Just flushed my cooling system, observations. (1 Viewer)

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Like the title said, i just finished flushing the radiator/heater on my rig. I used the prestone flush kit ($3.95 at autozone) Not too bad once i plumbed everything. The hardest part by far was the fact that half of my hoses were weeping and had crystalized coolant around the joints. So i replaced them all with new hoses. Getting the old hoses off required many, many curse words a few cuts on my knuckles, and a knife. Once i finally got the old hoses off and replaced the new ones the rest of the process was a breeze. I followed B's writeup in the FAQ section. Also used e9999's pics to help make things clear. All in all if it weren't for the difficulty of the old hoses, i would say it's a :banana: job. BUT, because of the old hoses i will have to give it a :banana: :banana: rating.

Alex


EDIT: also wanted to add that i was soooooo glad i didn't find a hint of sludge. Actually the old fluid that came out looked as good as the fresh coolant going in. So i guess that's a good sign.
 
if you take an old screwdriver or flat piece of metal, and bend the (blunted) tip at an angle, you should be able to slide that under the end of the hose and unstick it fairly readily I would think...

glad to see you found no sludge!
 
i just did it on my 3 --

-- my advice, don't skip the block drain plug -- that stuff stays stuck in the block --

:D

e
 
:beer:

Did you take on the PHH?

I'll be doing the flush-the-green/change-all-the-hoses/fill-with-ToyotaRed gig next weekend.

Hopefully no sludge here, too! :eek:
 
e9999, i tried the screwdriver, but to no avail. The hoses were so bad they were basically melded to the piping. After i cut them off i took the T-fitting and had to scrap off some of the old corroded hose.

You are right eric, block drain is cruicial. I was surprised how much fluid was in the block. Took like 5 minutes for it to all drain out.

Now i feel much better about my summer excursions with the truck knowing the cooling system is up to par.
 
concretejungle said:
Block drain is cruicial. I was surprised how much fluid was in the block. Took like 5 minutes for it to all drain out.
CJ, hey can you please let me know/point wheres the exact plug on the block? Lots of people mentioned right on the driver side.But the other day i lifted the rubber flap (somewhere close to the oil filter) i just cant find any. Any helpfrom others welcome - thanks in advance
 
JerryLX450 said:
CJ, hey can you please let me know/point wheres the exact plug on the block? Lots of people mentioned right on the driver side.But the other day i lifted the rubber flap (somewhere close to the oil filter) i just cant find any. Any helpfrom others welcome - thanks in advance

with the tire as a clock, the drain-cock is at 1-o'clock from what i recall --

-- it's brass, and is the only one around there --

-- LH side --

e
 
erics_bruisers said:
-- it's brass, and is the only one around there -
Thanks Eric, will look into brass also i forgot is there any tool requirements to open it up? Wrench / socket #?

:beer:
 
Here you go, just went out and snapped a pic (yellow arrow points to bolt). Torque it back to 22 ft/lbs.
block_drain_plugarrow (Small).jpg
 
wow... that was quick than i thought - thank you sir :cheers:
P.S: Do you remember what size of socket/ wrench on that small nut?
 
Whodat, answer to your question is red. Red when i bought the truck at 100,000 miles.

Jerry, it's a 14 mm.
 
concretejungle said:
...half of my hoses were weeping and had crystalized coolant around the joints.

I'm curious as to whether this can cause noticeable coolant loss; were you having to add coolant regularly/intermittently?

Curtis
 
Nice pic concrete.
I had not heard of that plug.
I am planning on doing mine soon and was just going to run the system with distilled water to flush out any unwelcome gunk and replace the thermostat while I'm at it.
 
concretejungle said:
Getting the old hoses off required many, many curse words a few cuts on my knuckles, and a knife.
Alex
QUOTE]


When I first started working on my own trucks (97) I had to replace a hose on the rear heater in my 60. I doubt my skill are any better now but I have a decent sized scar on my thumb from too much force, a utility knife and 30 stitches as a reminder to use my head.
dmc
 
Save yourself some stitches (and curses) and buy a hose removal tool. It looks like a terminal pick (L shape hook), just a lot larger - cost only a few bucks.
 
CJF, i wasn't adding any coolant. To be honest, i'm not sure why they had seeped/weeped, almost as if something clogged the system and there was a sudden high presure; then the blockage passed and all was good resulting in a little weeping of coolant around some joints and some red crystalized coolant dried to the joints.

I have some hose plyers and i usually have good luck with them. Grab around the hose and twist to break them loose and then they usually wiggle right off. No go. For two of the hoses there is no way they would have pulled off, they HAD to be cut off.
 
concretejungle said:
CJF, i wasn't adding any coolant. To be honest, i'm not sure why they had seeped/weeped, almost as if something clogged the system and there was a sudden high presure; then the blockage passed and all was good resulting in a little weeping of coolant around some joints and some red crystalized coolant dried to the joints.

I have some hose plyers and i usually have good luck with them. Grab around the hose and twist to break them loose and then they usually wiggle right off. No go. For two of the hoses there is no way they would have pulled off, they HAD to be cut off.


Did you let the coolant drain onto the ground or did you try to collect it?
 
lcruzrlvr said:
Did you let the coolant drain onto the ground or did you try to collect it?


Luckily, my truck is just high enough that a 5gallon bucket fits perfectly under it. I would estimate i collected 90% of the fluid in the bucket with a little spilling onto the driveway. I just hosed the rest into the drain as antifreeze technically is biodegradable.
 

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