Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

But, what I'm getting at is my way of flushing/backflushing through the upper radiator hose/thermostat housing (with thermostat removed) allows you to clear the entire system WITHOUT having to have the engine running, I start every flush cycle by removing the petcock and flushing water through the cap till it comes out clean in the petcock then move to the upper rad hose (draining out the petcock) then from the thermostat housing (draining out the petcock) then I reinstall the petcock and flush the whole system (hose in upper rad hose till whole system has dumped out the thermostat housing then back the other way) no reason to waste fuel running the car.

I did the degreaser over the weekend (Purple Power, as it is what I had around the house) and here is a sample of what came out (kinda hard to tell but there is a pile of crap in the bottom), it's definitely getting a lot more crap washing out at each flush now then when I was just using the cascade.

for the degreaser flush I did the half gallon of degreaser and ran it for a couple minutes to get the degreaser all through the system then let it sit and cool (giving the degreaser time to do it's thing) then did my flush procedure, I've done one cascade flush since the degreaser flush and I'm getting A LOT more crap out then before the degreaser.

update: here is a pic of the sample I took from the first cascade flush after doing the degreaser, as you can see my system has a lot of crap in it, that will likely take many more flushes to clear out keep in mind the only things that went in was clean water and cascade powder, there hasn't been any anti-freeze in the car for about 2 weeks now so that color is coming from the crap coming out of the system.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Oh yea......back flow is good. When I had my old 427ci I stuck a hose into the larger heater core hose and blasted the hose water. The water went through the heater core and came blasting out the upper radiator hose that was unhooked.....I was surprised how fast it went through. It was totally clean, but I did it to after a good flush.

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Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

finally starting to see some real progress since that degreaser flush, here is what it looked like after rinsing out today (second cascade flush since degreaser flush).

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Must have been dirty........looks decent now.

I'm personally going GREEN anti-freeze. Soon as I get home from Kuwait in 4 weeks I'm gonna flush it real good and put green back in.

I have maybe 10 guys here locally with LSx engines and they have all gone green stuff over the past few years.......they all have reported cooler temps and no chance of the Dexcool mess.

I've never had an issue with Dexcool......but to run cooler with the green stuff....I'm switching over. Plus now I have an iron LSx engine that's getting boosted, so the cooler the better.

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Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

the brown stuff you see on the fins was coating every surface inside the rad completely, now I can see the black of the plastic through that whole area now.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

How much degreaser do we use? I saw a 1 gal & a 2.5 gal Simple Green in Home Depot.

Daniel Richards

iTrader: (1)

I did half a gallon and diluted with water to fill the system, ran it for a few minutes (without the thermostat) then shut it off and let it sit for 10-15 minutes then came back and drained it and rinsed everything best I could.

Carguy8888

iTrader: (1)

Ty that helped.

2002 Trans Am

How much fluid does the entire coolant system consist of?

I drained the radiator and refilled, it was about 1.3 gallons. I'm curious what the balance is in the block, hoses, and heater core

Stan1911

Subscribed.........doing mine in a few weeks.

DriveitlikeIstoleit

Ok, I'm getting ready to do this after running into some problems with my PS cooler!

It may seem like a dumb questions, but where in the hell should 15-20 minutes worth of coolant contaminated water drain to, especially when the car is laid-up in the garage?

Also, what is the risk of not having enough/ having too much water flowing through while the engine is running? I have visions of destroying my engine when I do this.

2002 Trans Am

I drained my coolant into a pan and then put it into a jug. Some people have died accidentally drinking coolant, make it clear that it isn't kool aid.

It's pretty hard to run too much or too little. Just connect the hose to it and let it run...if it's pouring out the top, too much, if it's not pouring, add a little more until it starts spilling, then back it down a little. You'll see a nice steady stream out the valve.

Your risk with no water is overheating the engine and breaking something serious. Too much water shouldn't be an issue as it spills around your engine bay

DriveitlikeIstoleit

Thanks, that's what I figured about the fluid levels, it's always good to get some assurance.

As far as the draining, how often are you changing out pans/jugs? I'm thinking that's got to be a steady flow for 15-20 minutes and a PITA to sit there and continuously swap... and a LOT of jugs needed...

LWCS561

iTrader: (1)

So I've got a question....a while back i put in the radiator stop leak, and it looks like it coated the inside of the radiator. I want to do a flush, but how do I get this stuff out of there? Will simplegreen work as well for that?

DriveitlikeIstoleit

I would think so. This flush process seems pretty thorough.

DriveitlikeIstoleit

So I went to do one of these flush procedures yesterday and found out my thermostat and thermostat housing are one piece. I'm assuming someone like me would have to have a spare thermostat housing to do a flush like this?

I said F-it and, rinsed out the radiator, stuck the garden hose in the radiator hose until it came out clear, and filled up the radiator with coolant... boy do I see a lot of PS fluid floating around in there. Yeah, this was far from a solid attempt to flush, I know.

How long does it take air to work itself out of the system and the radiator to stop dropping in level? I fill it to the base of the neck, start it up, and throttle up a bit while I'm bleeding the air out of my PS. After a round of that, it's about an inch low in fluid in the radiator...

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

There is no such thing as a One Piece t-stat........they are all TWO piece. I have the same one you have that many people think is a one piece.

If you push down on the two little tabs and then twist....the t-stat pops out of the mount. It can be replaced with a new t-stat. I've replaced my t-stat twice in the past 14 years....same t-stat housing.

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LS6427

iTrader: (2)

You can get all the air out in a matter of minutes. All of it.

You need to wait till the t-stat opens and then watch the level drop down in the radiator....then IMMEDIATELY top it off with water/coolant. Then as the t-stat closes, that flow will stop. Then you need to simply wait for the t-stat to open again and watch to see if the level drops again.......then top it off. If you this two times it should be done....sometimes it takes a third time.

Works every time......the first time.

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dailydriver

What is the brand, and part number (for a 180*) for this replacement t-stat??

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

A 180* is what I use.....but man it was like 5-6 years ago. I have no idea what the part # is. I cant even remember if I bought it at Advance, NAPA, PepBoys or Autozone.

I'll try to find it......

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