distilled water. Its cheap enough and then i know whatever is left in the block is mostly mineral free. Then just check your owners manual for the total cooling system capacity and add half that amount of straight undiluted coolant and top off with more distilled water. For instance, if your cooling system takes 10 quarts, pour in 5 quarts of undiluted coolant before topping off with distilled water. That way, even if you can only get 3 quarts of distilled water in, you know the other 2 quarts are in the block and itll have the right mixture once it circulates.
No dude, 50/50 ratio gives the best protection. Do not make shit up and go against the recommended procedures. It's a good thing to use an anti freeze tester to confirm the protection level
@@steveneumeyer681 Do you have a proper name for such tester? Because the hydrometer tester only gives a reading of, at which temperature the coolant is protecting your system. If you meant for the tester to be a hydrometer, how do you determine the water to coolant ratio, according to the reading?
Thanks.
i have a ? if you are using tap water to do this flush now you have tap water in the block an heater cor i have been told tap water is bad so how do you remove all the tap water so you can add your Antifreeze and Distilled water mix .
I mean, there's always going to be some tap water in the block if you flush it this way. You can flush it this way and then flush it with a couple jugs of distilled water at the end if it really bothers you.
Does the bottom radiator hose drain all of the coolant/ water from the engine? Also how possible is it to complete a flush without removing the thermostat?
I usually dumb a hole jug of coolant and a jug of distilled water in a bucket then refill 2 empty jugs of coolant but I like your method of half a jug of coolant and other half of distilled water! Less mess and easier!. Thanks!
I don’t think you have enough keys on your key ring.
They're to your mom's house.
@@MattsShop
🤣🤣😂😂😂
@@MattsShop 🤙👌🤣 Not enough RUclipsrs like you
If he uses one of them to crank it it will finally mess up his key switch the weight of them
Squidward!
😂 u killed me dude 👍
Love looking at comments on these DIY videos, everyone is a mechanic 🤣🤣
Haha I know right
No they're just not idiots like this guy
This is very true!! A guy said he worked in a shop and was twisting wires on the fuel pump and using tape. Later I saw him turn a truck on its side to work on it. There are nothing but hack mechanics where I live LOL!
How do you flush out your radiator if your car only has the reservoir ?
Take the hoses off in a way that you can flush the whole system.
Thank you! I now feel like I can actually do it myself.
Make sure you tie your hair up first! Moving parts can rip your hair out lol.
@@MattsShop great tip! I didn't even think about that 😳, My hair thanks you.
how did you drain the reservoir? is there a hose leading down to the rad or did you gravity feed that hose into your bucket too?,,also dont bother turning up your heater as it only makes it longer for the eng to come to temp,,wait till it comes to temp then turn on the heater,also i think you only need to make sure its on full hot and no need to turn the fan on as it does nothing but heat the cabin,i think the fluid automatically should circulate in the core either way but ok to be sure turn everything on full blast but only after eng comes to temp otherwise it takes longer for that to happen
I drained the radiator with the drain valve at the bottom. I drained the reservoir by pulling the hose off it and letting it drain.
@@MattsShop why did you need to pull the hose off it to drain? does that means that your surge tank does not have a hose leading back to the radiator or to the lower radiator hose? like my car does,,mine all drained out through the petcock
Do i have to hook up my radiator to flush(replacing radiator, system had dexcool in it) or can I just used pressurised water and shoot it through the lower radiator hose and have the upper radiator hose drain in a big bucket 🤔🤔
You can do it the way you are talking about. If the thermostat is still in you won't flush anything. You have to take the thermostat out, flush everything, and then put it all back together.
May I know which country you are from , your english accent is very clear to me to listen
USA
guy sounds like the Nanny! lol.
Thank you my friend what a crazy to you you wouldn't stay by step-by-step this video is very very useful I appreciate it very much I got a problem with my Expedition 2023 thank you my friend
hey man great work but why in the world your ac compressor runs when heater is running 7:28 ??
Mujtaba Abdullatif Good question, I think I had the switch on ac instead of heat. I switched it once I realized it was wrong.
Most newer vehicles will do that, the AC compressor will run if the controls are set to defrost most owners manuals tell you to turn AC on when using defrost for faster clearing of the windshield
Yea, I always turn my AC on when I need to defrost.
You sound like the alien character on the old Bugs Bunny cartoons. This video gave me some info and a good laugh at the same time so thanks.
