Learn me: Coolant Flush

Is this even worth doing at home, or should I just take the car somewhere to not have to deal with catching the old stuff pouring out of the motor and disposing of it?

Last time I tried changing the coolant on a car, turns out I really just did a drain/refill, not an actual flush so I could use some tips or just tell me to take it somewhere.

Car in question this time is 2009 Hyundai Accent. 60k miles, due for its first change of coolant. 5.7 qt cooling system capacity.

Yep, drain the radiator, thats easy I can figure that out.. So then there's still water/coolant in the block, there is no block drain. I've read a few ways to flush that out, half-way understand that (more on that later), but sounds like there's going to be a lot of water running through/out of the motor, my biggest concern is catching it as it continues to pour out for a few minutes....as in, jesus christ how many buckets will I need?

Is a kit such as this one worth getting just to make this easy now and in the future (next change interval is 30k miles, probably will be in a year) http://www.amazon.com/Prestone-AFKIT0-Universal-Flush-Fill/dp/B000CCFY5W

Tell me what I need to know GRM. I would rather do it myself because this car has been maintained by me since I got it and I'd like to keep it that way. Going to do my first timing belt evah this weekend on it (don't worry I have a very good DIY guide with lots o pics so I am confident)

I use the garden hose adapter kits, drain what I can into a bucket, and then rely on the 100 gallons that is flowing into the drain with what's left to dilute it.

LOL

I just watched a Prestone DIY video on using their Super Flush stuff.

It was basically...
Drain radiator
Add super flush and top off system with water
Run till car is hot, let cool, drain radiator
Top off system with water.
Run till car is hot, let cool, drain radiator
Add 1/2 system capacity of 100% coolant, top off with water..enjoy!

I was immediatly thinking "But what about the liquid thats left in the block after the last drain!" But then I realized that its basically just water. So thats part of the 50% water once you add the coolant and water back in.

I will probably do it this way.......see we gots well water at my property and I don't think I want that stuff seeping into the ground..?

Maybe if I watched this video first I would not have even posted.

^^^ Thats what I do.

Messy but fun.

Drain the radiator. Then disconnect the upper and lower radiator hoses. Disconnect the heater hoses if you can. Remove the thermostat.

Now you can push garden hose water through everything, in both directions. Use an old t-shirt to sorta seal the hose to the hole.

Best done on a warm summer day.

A Hyundai with 60k miles doesn't need a flush. Drain and refill would suffice, imo.

foxtrapper wrote: A Hyundai with 60k miles doesn't need a flush. Drain and refill would suffice, imo.

Me too.

Me three. It's a nasty job, and this is the cleanest way to do it. Damn these modern cars: It doesn't feel like were doing our job if it doesn't require a bloodletting to maintain.

ah these lil cheap cars are easy and simple to work on. or at least this one is.

RE: Drain and refill only.......I take it most of the fluid capacity is in the reservoir, radiator, and hoses etc, not the block...so this is basically changing most of it out anyways?

All that being said, if the "flush" is just routine maintenance, not a big deal if you don't replace every drop. Your still better off than the 90% of people who only change their coolant when a cooling system part fails.

If it was contaminated, then a comprehensive flush is needed.

I had a friend with an 80s Ford Exploder 2.9 liter that overheated often. I began her flush with 10 empty gallon iced tea containers to store it all, but I used a large oil drain pan(not used for oil) to catch it all.

I used very little chemical, since she had a shop do a "flush" before.

What I did... pulling the lower hose off each time to drain with some force all the coolant in the rad and the block. After each time, I'd fill with tap water, get it to hot, and I'd shut it down, remove the hose (I have 14" long hemostats) I'd pull the hose off and rapidly allow the hot coolant out. I did this 7 times!

In the end I was able to get about 3 quarts of debris out along with the 7 gallons of flushed water. Her Exploder never over heated again

What we do here at the dealership is add BG Coolant Flush to the cooling system and let it run for a while at operating temp. It breaks down all the lime, rust, and all that trash. Then we hook it up to a machine that pressure flushes the cooling system and forces all that crap outta there and fills it with new coolant at the same time. Then we add the BG System Sealer that seals little pinhole leaks that can occur in older vehicles after the rust and stuff gets flushed out. Never had a complaint and works great. We have had to use Prestone Super Flush before on a vehicle that simply would not completely flush, kept getting chunks of debris coming out during the flush. That helped a lot, but the BG stuff normally does great.

There have been times when I could not find any of the flushing agents. I figured it got E36 M3 canned along with the good carb dip.

I just did this on my POS 150k mile '02 Impala which had a miserably disgusting mud brown coolant using the Prestone Super Flush stuff. It's got a leak in the radiator endtank, so I've just been adding straight water for last 2 years and the system was corroded and rusty and left brown puddles everywhere I'd park. The flush actually did a damn fine job of cleaning out the system. Now when the water leaks out, it's just plain clear water again.

I just did a coolant flush on our Volvo 850, but Volvo was kind enough to put a drain valve on the block that even has a hose nipple, so it was pretty easy.

Ten years of BMW's and VW's has made me picky about coolant. I only use factory spec coolant and distilled water.

When I flushed the Volvo to get rid of the green crap, I drained the system, then refilled with straight distilled water, ran the car until the stat opened, then drained it again. I repeated this until the drained coolant was clear. Then I refilled the system with 50:50 coolant and distilled water.

Distilled water is $1/gal at the supermarket. I used about 4 gallons during the above process. A small investment, IMHO.

Ian F wrote: I just did a coolant flush on our Volvo 850, but Volvo was kind enough to put a drain valve on the block that even has a hose nipple, so it was pretty easy. Ten years of BMW's and VW's has made me picky about coolant. I only use factory spec coolant and distilled water. When I flushed the Volvo to get rid of the green crap, I drained the system, then refilled with straight distilled water, ran the car until the stat opened, then drained it again. I repeated this until the drained coolant was clear. Then I refilled the system with 50:50 coolant and distilled water. Distilled water is $1/gal at the supermarket. I used about 4 gallons during the above process. A small investment, IMHO.

Yep I run distilled too. Tap water is just asking for mineral buildup to occur.

^ there are people that would disagree with that notion, "tap water is just asking for mineral buildup to occur". some people postulate that without any minerals to be oxidized(?) in the water that the block and cylinder head become more corroded. i invite others to research the topic and reach their own conclusion.