OT how to flush my radiator, change the antifreeze

[Mr Pounder]

The brown plastic ring will fit into a groove.

[Tony Miklos]

The engine block holds a lot of liquid, in your case water from the flush. Remove a lower radiator hose to let more water out. Fill only with 100% anti freeze, the rest of the water in the engine will dilute it enough. Run the engine with the heater on hot to purge those hoses also. Test the anti freeze mix to see if it's safe for your part of the woods.

Maybe I should do mine in the 2000 chevy van. It's over it's 10 year lifespan (didn't hit 100,000 miles yet.

[mm]

Thanks.

and thanks to all who tried to help.

Today it took 2 or 3 more ounces and even though the Baltomoreans have confused me and 43 isn't cold at all, I decided to skip looking into the thermostat hole until I had a new thermosta. So I just drove and the engine didn't melt, glory be!

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[mm]

Wikip: "Pure ethylene glycol freezes at about -12°C (10.4°F), but when mixed with water molecules, neither can readily form a solid crystal structure, and therefore the freezing point of the mixture is depressed significantly. The minimum freezing point is observed when the ethylene glycol percent in water is about 70%, as shown below. This is the reason pure ethylene glycol is not used as an antifreeze?water is a necessary component as well."

"the increase in boiling temperature is due to pure ethylene glycol having a much higher boiling point and lower vapor pressure than pure water; " This is one reason ethylene glycol evaporates less than water. The antifreeze that evaporates more is alcohol. Does anyone still use that?

[Bob Villa]

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The fan belt (fan/alt./waterpump) belt!!! WFT At that point all you would need is the alternator...I guess!

[Jeff Thies]

You have clogged up the works, so to speak. Buy a can of radiator flush and run that through. Then disconnect the line running into your heater core and force water through that. You'll probably want to disconnect the lower radiator hose. You can also force water back through the upper radiator hose into the block.

I am not a mechanic. This is just what I would do.

Jeff

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[Jeff Thies]

See my other post on this. Seems like I am lucky to keep antifreeze in my car for two years running. In my '88, opening up the engine, and draining the coolant, is not as infrequent as I would wish!

Jeff

[mm]

I'm afraid that will make the radiator start leaking again. What do you think about that?

I drove this morning and though the engine temp went a little higher than before, with the new thermostat, the heater air the same, just somewhat warm.

[mm]

Yeah, but it's water that has been shipped half-way across the country. That makes it special water. Worth paying for.

When did you start top-posting? Cut it out!

[Bob Villa]

He never has bottom-posted...it's against his religion.

[krw]

Do they use Perrier?

[mm]

P&M

Yes, except for the chemicals (and maybe I can even use that if I end up bypassing the radiator) that seems like the right idea.

I started an in-depth search tonight for my shop manual and found it in 10 seconds, because the 2" wide yellow spine was showing, with Lebaron written on it. Had to be sitting down to see it.

It turns out the reason the engine didn't drain is that both input and output are at or near the top, unlike most engines. The input and output are in the well between the two halves of the V-6. (It's not going to siphon either, if it ever would, because I had the thermostat housing off.)

It turns out the heater hoses are nowhere near the thermostat, like they've been on my previous cars that weren't lebarons. They're at the other end of the side-mounted engine.

It's got 6 pages for diagnosis, that I've never read before, never looked at afaicr.

It says a plug has to be removed to drain the engine, ugh, but I"m more concerned with the heater core. I haven't read the engine section, but I"m not removing any engine plugs. A friend says they are stuck in anyhow.

It recommends reverse flushing for dirty systems and partial plugging, which is me, I think. Using air pressure, which I have very little of (the smallest size compressor that's bigger than a mere electric tire inflation pump), and a device attached to the themostat housing hose, when it, the upper hose, has been disconnected from the radiator. The themostat has to be removed for reverse flushing, it says, but... in the daylight, like you say I'm going to look for a way to disconnect the heater return hose, which in the sketch seems to be held on by a hose claim, and reverse flush with a garden hose, exiting throgh the petcock hole, or even the radiator neck. I may even get some of the engine, all of it if I flush long enough.

I have a device I bought 40 years ago that connects a garden hose to a metal petcock hole -- never used it so far -- and the narrow end may fit into that heater hose and then be tighened with the same hose clamp.

There is almost always more than one way to skin a cat.

First it recommends flushing, then reverse flushing, then using chemicals. Not that you should do all three, but expecting you to use the first ones if they will be enough.

In 1994, it recommends 50/50 for -38F, and 56 glycol/44 for -50F. -10 is about the coldest I've seen, in Chicago.

Hey, it even says what to do about the noise coming sometimes from my AC belt!!!

Sounds good. Thanks.

[mm]

Thanks. That sounds like just what I want.

That's what I've done when it's empty. It turns out this engine is different from all my previous engines. It's intake and exit are relatively high up, in the V between the two banks of cylinders. So it doesn't drain like other engines I've had did.