Lol the martian guy?
@@MattsShop yeah Marvin the Martian. I'm just kidding around LOL
Lol that's funny
I think it's not necessary to turn ON the A/C(I saw the compressor workink ! ) just hetaer at max is sufficient ! I saw the compressor workink !
+MARCUS Yea! Turn the heat on MAX
@@MattsShop No, don't turn to max (or anything labeled AC)...that turns on you AC compressor.
I'm happy for him that $200 - $400 for a radiator isn't that expensive. Compared to a new engine or replacing the entire vehicle it may be.
My cap says to use 0w 20 can I use any color? Does it matter
0w-20 is Oil. PLEASE don't put this where you took that cap off lol.
So the reservoir can be empty while you're doing this?
Yes, if it's not the type of reservoir that is under pressure.
Doing a proper coolant flush is definitely a pain in the ass and takes a fair bit of commitment to do properly. I have an LS3 Chev highly modified engine and just to get all the air out of the system after all the initial work takes a lot of time and top ups. But it definitely saves lots of angst in the long run.
Yea, it's a real pain. It's good to do though. That way you know exactly what condition your cooling system is in.
@@MattsShop Quite correct. And maintaining your radiator with flushing it either on a yearly basis or two year basis will keep thing running healthy without hardly any problems to have to deal with such as hearing problems that may come up when you need heat in the much more colder weather time, because driving a car or truck without any heat gets rather difficult to handle. Like everything else out there, matainance is and has always been a big factor in a reliable car or truck especially when you rely on them for whatever or whare ever you go or whatever you do within your lifetime.
would that solution work on a pc watercooling rad?
Honestly, I do not know. Whatever you do be extremely careful if you are doing it inside your case! Why not just remove your cooler from the computer and take it to the hose or sink and blast it out?
@@MattsShop that's exactly what i had intended to do, taking the radiator out of the loop and flushing it like you did outside. One thing i wanted to also try is to use only yhe pump and connect the rads with the solution and run it like that
I don't think there would be that much scale and gunk in your radiator. A car has sooo many different metals and chemicals. A computer water cooling system is pretty clean.
I’m not sure about how much antifreeze to use. Is it one gal of concentrated mixed 50/50 with water or a couple gal of 50/50?
Concentrated= mix to 50/50
Already mixed 50/50 = use straight out of the bottle
Great video bro….but I would take off some of those keys 🔑 so the ignition won’t be damaged 👍
Thanks, too late!
What happens if you use straight antifreeze?
It won't cool well. Anti-freeze sucks at cooling. That's why you mix it with water. You need the cooling properties of water and the anti-corosion/anti-freeze properties of the anti-freeze.
don't forget to flush the block also!
Best video of this I've found
Thanks!
I see some videos where they use distilled water for the flush instead of garden hose does it matter? I assume garden hose water is fine? I c you talk about it at the end of video saying must use distilled cuz of minerals so during flush it does not matter?
I mean some water is left over in the engine block, but it doesn't really hurt anything. Distilled water for a flush is a waste of money.
@@MattsShop thanks for the reply
Gotta be carefull. While flushing and running with the tap your engine will couse arking and putting in your cylinder walls. Always use destilled water and even then filter it again if yea can. But regardless you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.
I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. The tap water isn't going to mess anything up if you put the right ratio of anti-freeze to distilled water in when you are done. The anti-freeze protects the metal with corrosion inhibitors.
How much white vinegar do you use .? And do you repeat the process each time or us the vinegar/flush just once
I am not sure. I've never done it that way. I've just heard of people doing it. I'd look up a video on it.
Whatever the ratio is. I'd fill it and let it sit preferably overnight and then flush it out.
why did you turn on the AC ?
Max AC on these trucks is just the highest blower setting. The temperature is determined by the red/blue temp dial.
To make sure the heater core is sucking new coolant into the system and purging any air bubbles out into the radiator
Say there Haus,what the hell is "anafreeze" i couldn't find it at Walmart
It's a premium product only sold in the South.
Coolant.
very essential things. good video.
Glad you think so!
Liked & subbed. Thanks. This looks so easy. I think that I can do it now. Local shop wanted to charge WAY TOO MUCH, so I am glad that you showed me this. I really believe I can do it myself.
+Poe Lemic You're welcome. Yea, it's pretty easy. I know you can do it! Thanks for the sub!
