This is a great thread, I'll be honest and admit I didn't read it all but built my parts list from the first page, so maybe someone has already posted something like this. I already had my radiator out for replacement by the time I found this and decided to do the entire coolant system so I couldn't do a traditional flush, I didn't want to introduce any old coolant to the new radiator so I made some PVC adapters to hose connections and used a drill pump to push distilled water through the system. I've done a traditional flush to systems in the past and I felt like this was better since you're not flushing the system out of the small petcock at the bottom of the radiator. I'm sure there are some other options to do the same thing, but I had a lot of the parts already on hand, so I only needed to spend about $12 at my local Ace to get the rest of the parts I needed.
I did drain what I could from the block coolant drain plug, which is a mess if you don't find the perfect amount of threads to let it slowly drain. I found this guy's video and made my own tool out of a 3/8 extension to remove the plug,
, but you can also just buy one and not be impatient like me
https://amzn.to/48MgylTI. I also removed the thermostat. I did not put any sealant on the drain plug when I reinstalled it since I knew I would be removing it again to drain any of the distilled water out of the block, from what I could tell this did not leak while I was flushing the system. I did reuse the thermostat housing gasket and that did leak, but was minor.
I pushed the distilled water from the bottom hose to the top to make sure the whole system would have the potential to be filled. I really won't know if the heater core flushed fully doing it this way, but I'll know when I replace the water pump and pull that hose off, if not I'll flush that separately.
Video of the system
Picture of the full system
1 1/4" Lower Hose
1" Upper Hose
Flow Chart
- Clean bucket full of distilled water
- Hose
- Drill Pump, note the flow direction on the pump.
- Shut off valve
- This came in handy when I refilled my clean bucket. I shut the valve before I stopped pumping to keep the system full.
- female to female hose
- You can also use a regular hose if you used the optional parts list below
- 1 1/4" lower radiator hose adapter you just made
- engine
- 1" upper radiator hose adapter you just made
- hose
- waste buckets
Parts List
Here's a parts list with some links if anyone is interested. I was able to get everything from my local Ace hardware stock, but if you're like me and like pictures before heading to the store this will help.
1 1/4" PVC Adapter for Lower Hose
- 1 1/4 Inch x 3/4 Inch Slip X Slip PVC https://amzn.to/3S9cjvi
- PVC Hose Adapter with 3/4-Inch Male Hose Thread and 3/4-Inch PVC Pipe Glue Connection https://amzn.to/4aOuei4
- 3/4" PVC Pipe https://amzn.to/41XY9k0
- I used scrap pieces for this, and only needed about 6 inches, but it's always nice to have some extra
- This can also be used for the Upper hose as well
- Hose Clamp
- The factory hose clamp will not fit over the adapter
Optional 1 1/4" PVC Adapter for Lower Hose setup (this would eliminate the need for the female to female garden hose)
- PVC Hose Adapter with 3/4-Inch Female Hose and 3/4-Inch PVC Pipe Glue Connection https://amzn.to/48hL6fv
- 1 1/4 Inch x 3/4 Inch Slip X Slip PVC https://amzn.to/3S9cjvi
- 3/4" PVC Pipe https://amzn.to/41XY9k0
- I used scrap pieces for this, and only needed about 6 inches, but it's always nice to have some extra
- This can also be used for the Upper hose as well
1" PVC Adapter for Upper Hose
Drill Setup and other items
- I used 10 gallons of Walmart's finest distilled water. You may want to buy more, but I wouldn't buy less.
- Drill
- I used a cordless Dewalt drill, worked perfectly. Make sure you have a fully charged battery or at least a spare on hand.
- Container for clean distilled water, I used a clean 5 gallon bucket
- Container for waste fluid, I used 2 dirty buckets.
- Hose shut off https://amzn.to/3Sct0WP
- Drill Pump https://amzn.to/3Ha72x0
- I needed 3 sections of hose
Lessons Learned
- I did not think about the female to female hose I would need when buying my parts initially. Luckily I had a short hose I didn't care much for and a female fitting I could install on it. If I did it over again I would use the optional lower hose parts list above. I already had the lower adapter made and had the parts on hand to get it working in the garage so I didn't bother redoing anything. A lot might depend on what you have lying around that garage too.
- I reused the thermostat gasket thinking it may leak and if it did it wouldn't be that bad. Of course, it did leak. I purchased a Fel-Pro thermostat gasket for the rebuild and noticed my thermostat came with a new gasket as well. I do wish I had installed the new gasket that came with the new thermostat and then used the Fel-Pro on the final installation.
- I had purchased 10 gallons of distilled water and it was coming out clear when I pulled the hose out of the waste bucket, but I think I would have felt a little better running another 5 gallons through the system since the distilled water is so cheap.
