Coolant System Flush?
 

So I never take any of our vehicles to the dealer or a mechanic ever & they are all due for a coolant system flush.

I used to drain everything in to a bucket. Pull the overflow tank, clean it out. Pull the block drain plugs, flush it all with a garden hose in our back driveway, refill it with clean anti-freeze & done.

Well no way you could put a drop of anti-freeze on the ground now.
Is there anyway a guy can do a good coolant flush at home now?

If not, I guess I am going to City Radiator on Blackfoot Trail. They've built a few custom rads for me over the years & are a good shop.
I hope they don't use the machines that replace the coolant in one shot rather giving everything a good flushing out.

Any other options? Any recommendations?

any chance you can get into a shop or garage with a floor drain? i did the same as you when i did mine. drained as much as i could into a bucket, then filled appropriately with a flush concentrate and topped up with water. ran tthe truck to temp, then drained and collected what i could. i then ran a garden hose into theinlet of the rad, and put a shopvac hose on the outlet with the other end of the hose into a drain or onto gravel driveway. started the truck and turned on the hose and let it run until the water exiting the shop vac hose ran clear . . . then topped up with concentrate to appropriate amounts/ratio with water.

could you get away with that anywhere?

I don't even think a shop with a floor drain can legally drain used antifreeze. They all seem to have those recycling pumps/systems that remove the old coolant & then pump in new coolant without actually draining or flushing anything.

I guess one could drain/flush the system onto the ground on an acreage out of sight & out of the city but I'm sure that's not legal anymore either.

http://www.prestone.com/products/print/461?popup=1

That might work?

we use this industrial strength PENRAY shtuff all the time at work. BASICALLY its 2 stages of powder. cleaner = Sulfamic acid. conditioner = a Base of somesort to neutralize and pull all the crud out.

thats the very simplified explanation. I flush standby emergency gens ALL the time.

I got mine done this summer by my mech. private shop, he did a flush and all new antifreeze, I didnt want to dump any of this stuff anywhere so I left it up to him, the charge was not much more than what it would have cost me to do it my self, and I dont have to worry about the hazmat guys. I could buy a gallon of antifreeze for about $25 bucks a gallon at the dealer, he got it for $12 bucks, so that countered the cost of labor.

Just flushed mine today infact...

Distilled water and about 3-4 tbl spoons of Dawn dish liquid... Drove it a few miles... Pulled the cap... Opened the drain... Cranked it and stuck the hose in the top.. Ran it for approx 15 mins to get all the suds out.. Turn it off.. Drained completely... Refill with dex-cool..

Done.

I know how to do a flush but you can't just flush your coolant system with a garden hose letting it run down your driveway or onto the ground in the city, nor likely anywhere else anymore.

I usually would let the garden hose flush out the engine block, heater core, all the coolant lines, letting the water flush everything until it is clear.
There is no way to capture all that water into buckets or drain pans.

It doesn't sound like you can legally do a good coolant system flush at home anymore.

Dex-cool.....:o

That reminds me....I have that extend life stuff in my Merc...[dummy]

Running water and calgon or water dishsoap is minor at best, good for a coolant change to get all the old coolant out.

Don't think that's a flush though.

You need a cleaner to strip the buildup off the internal passages and the coolant side of the liners/cylinders. You want to renew those surfaces to new for maximum heat transfer. Soap won't even touch those type of buildups. Running water till its clear doesn't mean you've successfully cleaned the cooling system.





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Haha here's a pic if the gear I use. Each is for a different purpose. The penray 2010/2011 is what you want to actually CLEAN the cooling circuit. iirc the penray "kit" is 2015 for both powders. They are serious bussiness though. You need a respirator to work with them and chemical gloves.

http://tapatalk.com/mu/d15b6bf9-a85c-1ede.jpg

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Ok, but same deal Luke you cant release that stuff on the ground. You use a coolant recovery/filter system do you not?

http://www.calgary.ca/_layouts/CoCIS...s.aspx?k=sewer

Check with your local city bylaws for sewer use. Actually in Calgary you are not supposed to wash your car in your driveway/back alley, although in practice i wonder how often it is enforced! Ethylene glycol is actually highly biodegradable and breaks down quickly. The problem with flushed antifreeze is metals, such as lead and copper - but when it comes to the law its all about end-of-pipe concentrations. See Schedule A of the Sewer Service Bylaw, 24M96.

From the Drainage bylaw 37M2005, “Prohibited Material” means any Substance that may, directly or indirectly obstruct the flow of Water within the Storm Drainage System or may have a Negative Impact, and includes, but is not limited to:
(i) soil, sediment, waste or other solid matter;
(ii) fecal matter, Animal Waste, dead animals or animal parts;
(iii) cooking oils and greases;
(iv) gasoline, motor oil, transmission fluid, and antifreeze;
(v) solvents;
(vi) paint;
(vii) cement or concrete wastes;
(viii) sawdust, wood, fibreboard or construction material;
(ix) Yard Waste;
(x) pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers;
(xi) Biomedical Waste or General Medical Waste;
(xii) Hazardous Waste;
(xiii) Industrial Waste;
(xiv) soaps or detergents;
(xv) Water from hot tubs; and
(xvi) any Substance or combination of Substances that emits an odour.
(xvii) fish and other aquatic fauna and flora not authorized by the Director, Water Resources;

Ask an engineer.....[laugh] [laugh]

LOL!!... But Daniela is correct, you can't legally (nor morally) dump anything down the drain or onto the ground these days.

I will have to get on the phone & figure out what the various shops are doing.

I wonder if Rob (Winkdemon's Shop) does coolant flushes & what strategy he uses?