Radiator flush this weekend - Question
 

Do I flush the reservoir or the radiator first? I have read conflicting opinions and was hoping you guys had a more final answer.

Thanks,

What car is this?

Eric C. and I did this on my wife's Mini a while back. IIRC, we could never really get all the old coolant out. We drained, refilled, ran with the heat on, drained and refilled a few times.

2005 Mazda 6i.

I was going to drain reservoir, flush with distiled water, drain radiator, flush with distilled water, fill with antifreeze, and crank on the heater.

Anybody else?

when i did it (it's been awhile):

i would take the reservoir out and dump it. chevy truck, it was easy.

then i used that Prestone flush kit thing. it hooked to the heater hose, and you simply flushed it until the water ran clear. i would pull the lower radiator hose, which dumps everything. then fill with a 50/50 mix of whatever coolant is required with distilled water.

now, i dont think i would spend the $7 on that plastic bit. i would just disconnect the lower radiator and dump..and find the easiest heater hose disconnect it, and push my garden hose onto the end..i would expect to soak myself some.

a water professor told me once.."the best solution to pollution is dilution". i think that applies here perfectly.

On my old school El Camino I just drain the antifreeze into a bucket and re-fill with water. Then the little plastic gizmo snaps into the radiator fill and hooks to a garden hose refill with water. Fire up the engine and wait for the heater to start blowing warm so I know the thermostat has opened. Once that happens I kill the engine and open the drain valve and refill and repeat.

I just use 50% antifreeze & tap water. I flush my system every other year.

Last Thanksgiving I did a engine swap and I pulled the radiator out to get it out of the way. One of my buddies said I should get it tanked and flushed at a local radiator shop. I handed him a flashlight and told him to take a look. He was amazed at how clean it was.

Once I am done I put the old antifreeze into the bottle the new stuff came in and take it to the local recycle center.

The overflow tank on the Elky is real easy to remove and pour out and clean.

Cold water will close the valve. Best to pull it out of the system for the flush.

As far as the original question, it depends on the layout and connection of the resevoir. I have always drained EVERYthing, then flushed with regular water until no more coolant. THEN I flush with distilled and then refill with coolant and distilled at the needed ratio.

BTW, if you have access to Reverse Osmosis water, that is good enough.

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