I was wondering about getting a good flush through my cooling system. The water here is really hard and causes buildup and deposits everywhere. What if I ran a diluted bottle of CLR ( Calcium, Lime, Rust) through the system before putting good coolant and water back in. Would it hurt anything? It would sure clean the system out if I ran it for like a week then dumped it and refilled with coolant/water mix. Let me know if Im off my rocker. Thanks in advance.

 

if nobody answers that has tried it ., be a gambler and try it. if it works let us know.

 

Since you say you have very hard water in your area, purchase a pre-mixed coolant such as the product from Cummins when you refill. This comes already mixed with distilled water.

 

As far as refilling goes I was going to go to the local water dispenser, you know the gallon for a quarter, get three gallons of that purified water and three gallons of antifreeze. Pre mix that then put it all in the truck.

 

I doubt if CLR would cause a problem but the there are flushes designed for radiators that do a better job for less money.
Best bet is to not allow the hard water problem to happen by using pre-mix or distilled water.

 

Im trying to get my new to me truck the way it should be. Making up for someone elses poor maintenance you know.

 

I would use the radiator flush. The hardest part is getting all the old out before the flush and fresh water go in, I took off the hose that goes into the heater core and used air gently to blow all of it out first, then raised [now don"t laugh] the rear up as high as I could and drained the block and radiator out using the lower hose, I did this three or four times just to get the old fluid out before I used the flush. I used two of the prestone flushes and it cleaned up great.Then up and down to get the flush and fluid out again. Now on the refill just remember you cannot fill with the motor running,and that goes when flushing it all out also. I ended up using the extended use fluid going back and mixed it with distilled water. Goodluck,,,,Rick

 

I bought a flush kit with different hose attachments that uses water faucet pressure to pump the water back out of your engine through the radiatior cap. You have to have the truck running with the heater on to get all the old fluids out. Why cant you use the flush liquid while the truck is running?

 

There is a one way valve that will prevent you from filling to the correct capacity when the engine is running, Goodluck,,,Rick After thinking and looking at the manual you can use the flush kit if it goes in the inlet side of the heater core as this is after the valve, now this still does not solve the complete removal of any fluid,as the block does not have a drain, that is why I removed the lower hose and raise truck up, you will be surprised as to how much will come out. As for refilling whith the new fluid the engine has to be shut off and cycled a few times to get the correct capacity back in. Goodluck,,,Rick

 

JUST AS A REPLY TO THAT POST TO THE CLR IT PROBALY WOULD NOT HURT ANYTHING BUT I WOULD NOT DO IT. ANYWAY YOU ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO EVEN WORRY ABOUT HARD WATER OR NOT IN YOUR AREA BECAUSE WHEN MIXING COOLANT YOU ONLY USE DISTILLED WATER NOT TAP WATER AND NO SPRING WATER BECAUSE THAT IS JUST AS HARD AS TAP WATER. DISTILLED WATER HAS NO MINERALS. JUST BUY 6 GALLONS OF THE PREMIXED STUFF AT YOU LOCAL AUTO SHOP ITS ALREADY MIXED WITH THE DISTILLED WATER.

 

6 gal 50/50 mix antifreeze = $50________________ 3 gal antifreeze & 3 gal distilled water $30 ________________ mix it your self , only pour about 1/2 gal of each at a time alternating , because chances are it wont all fit . my .02