Until you find out the thermostat has to be removed in order to drain the water...at least on mine freaking Ram 1500. Third engine too in about 4 years. Smh.
Very informative squidward
So tap water, even with the minerals, is ok to use, so long as it's not the final mix with the coolant? Are we certain that tap water should NEVER be introduced into radiator system at any time whatsoever??
Can I leave the radiator cleaner flush for 3 days and normal drive use to fully clean the radiator?
No, don't do that. You need ant-freeze in there to lubricate the water pump, protect against corrosion, and keep the water from boiling.
I drove mine for 6 hours throughout 1 week, flush and cleaner have lubricants for your pump
Tap water is bad isn't it? Minerals. I see people use distilled water because it's PH is more acidic and because of that cleans better.
Minerals build up in the radiator. Distilled water is pure with no minerals in it. It has a neutral PH of around 7. They use is so that scale doesn't build up in the cooling system.
@@MattsShop thanks for your reply :-)
I generally flush every four yrs.. I remove the thermostat and rinse everything out a couple times. I'll add my flush, and run it for about a week with the heat on hot. You don't actually need the fan running for the water to circulate through the heater core, you just need to set the temp control to hot. Dump the nasty stuff and rinse it out a couple times. I then add another flush, and run it another week. Keep doing this till it gets pretty clear. Install a new thermostat, distilled water, and 50/50 Coolant. If you don't allow it to get into bad shape, it won't be near as difficult.
Why did you run the aircon while on heating? Don't need to. The aircon is cooling function only, while the car interior is heated by engine water via a heat exchanger in the cabin, no need to run both at the same time as they are separate systems completely, unlike a domestic aircon which has a reverse valve for heating.
+Warren Gage I didn't. I ran it full heat. I think I had the knobs in the wrong position then changed it in a later clip. I know they are completely separate.
Thanks buddy! Truly appreciate your services. 🙏☀️🌎
I appreciate your watching!
You can actually use distilled white vinegar with water, 50 - 50 mix. Leave it in the raditor for about 7 days and it will remove all rust. However if rust is holding anything from leaking in the block or radiator you will spring a leak.
+Wes Karcher Yea, I know that trick. I didn't know that you are supposed to leave it in the radiator for a week. It makes sense though. Thanks for the tip.
Love those battery terminals. They will NEVER loosen and cause you to be stranded. LOL.
Yea, for sure!
Why didn't you remove the thermostat so it can flush from the start
+Travis_ Williams I just replaced the thermostat, and didn't want to take it all back apart. I'd have to wait for the gasket maker to dry too. I wanted it done right that second!
Gasket maker for a thermostat? Really?
Yup
@@MattsShop Right
I really can't help but wonder since you're right there and it's working, and you know there is remainder being left in the block, why not do a few more flushes and now with distilled water since you have the extreme worse out? It is a shame to put such a great video out there as a learning tutorial and then stop halfway; making people people think if they can get it that clear it's fine. It's better than it was, sure. Antifreeze has corrosion inhibitors, but if all those bind with the loose metals/rust already in the system... Just saying, as a learning tool, it may have been better to have advised to have got a lot cleaner. 3 times is usually enough, but you had someone's really neglected system there.
Does it matter if the flush is done with distilled water or garden hose? I see some videos say distilled only but this is my 1st time. Any help will be appreciated
All good. Only thing would be to bleed the air out of the system at the end
Yea, don't forget to burp the air out with the radiator cap off for a bit.
Matt's Shop how do you do that
Run it up to temp on full heat with the radiator cap off until all the air comes out. Then top it off with coolant.
thnak you . great video.
You're welcome!
Well explained 👍👊🤘
Thanks you sir.
Thank you very much ! 😘
You're welcome very much.
You could have just took the lower hose off and on the upper take out the thermostat then flush the block and back flush the radiator until you get everything running clear water. You left that system still muddy looking when you could of no matter how old your vehicle is running clear water. Then you drain and the clear water then add the coolant .
Easily explained and a good job too. Well done.
Don't like 50:50.. just make it 60:40 (Coolant:Water) for my v6 engine. 5050 is good for 4 cyclinders. But not 6 cylinders.
50:50 is what everyone uses and recommends though.
You should do it again with Thermocure just to see what was missed.
What's thermocure? Never heard of it.
@@MattsShop it's on RUclips. Just something to look at...
I will check it out.
