No Mess Radiator Flush

C

CatMan1

Senior Member
Is there a way to flush the cooling system without making a big mess? I'm not afraid of a mess, but I don't want to get antifreeze all over (driveway, yard, street) where the law might not want it. I also will be changing the water pump around the same time.
 
Not sure if you are talking about draining but there is a petcock on the lower radiator pipe to drain the radiator?
 
chrs1961815 said:
Not sure if you are talking about draining but there is a petcock on the lower radiator pipe to drain the radiator?
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The draining I've got figured out. That shouldn't be a mess. Great system for that. I'm just assuming that if I'm flushing the radiator I'd probably have a hose or two off and get antifreeze everywhere?
 
There is no dainty way to do it. If you have HOA issues you might be better off going to a garage. If you are refilling with antifreeze there are several non toxic products. I use Sierra.
 
If you have side pans on your engine, where the radiator petcock will drain into it on the drivers side, take a rectangular plastic storage container and cut a hole in one side so it slides under the rear of the pan. Drain and Flush into the container as many times as necessary. I did this as I had to flush mine several times to get some black slime the prior owner had in it.
Then in order to catch any fluid and crap when pulling the hoses and replacing the water pump, get one of the cheap blue tarps from HFreight and put under the engine. It will catch and hold the remaining leakage when you pull the pump. I’ve also used a washing machine drip (about 2’x2’) pan as they will hold a gallon or so, and are shallow enough to work above them.
 
If you jack the front up a bit, you can put a 5 gal bucket under the back end of the engine pan and be nice and tidy. After that, flushing will be clear water and not bad on your driveway.
 
You can connect a small diameter "rubber" hose to the bottom of the drain petcock. Run the hose into a 5 gallon bucket and drain the coolant. Close petcock, fill with clean water, run engine for a few minutes, then drain again. Repeat until you are satisfied that the anti freeze is gone. Now you can take off the hoses and water pump without anti-freeze spilling all over the place.


Bob
 
The solution to pollution is dilution. If the coolant is drained, then the water from flushing will be nearly nil. You still have to figure what to do with the coolant that was drained. States and counties have different laws and some or no facilities to recycle.
 
Bob Johnson said:
You can connect a small diameter "rubber" hose to the bottom of the drain petcock. Run the hose into a 5 gallon bucket and drain the coolant. Close petcock, fill with clean water, run engine for a few minutes, then drain again. Repeat until you are satisfied that the anti freeze is gone. Now you can take off the hoses and water pump without anti-freeze spilling all over the place. Bob
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Ditto
 
Ditto with Bob Johnson in #7. I use a small flexible hose that fits over the petcock, runs down the engine pan and into an appropriate container. It's simple, easy, and no mess on the engine pan.
 
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