Have any of you ever used the Prestone coolant system flush kit? It is time for the wife's car to have a coolant flush, and considering "quick lube" and dealer prices, I picked one of these kits up at the auto parts store. I haven't installed it yet, but it seems it would make the whole process easier and yield the same results. It would also allow me to fill the system with distilled water, instead of the tap that the service places use, and insure that the car is running so the the heater core is properly flushed. I was just wondering if anyone had any personal experience with this type of item. Thanks for any info!

 

Have the same thing at my parents never used it though I just filled up with water let it run and get hot the drained it. Next time I go to my parents house I am going to grab it and use it

 

as long as you follow the instructions exactly, they work great!

 

yeah i saw that thing at walmart i just dont like the idea of having to cut through your heater hose to accomplish installing this kit. that is my only problem i see with it.

 

They work just fine as long as you remove the thermostat first. I have used them for over 20+ years in all my vehicles.

 

i actually have had great results.. you can choose the 15 or 30 minute version.. drain the engine, fill it up with soem water and this stuff.. run it on idle for 15-30 minutes.. drian it, and fill it back up. And with what you said earlier about distilled water.. I did the same thing, figured I would do it right for once in my life.. according to the manual. Fill it up with the coolant, then top it off with distilled water, runs great now! (Not like it didn't before.. but at least I know its done right now!)

 

I bought one 3 years ago and never got the gumption to cut my lines. It's collecting dust on a shelf.

 

I'm not afraid to cut the rubber hose. I'll be using this on our Honda Civic, that hose would be super easy to replace if there was a problem.

 

Just take your coolant capacity, divide it to get your coolant % needed, add that amount of coolant, then the rest is water.

That's what I did with this kit for the past 6 years, worked great for me.

 

Just buy a good quality Antifreeze Hydrometer.

Once your done flushing the system, drain it completely leaving the little cap off the tee. Put a new theremostat in and then add about two thirds of a gallon of pure coolant at the rad (there will be some water left in the block). Then finish off with a 50/50 mix. As your filling the system you may see water coming out the tee (depends on height of lines over rad opening). When it changes to coolant put the cap back on the tee (If water or coolant does not come out the tee add some coolant through the it until its full there, then put the cap on).

Drain the coolant overflow bottle and add 50/50 mix of new coolant until its about 2/3 full. Run the engine until its up to full operating temp (preferably driving it around). Then park it allowing it to fully cool off (preferably over night). Check the overflow bottle and top off as needed. Pull the rad cap and use the Antifreeze Hydrometer to check the mix. If it reads to low or high, drain off some coolant and either add pure coolant or water to replace as needed to adjust the mixture.