Coolant Flush Nightmare
11-13-2006, 12:15 PM
#1
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Coolant Flush Nightmare
Me and two of my friends helped me last Friday with flushing my coolant. Well one of my friends stripped my drain bolt for the radiator while we were in the middle of flushing it out with water. The radiator was completely filled with tap water and there was no way to get it out. So I called a couple of dealerships to get a new drain plug and went to pick one up at the last minute. But the drain plug looked nothing like the one I had. The new drain plug had a tube connected to it so that when you twist the **** 50% the fluids will come out. I have a 03 so this is something they recently came out with. I get home and we try to figure out how to get the striped drain bolt out. No luck, so we ended up unclamping the hose from the bottom of the radiator to the engine block and got all the water out. Now the only way to drain the radiator is from the radiator hose to the engine block.
The only thing I didn’t end up doing was draining the block. When I filled the radiator and reservoir, I idled the engine at 3K for 10 seconds 3 or 4 times. After 10 or 15 minutes of the engine running, the fan turned on twice as loud. Then the temperature gauge went to 80% hot and the fluid in the reservoir was bubbling to the top. So I shut the engine down fast and let it cool off for 5 minutes. Then I turned the engine on again and idled the engine again with the AC on, then with just the fan. It didn’t overheat again, but I was shocked and scared at the same time. Nothing was leaking and everything was fine.
Should I be worried, should I have drained the block?
The only thing I didn’t end up doing was draining the block. When I filled the radiator and reservoir, I idled the engine at 3K for 10 seconds 3 or 4 times. After 10 or 15 minutes of the engine running, the fan turned on twice as loud. Then the temperature gauge went to 80% hot and the fluid in the reservoir was bubbling to the top. So I shut the engine down fast and let it cool off for 5 minutes. Then I turned the engine on again and idled the engine again with the AC on, then with just the fan. It didn’t overheat again, but I was shocked and scared at the same time. Nothing was leaking and everything was fine.
Should I be worried, should I have drained the block?
11-13-2006, 12:30 PM
#2
The system was "air locked" meaning that your water pump was not moving the coolant. By shutting off the engine, You relieved the pressure, and the air should have escaped through the radiator.
The only reason to be worried would be if your engine had overheated, and 80% on the gauge is still in the safety zone.
The only reason to be worried would be if your engine had overheated, and 80% on the gauge is still in the safety zone.
11-14-2006, 02:35 PM
#6
You use a tap and die set to rethread the opening but if the threads are to damaged you won't be able to reuse the plug. You will have to get a bigger plug as stated above.
...and next time don't use faucet water. There are to many minerals in it. Go to any drug store or walmart and get distilled water.
...and next time don't use faucet water. There are to many minerals in it. Go to any drug store or walmart and get distilled water.
Last edited by whitetrack; 11-14-2006 at 02:43 PM.
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