Ok for give me on this but its time to change the old coolant again and money is tight now,like its not for all of us,so i wish to change it my self.


Tools and know how is not the issue but i have heard horror stories on hydro locking the coolant if not careful.
So whats tricks have you all come across in the proses of such a maintenance?
And for kicks and giggles should i go ahead and change the hoses and thermostat at the same time?

 

I had to do mine a month ago because when I was checking the fluid a small rubber hose fell into the radiator. I just pulled the bottom hose off of the radiator and let the water run into a 5 gallon bucket. Its probably not the best way to do it but I only had a short amount of time to get the small hose out of the radiator.

 

There is no need to change hoses and tstat. How many miles are on it? When I changed my water pump, I kind hydro locked the truck. Just fill the tank up and let the engine run for a little bit. Then, turn it off and add more fluid as needed. I had only about half filled and knew it. It started to screw with the timing will we test drove it. That was my stupidity.

 

I need to do mine as well, I picked up one of those fill and flush kits at harbor freight for 2 bucks on sale, it seems with one of those it should be a simple job.

 

I dont get how it is possible to hydro lock your motor by changing the coolant. can someone fill me in here please.

 

Again horror stories lol im just crossing my t's and dotting the i's lol

Thats why im double checking

78 k now and had it originally changed at about 50k about 3 years ago but its looking nasty in the resivar tank so its time to change it again and you cant change fluids too much in my opinion lol

 

When I did my cousins ranger I disconnected the hoses and flushed everything with water. Like the heater core and rad. I ran water through all of it until it came out the other side clear. Then 60/40 coolant. Not hard to just just make sure you dont get an air bubble.

 

thats what im worried about

how do you prevent that

 

tell you the truth idk

 

lol wow that make a few us in command

joy of asking stupid questions is finding the answer lol

 

Its not my first time doing coolant flushes but i have never had a problem getting an air bubble. Sorry idk what im doing right

 

Heres a Video


http://www.ehow.com/video_1861_chang...tor-fluid.html

 

lol simple enough but again making sure all the p's and q's are crossed

 

What I sent you should do it.

 

Not a bad video, that will do.
But for a thorough job get a flush kit. Easy to install and it flushes your entire system.

Don't worry about air bubbles. Never heard of hydro locking you engine while doing a coolant flush.....unless you shove the hose into the air intake while the engine is running....

Anyway. Follow the instructions that come with the kit and you'll be fine. When it's all said and done, leave the rad cap off and run the engine, the air will find its way out.

 

I wouldnt bother using the flush kit. Thats my opion, I think its a waste of money.

 

This is a cooling system flush procedure that I have found to work very well:

1) Drain cooling system by removing bottom radiator hose at radiator
2) Remove thermostat, replace thermostat housing with just gasket
3) Replace bottom radiator hose
4) Fill system with distilled water
5) Run engine 4-5 minutes, make sure heater is in "HOT" position
6) Drain cooling system by removing bottom radiator hose at radiator

7) Repeat steps 3 to 6 until coolant comes out clear

8) Replace lower radiator hose, remove thermostat housing, install new OEM thermostat, and new gasket

9) Fill system with 50/50 ** mixture of antifreeze/distilled water. Fill coolant reservoir with 50/50 mixture of antifreeze/distilled water

**Note: calculate amount of antifreeze based on total cooling system capacity to compensate for distilled water left in block.

10) Run engine until operating temp is reached (thermostat opens), shut engine down.

11) Allow engine to cool, then top off cooling system with 50/50 antifreeze/distilled water mixture