Coolant Flush Recommendation

That mud could be oxidation in which case I think that you'd have to do a chemical flush.

Before you do anything, read my post titled DexCool - An Interesting Article. It may explain (or at last help to clarify) the "problems" associated with Dex-Cool.

Fair enough...But I think I'll repeat my question, "what is the best thing to flush a Dex-Cool system with?" Meaning what type of chemical, what brand, any specific procedures...etc etc,

yep...read it...good article. I get the possibility/probability of the antifreeze being contaminated. Still does not answer my question on what to use to flush it.....

I've never flushed a Dex-Cool system but for a regular system, I use Prestone Heavy Duty Flush. Why not ask your dealer or failing that, check on a Prestone or Texaco (manufacturer of Dex-Cool) web site?

"Eightupman" wrote in message news:KDmjb.12389$ snipped-for-privacy@twister.southeast.rr.com...

Q: How do I flush my cooling system and install a fresh fill? A: Using a chemical flush prior to the fresh fill of antifreeze/coolant is an effective way to remove deposits from the cooling system. Prestone offers several flushes that are designed for everything from routine maintenance to lime or rust scale. All of these cleaners are compatible with the cooling system components of any vehicle. We recommend the following: Use Prestone® Super Flush for routine maintenance. Use Prestone® Super Radiator Cleaner to remove corrosion and lime scale. Use Prestone® Heavy Duty Cooling System Cleaner to remove the toughest rust scale deposits. If the directions on each of these cleaners are followed correctly, the end result will be an empty radiator and mostly water in the engine block and heater core. At this point, use a mix of 50% to 70% Prestone® Antifreeze/Coolant and water. This is easily accomplished if you know the capacity of the cooling system. Example: If the owners manual of your vehicle indicates that the capacity of the cooling system is 8 quarts, then you need to install 4 quarts of pure antifreeze. Note: Once the desired amount of concentrated antifreeze/coolant has been installed, the cooling system must be topped off with water to ensure a complete fill. Prestone Products also offers a Flush N' Fill Kit for backflushing the cooling system. This kit fits some cars and most light trucks. This backflush will remove more deposits than the chemical cleaner alone. If you are able to access the inlet heater hose on your vehicle, we recommend that you use one of the cleaners and then backflush the system

I think flushing Dex-Cool out is just like flushing out any other coolant, I could be wrong though.

OK, how about the recycling power flush systems that a lot of service people are using now? Any opinions, good or bad?

depends on the tech that sets it up. inexperienced techs forget about the heatercore path. other than that, i don't think that machine is available for consumer rental.

-a|ex

Just my 2-cents: I've use this kit for many years on both my car and truck. The F/F kit is a good way to go IMO. Backflushing the system every two years is a no-brainer with this kit. As for flushing the cooling system, I'd use the Prestone product and follow the instructions.

One more thing: follow your vehicles recommended % of anti-freeze to water, the reason being; the temp sensor is calibrated to this %. I found this out the hard way. I used a stronger % in the car and afterwards it started illuminating the Temp light....what the?? After a few days of stress, I found out about the sensor calibration. I 'reconfigured' the % and all was well again.

Hope this helps.

Dave S(Texas)

I suppose the best way for the DIYer is to use the Prestone Flush n Fill kit and hope for the best!

"Eightupman" wrote

Frankly, I wouldn't use anything other then water. Unless you have a large buildup of "mud", flushing it out with water is just fine. We don't use any kind of chemical flush unless it's severe like the problem that occurs with the Jimmy's and Blazers.

Was your coolant level up? If it was up, I would suspect the sensor, if it was low, I would suspect the intake gasket.

Ian

Level was up. Dealer said the mud got onto the sensor, and deposited around the filler cap. I did some more research and think the cap may be bad. Since they system held pressure too, and the cap was not tested with the system, I might just go ahead and change it anyway. Cheap fix now, or pay loads later. Since the car is under warranty, for a few 1000 miles longer, I would THINK that they would rather fix any major problems so they could get paid via GMPP. They would run the risk of losing business down the road if they did not. (ie I would do the work myself) I already changed one intake on my friends Olds and it was not a bad job at all...so I would have no problems doing it again.