Flushing Cooling System

[Rambo]

My Fiats cooling system is due for a flush as it has not been flushed in 10 years of sitting. I would like some advice on the procedure for this. I think the basis of it is taking the lower radiator hose off and draining it then put it back on then take the external stat off and shoot some water down those pipes. I need to figure out a way to not get water all over my engine while flushing it. What kind of coolant is recommended for these cars? To bleed it i plan to jack the front up and pour into the radiator and over time let it self bleed. I've heard that you have to idle it and top it off after the stat opens. Any thing else i need to know?

[TX82FIAT]

I think you can look up the entire procedure. Is the engine cooling well and not overheating now? If the system is functioning, a basic flush and replace should really help. You will have one or two draining points depending on what type of radiator you have. there is a draining point on the block under the exhaust manifold and should be one on the bottom of the radiator. I would drain the entire system using these two spots. The cooling system is a high pressure system so putting a hose in the top of the radiator and forcing water through the system to flush anything out is always a good idea. I flush my car every two years. They sell a flush kit at the local auto parts store if you think you want to do that as well. I would stay away from any product with acids in it because of aluminum head and old rubber bits. After flushing a few times until the water runs out of the car clear. Drain and refill with a 50/50 mix. I've never been real concerned with the brand antifreeze. More the mix to be as close to 50/50 as possible. I usually jack my car up or park on a hill before starting the process in order to properly fill and burp the system.

[KevAndAndi]

Do yourself a favor and go to the auto parts store (or Amazon), buy a Prestone T kit for a few bucks, and splice it into your heater hose. That gives you a couple of things: (1) a connection point for your hose and (2) a high point for filling and burping the system.

As far as avoiding a mess is concerned, I went to the hardware store and bought a rubber hose that fits onto the Prestone T kit's radiator spout attachment. That enabled me to direct the flushed water away from the car. (The outlet for a Prestone T flush is the top of the rad.)

[DieselSpider]

Some of the top coolant makers such as Engine Ice reccomend cleaning with a mix of distilled water and plain old white vinegar followed with a few flushes of distilled water. I take out the thermostat and use a shop vac to evacuate the system.

Coolant along with brake fluid really needs to be flushed out every two years minimum and annually under extreme usage.

[mattyd7]

I would second adding the Prestone flush tee to the top hose. I did that last week and made it all so much better. It is so easy to refill the system and no have any air pockets. When I read all these procedures people have to burp it and taking time to do and redo it, it seems nuts because with the tee it took me about 5 minutes. I use the procedure on Vick Autosports and that works really well. Open the radiator and tee. Slowly fill the radiator until it tops off. Cap the radiator. Fill the tee until it is full. Close the tee. Squeeze all the hoses like 10 times. Open the tee and top it off again. Close the tee. Start the car and see if everything works and the fan comes on. No need to worry about jacking up the front or running it with the radiator open, etc.

[TX82FIAT]

+1 on the T in the heater hose. Also, I don't think I mentioned. Make sure the heater is open when flushing the system.

[Rambo]

The coolant is doing fine right now have been driving it pretty regularly just need to flush it. How much coolant does it normally take? Where at do i need to mount this flush T?

[KevAndAndi]

I have to say I don't even bother with the hose squeezing. I have Mark's billet aluminum throttle body heater plate, which has an air bleeder screw (the TBH is quite high in the system). So I fill the rad, close it, open the bleeder screw and the T cap, fill at the T, s-l-o-w-l-y, close everything up, run the engine, and then top up. There's also the bleeder screw at the coolant T, next to the coolant temperature sensor, that some people use.

[KevAndAndi]

The coolant is doing fine right now have been driving it pretty regularly just need to flush it. How much coolant does it normally take? Where at do i need to mount this flush T?

Capacity is about 2-1/8 gallons (8-1/2 quarts).

The Prestone flush T goes at the highest point in the system, which is the heater hose attached to the back of the head, near the firewall.

[DaveT]

Ditto on the Prestone Tee. Installed one when I first got my car years ago and filled the entire system from the Tee. Just intalled Mark's aluminum radiator today and did it again. No problems.

[DieselSpider]

Unless you convert to water-less coolant such as Evanscool then even a car sitting needs to be flushed every two years. Remember Marks posted pictures of what can happen internally as corrosion takes place inside the engine.

Its not the color of the coolant that you can see in the overflow tank or the top of the radiator or even its hydrometer readings that you have to worry about, it is what you can't see deep inside that you won't really know about until it already too late.

[TX82FIAT]

I agree with flushing every two years for sure. However, if the car is not overheating, and it sound like it is not, I would not do anything more than base chemical flush. And then several flushes with water. Prestone makes a good kit you can hook to the "T" if you install. The "T" is only a few bucks. A flush kit is only a few bucks and a flush chemical a few bucks. An once of prevention for a car that is not already overheating. If you use a chemical flush, I would again stay away from anything with harsh acids. I used a product called "no-rosion" on an older car with aluminum heads with no ill effects. Aluminum will react with acids.

[Rambo]

Thank you guys so much for the help. When i fill the radiator up do i fill it to the very top?

[TX82FIAT]

Yes, keep pumping coolant into the system and also fill the overflow tank up to the min mark. This is an expansion system where when the car is really hot the coolant pressure is sufficient to push a spring in the rad cap letting overflow go into coolant tank. As the car cools it draws the coolant back into the system from the coolant tank. Filler all the way up in an effort to get "all" air out of the system. This is why some folks will fill it from the high point and squeeze the hoses while running cycles to purge or burp any air in the system. It is also why the heater must be on and open to move the coolant out of and into that system so air is not trapped.

[bdinardo]

Upon filling up the radiator, I could only fill it up about 3/4 of a gallon. I squeezed all of the hoses but couldn't really get much more than 3/4 of a gallon. Is this normal and should I just start the motor and let it cycle or do I need to do something different to get more in before starting the car? I'll likely buy and install a "Tee" piece for the back of the head heater hose to fill there as well. Thanks.

Brian