There really should be a warning with modern cars pertaining to what what antifreeze to use. I'll give you a small example. Hyundai now uses green for Asian vehicles. However some of their cars are released from the plant using blue antifreeze recomended for Asian vehicles. Most common form of this is found in Valvoline antifreeze recommended for Hyundai. However surprisingly it can make a huge difference in gas mileage. I don't fully understand this myself but the green seems to get better gas mileage than the blue and I'm not talking a little different I'm talking a major difference. For instance if the tires are brand new and the car is running in top performance and it has green antifreeze. You can achieve 35 miles per gallon to 41 miles on the highway. As long as you drive normal and not crazy. However using the blue antifreeze the car will still run great but we'll find much less gas mileage like around 25 Max 32 Highway. And by the way this is driving in eco mode. And in both situations is using the recommended 5 20. Quaker State pure synthetic as directly recommended by Hyundai manufacturer. If somebody told me this I wouldn't believe it but I've experienced it firsthand. The color of your radiator fluid can actually make a difference in fuel mileage. If anyone out there has an explanation of this I would love to hear it. I know it has something to do with the exact temperature that the car is running at. But this is literally traveling in the same exact weather on the same exact Road taking the same exact paths. And there is a definite difference between having all green antifreeze. And having all blue antifreeze. What's even stranger is the car seems to run louder when using green. But quieter when using blue. You never mix fluids. No matter what always make sure you're either using all green antifreeze throughout the entire system. Or You're using completely blue throughout the entire system never mix. Mixing can actually cause overheating causing the fluids to gel up. Honestly I think there should be a warning right on the radiator or fill Reservoir. Because people out there must be making this mistake. I know this all sounds crazy but trust me if you do the research you'll see that I'm telling you the truth.
Great how-to. Couldn't you also use Purified water? As long as it doesnt have any minerals it should be good.
Btw, has anyone ever told you that you sound like Nate Diaz...
Haha yea I got Nate Diaz before on here. Purified water aways has minerals added back for taste. Distilled is the best!
You don't have to turn your fan full blast on your heater just turn the temperature fto the highest levels but you can save your fan
Thankyou.
imagine the pump... with all that gunk
+RODERICK CONSTANTINO Yea, I'ts probably all gunked up.
Using that soap in the radiator will clean the pump. Within 2 months the pump WILL start leaking from the little hole by the pump shaft... You've cleaned all the graw-do away from the shaft.. The pump is going to need to be replaced. ITS happened to me numerous times. I quit using that soap while flushing, just distilled water. UNLESS you want some experience changing the water pump... While you were at it , you should have back-flushed the heater core with the garden hose .. Just Saying
Lol with how many keys are on your key ring haha
+Don Drover ALOT
Hey Cro Magnon, what's with the monotone voice? Are you partially choking on something? Sound off like you got a pair!
+jim davidson Trust me, my balls are plenty big enough. Bigger than yours guaranteed.
Nice big balls matt!
good thank you very much real good video buddy
Thx!
That should have been flush like 2 or 3 more times in till the water came out clean over the years I have bought older cars that were so bad i don't think they were ever flush out and I got them to flush out to clean water. Then after you did your flush it has tap water in the black still that will help make it crowd up . So after you do the flush you need to flush with Distilled water then add full Strength Anyfreeze so you will at the end you will have a 50 50 mix if you add 50% Anyfreeze with waterintheblock it willbe like 40 30 at best if youdon'thavetheright amount of coolent it can freezeup the cooling system not good. The only time you use a 50 mix is if your coolent is low or if you drain your engine block or you rebuild your engine. Me i would not use other things to flush out cooling system be safe and by a Reader flush and do what the flush Instructions say to do. The newer automobile are more technical lot of aluminum and internal water pumps. Destild water is cheap so buy enough to do the hole job then you know it was done right.
I guess I'll wait till winter to do this
Why not do it now??
@@MattsShop gotta run my heater. I live in SoFlo and it's 100+ degrees out usually lol. But I really appreciate the video!
Never use stop leak, plugs up the passages in the cooling system and makes a huge mess.
I would rather get the car towed and throw a new radiator in for a $100 than basically ruin the cooling system with that crap
+reddyuda Well said! I didn't put it in there someone else did. You're right, all it does is make a giant mess so now you have to clean up the mess and replace the broken parts. I've never used it on anything.
reddyuda $100 for a radiator, did you find a junker and jack it out, because radiators are 2-3x that price!
