i pulled the lower hose filled and drained with water and coolant flush then filled and drained water about a dozen times with the truck running. then refilled with power cool
Best Method for Coolant Flush/Fill ?
- Thread starter TIM Z
- Start date
Another thing is, half the post say use drinking water and the other distilled water? What's power cool ?
normal water is fine.
power cool is was heavy duty commercial trucks use. it can be tested and take additives to recharge it when the protecting properties break down. you can also add a coolant filter that has charge packets in it that will only break down and release when they encounter a situation where they are needed.
very cool stuff. no downsides that i have found yet.
power cool is was heavy duty commercial trucks use. it can be tested and take additives to recharge it when the protecting properties break down. you can also add a coolant filter that has charge packets in it that will only break down and release when they encounter a situation where they are needed.
very cool stuff. no downsides that i have found yet.
Nice. I may see what they want for a gallon . was planning on stopping by anyway as our DD dealer is also the Allison dealer
detroit / allison thats where i get all my special stuff for inventing new shit 
As far as tap water, it should be fine to flush the engine with, but on the final fill you'll probably want to use distilled water, especially if you have hard water.
It's only like $1 a gallon, just pick up 5 gallons on the way to get the coolant and be done with it! I figure $5 is worth 100,000 miles of peace of mind :thumb:
It's only like $1 a gallon, just pick up 5 gallons on the way to get the coolant and be done with it! I figure $5 is worth 100,000 miles of peace of mind :thumb:
Before you pull the lower hose, loosen the "radiator" cap to make sure there is no pressure on the system then tighten it back up. Next get the clip out of the channel. Now carefully start to slip the hose back off the radiator, just enough that the coolant can start to drain. When you first pop the hose loose, there will be a big gush of coolant at first, but it should slow down pretty quick. You can now use the cap to regulate the flow of coolant. Loosen it a little to get more flow and tighten it back down to slow it. Obviously, you will want a bucket or some sort of catch pan under the radiator. It also helps if you put a piece of cardboard or something behind the hose to kind of act as a funnel to direct any water from splashing toward the back of the truck.
I was about to post the same thing. Either buy the 50/50 pre-mix antifreeze or use distilled water for the correct mix. You probably won't have an issue if you don't, but it is cheap insurance.
I would only use distilled water other then for the flush. The tap water is Socal is so bad it would trash radiators in our equipment in months.
i would use distilled water with new coolant, water treatment chemicals can screw up antifreeze properties. i have used shop vac to put suction on tank prior to removing hose or plug. use rope, bunge or kid to hold in filler opening.
Someone may have already pointed this out but after doing my flush this morning I realized that I may have missed an important first step. If you crank up the heat and get the valve open that lets coolant circulate into the heater core before you shut the engine off for the last time before you flush the coolant you'll get most of the coolant out of the heater core on your first drain. Some of the procedures I have read in the past don't mention this step so I thought I'd just chime in here.
Flushing coolant
I went with the Evans Waterless Coolant, but doing the complete drain out of ALL the water is a pain...The block drains are OK, but the radiator petcock is hard to get to. When all that is done there's still water in the large radiator hose so I cut the lower cross-over radiator hose at the lowest spot where it crosses the front of the engine, drained the rest of the water and used a short piece of 1-3/4" ID exhaust pipe to re-connect the hose..otherwise the ends of that large radiator hose are impossible to get to. It's a one-time fix for the coolant...interesting stuff.
I went with the Evans Waterless Coolant, but doing the complete drain out of ALL the water is a pain...The block drains are OK, but the radiator petcock is hard to get to. When all that is done there's still water in the large radiator hose so I cut the lower cross-over radiator hose at the lowest spot where it crosses the front of the engine, drained the rest of the water and used a short piece of 1-3/4" ID exhaust pipe to re-connect the hose..otherwise the ends of that large radiator hose are impossible to get to. It's a one-time fix for the coolant...interesting stuff.
Old thread here, but I am due for a coolant change and wanted to know how the Evans Waterless Coolant is working for you. May save me the PITA of changing coolant again in the future.
Racebob, I like your idea of cutting the hose and using a connection. It got me wondering if there was a product available. I bought this last year and been trying to find time to install it. I've been waiting to post until after I could speak with firsthand experience about it.
http://mfrindustries.com/
I finally found some down time over the holidays and got it done. It was a painless non-event.
To drain the coolant in preparation of installation, I poked the lower hose with a knife and them jammed a piece of air brake line in it. I used the air brake line to direct the draining coolant stream into a pail. By doing that, I didn't have to pull a lower radiator hose end off and dump that crap all over the floor or into a Walmart kiddy pool that I will have no other use for. I poked the hole in the lower hose at the location at which the new drain would be installed. Once the coolant had completely drained, I sliced the hose and trimmed the ends square and installed the drain. I used heavy duty "T" bolt style clamps like used on hydraulic return or suction hose. I ordered a few different size clamps to be sure I would have the right size on hand to complete the installation. The clamp that fit best was stamped 2.2"-2.32". The drain plug is 1/2"-20 thread. In fact, the supplied drain plug looks to be an engine oil drain plug for GM engines used for over 40 years and available at any Napa. It's nice to know that if I need to drain my coolant, it will be quick, clean and hassle free. I hate cleaning up anti-freeze mess from the shop floor.
Mike