Hello! I had yet another question about my car as since I’ve done a bunch of work on it there are a few things I couldn’t really get a straight answer to like a coolant flush on my car, I just recently drained the anti freeze out of my car and replaced it with only distilled water *I did not flush the coolant that is in the engine block* and a cleaning agent to clean up the debris in there however something that I wasn’t too sure about is, with the cleaning agent should I take out the thermostat for the time that I run the engine with the cleaning solution or is it no problem to leave it in, along with another question is when I do flush the system out how would I get the remainder of the coolant out of the engine as to my knowledge a simple opening of the petcock drain doesn’t get rid of all the coolant from system, I live in NY and want to ensure that the coolant to water ratio isn’t off significantly from the 50/50.
Edit: I know that I could look at videos on YouTube however the issue is they show a simple flush by opening the drain and then refilling the system with a mix they don’t remove all the coolant from what’s left in the engine block.
What do you need cleaning solution for? Is it that grungy inside your radiator?
I would just drive around a bit to rinse out the engine, then drain everything out. Then add the appropriate amount of concentrate (look up your system capacity). Then top up with water. Use a $5 tester to check concentration.
When I bought the car 69k miles I noticed it had the original antifreeze fluid and saw in the reservoir small specks of rust but I figure I simple flush would fix it so I flushed the system at 71K, I am the type of person to worry little too much and figure I should use prestone flush+ Cleaner as I figured that the car sitting a lot of the time with the previous owner might have some crud built up within the system and I want to prevent any issue in the future. Keep in mind too that cooling system has no issue it’s just my nature to fix something before a problem happens
if your hoses and radiator aren't coated in a film of muck then I wouldn't bother with any cleaners.
Alright the thing is I already added to the system, it’s mixed with distilled water and water coolant was left in the engine block, should I worry when I flush the system that any cleaner is left in it?
Follow the instructions on the product label
Follow the instructions on the product you are using.
I usually remove the thermostat housing and used compressed air to empty the block of any remaining coolant. After a flush, I always use a new thermostat anyway. Be sure to set you heat setting to high. Why not just use pre-mixed antifreeze? Be sure to properly burp all the air out of the system on a re-fill.
Another question I have I just realized I poured in radiator cleaner rather than total cooling system cleaner, they both do the same right as my car does have a individual radiator cap rather it only has one cap for the entire system, and would leaving the mixture for a month be detrimental to the components as I have to leave for business and my car will be sitting while I am gone.