+Gregory Key I would never buy a used radiator. You need to find a radiator shop or rockauto they are much cheaper!
Matt's Shop - I drive a Jeep Cherokee XJ so pretty much any single part is less than $100 brand new. And as stated, check Rock Auto, Amazon and Ebay for the best prices. Lots of new-old-stock factory parts for not much more than aftermarket. I prefer OEM where possible unless there is a better engineered part available aftermarket.
+reddyuda Agreed! I always check RockAuto. Their prices can even be as much as half the amount of the parts stores, even with shipping. The only negative to buying online is you can't swap parts out if somthing is wrong. You just have to make sure 100% before you press order!
Your system is clogged because someone put the wrong coolant in it OAT and Green glycol don't mix, they gel up.
You want it on defrost. And the cap off till up to temp and topped off.
+Rob Jay I thought the best way was to put it on heat to get coolant through the heater core? Yea, leve the cap off and top 'er off.
Matt's Shop , absolutely you want it on max heat as well, rule of thumb on the defrost aspect is that on some vehicles there's actually a valve on the heater core lines that isn't fully open until its switched to defrost. Thus if not on defrost your not actually circulating the core un restricted and purging the system.. Mostly older vehicles but my new van has one and figured I would mention it. Basically your safe on any vehicle using max heat on defrost.. once you feel good heat you know the core has been purged, my minivan is a pain to circulate and get the air out of the system.. I typically only fill my rads 3/4 to allow any air pockets out while its running up to temp, thermostat open. Once the stat is open and the core lines are hot, top it up and off ya go!.. great vid tho! 👍
Wow, thanks for the info! I didn't know that. I will keep it in mind for the next time for sure. I've always just left the heat on max and it seems to work just fine. It takes forever though to get up to temp just sitting still and idling. I usually just fill the rad until I can see the fluid near the top and then just top it off after it warms up. Then I go on a test drive and top it off all the way after it cools off.
Thanks for watching!
You should have removed the thermostat and flushed until you got nothing but clean clear water. Then added your radio cleaner and flushed until clean water came out again then drain and add coolant.
I should have removed the thermostat it would have worked better, but I just resealed it and didn't want to take it back apart.
@@MattsShop With the thermostat removed and the heater at max, will the water still flow through the heater core?
If your system has that much gunk you need to pull the hose off and let it drain instead of only using the little valve at the bottom of the radiator. The valve is too small to let all of the big stuff out
Good point. The valve is pretty small.
You have the dirtiest tools, water hose, engine, I’ve ever seen. But the video is good thanks.
Lol, never trust a mechanic with clean tools. You're welcome.
Can we put venegar to flush the system.?
Yes, I don't know the ratio. Google is your friend.
"they're not that expensive" is kind of subjective
Nevered used vinegar , why?
You forgot to replace the the thermostat
Already did it before I filmed this.
I thought you drain some fluid then take the thermostat out ... seal system then dump the cleaner in run it for awhile cause without a thermostat it has more flow to clean the block. Let cool and fill many times over and over again. When satisfied put thermostat back in.... Then fill run and test the overall mix. I'm just a beginner at this though appreciated your video....I remember doing all this long ago to a van I owned " bought used",... I did this over and over but it still overheated. Little did I know they had installed the wrong radiator ! I could only run it without a thermostat until I replaced the radiator.
Spoiler .... rad flush is white vinegar :-)
You should not use distilled water in you cooling system. Distilled water is pure water, stripped of all impurities. Pure water is a chemically imbalanced solution that is hungry for ions. When you put it into your cooling system, it will begin stripping ions from the metals of the cooling system and can lead to damage and eventually failure of the cooling system. Softened water is a good choice, because the minerals are stripped from the water, but the ion balance is left intact.
All water picks up ions when it flows across metal surfaces. Everyone uses distilled water because they are worried about calcium and other minerals building up and depositing inside the radiator/engine restricting flow.
All those keys. Are you a janitor?
Lots of girlfriends.
He sounds like a combinations of Nate Diaz and Sheldon from the Big Bang theory.
Haha good one.
Mine looks like a mud milkshake🤤🤤🤤
Yea, I bet it doesn't taste like one haha.
But does it bring all the boys to the yard?
Tap water is not good. Distilled water is way to go.
It's fine to flush it. Honestly, most tap water is good enough. You ever see water faucets in people's houses with crusty white stuff on it? That's what they want to avoid.
you want to use demineralized water not distilled