The thing that concerns me is we introduce the chemical into the degas bottle (not directly into the radiator). - posted in VX220 Discussion: As per title, I have just flushed my coolant and refilled it with 'Speed Flush' but haven't emptied it yet. As well as a new heater core. Experts recommend draining and replacing the antifreeze in your radiator every five years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. If it was my vehicle, I’d use the green stuff simply because it is cheaper and I would plan to drain and refill it more often than some people would recommend. Then I flushed the heater core again but this time I took the hoses off. After 4 to 6 years or after driving 40,000 to 60,000 mi (64,000 to 97,000 km), it’s recommended that you change the coolant in your radiator to keep your engine running well. You would have to leave your heater core hooked up though when doing this because those fittings are intended to tee in your garden hose to one of the heater core hoses. The time required for a radiator flush depends on the type of flush you use and the time it takes for your car’s engine to cool down completely. Replacing a few gaskets is much easier & less $$ than replacing the main engine bearings. No coolant leak from the head gasket. You should use whatever you want. Liquid flushes are also caustic, and you will need to take the proper precautions to guard against spills and splashes. You can accidentally breathe it in or it spreads to the skin and it causes chemical burns. Here is what a mechanic will do during a radiator flush: Leave the engine to cool: Your engine must be cool to perform a radiator flush. Mechanic refilling auto radiator. Serious crud comes from contamination and/or corrosion in the system, and both are signs of bigger problems on the way. Remove both hoses, turn the heat control flow valve to full on, and figure out a way to connect a garden hose to the outlet side of the core, turn on the faucet, and water and gunk will come out the inlet side. I’m pretty sure the heater core in your vehicle is made of aluminum. Had a coolant change come up and so used some plug material. i figured that there must be crap in the radiator that was circulating and blocking the heater core so i got some gunk brand radiator flush and poured that in the radiator. Disconnect both hoses from the radiator. However, having a few items on hand will make the process go even smoother. A warranty is likely not an issue with this car, so you should only use Dexcool if you plan to leave it in there a long time. In a 12 gallons system that equals up to 3 to 4 gallons of contaminated coolant or flush water left in the system. It prevents building up debris and rust that can clog the radiator. Just regarding the heater core inlet and outlet pipes alone, scraping the crud off the pipes’ insides doesn’t clear the crud off the core’s tubes… and if there’s that much crud in the heater core, I’ll bet there’s crud in the radiator too. BTW, it’s impossible to get all the flush product out on the first drain. Don’t use CLR or Lime Away in an automotive cooling system. Some of the flushes take longer than others. But sometimes antifreeze can build up as old coolant, rust, and scale deposits. The basic process is to put in the flush, turn on the engine to circulate the fluid, let the car cool, and then drain the flush. Refit the radiator pressure cap and turn the water on full. Today I drained the radiator,filled it with plain water, ran the engine for about 15 minutes then drained it again, I did that 3 times to get all that radiator flush out. Sometimes the buildup in the system is too much for a flush at which point you will need to seek professional help. There’s more risk than benefit otherwise. You should flush your radiator at least once a year. I flushed it a 3rd time using CLR,then plain water it worked for about 10 minutes than blew cold again. It does a throughout cleaning of the radiator’s inside properly. Powered by Discourse, best viewed with JavaScript enabled. Perhaps VW will recommend a particular flush agent they know is compatible. We recommend the following: Once you’ve determined that you need to flush your radiator and gathered the appropriate supplies, the next step is to drain the coolant from the radiator. There are several signs that indicate you need to flush your radiator. How long does a radiator flush take? …should i use the dex cool or keep using the green stuff that was in there? If the flush and the metal of your radiator are incompatible, the flush will do more harm than good. Can’t say for certain the flush product was the cause tho. Flushing your radiator is an important part of regular car maintenance. Make sure to follow the instructions on the flush's bottle to determine how long to let it sit, while paying attention to the car's temperature and making sure it does not overheat. Let this serve as a lesson to others that the proper way to avoid a clogged heater core is to routinely drain and refill the coolant at regular service intervals. The Zerex radiator flush will drain all of it out within five minutes. I just bought this truck and i noticed that the previous owner had put the green antifreeze in it, but it`s suppose to use the orange dex-cool. I poured it in when i was at the store and drove 30 minutes home, by the time i got home it was dark, so my question is will it hurt to leave it in the radiator until tomorrow? @tardrex, do us a favor will you, if you blow out any rubber hoses (radiator/heater) over the next couple of months, let us know. Close the radiator and reservoir caps. The time required for a radiator flush depends on the type of flush you use and the time it takes for your car’s engine to cool down completely. Lastly, any grinding or knocking engine noises or steam coming from under the hood could also indicate a problem with your radiator. Flush until the water runs clear. There was dried rusty crude inside the heater core pipes,i scrapped it off. And on the thermostat. Good for you. They both are effective and can clean your radiator, but they both pose different problems. running radiator flush through them is alright for a while but leaving it in there is kind of hard on the seals ,and yes i have seen it damage the seals in … Moreover, some signs or symptoms will show that your car needs a radiator flush. From recent experience of about 2 years, I had a mysterious and extremely slow intermittent coolant leak in an older car. The one in living room is an additional radiator so had to be plumbed in. The flush is used to clean out plugged heater cores and also removes coolants in a single flush. i figured that there must be crap in the radiator that was circulating and blocking the heater core so i got some gunk brand radiator flush and poured that in the radiator. Ran it until it got to temperature and then ran for another 15 minutes. Keep an eye on the coolant level and the coolant temp gauge as those leak plugging agents can sometimes work for a while, then start failing. When incompatable coolants are mixed [not flushing out the system completely], they can react forming a gel IF left in years without changing. If you’re still experiencing problems with your cooling system, you can try to do a second flush or take it into a professional. Once you’ve opened the reservoir cap, open the drain to let all of the antifreeze out. After overheating on I-95 TWICE and bringing it back to the chain place 3 times, Honda figured out that it needed a new radiator. I was planning on removing the t-stat and running a bottle of the Prestone flush stuff. Radiator coolant, sometimes called antifreeze, is the green, yellow, or orangish liquid that fills your car's radiator. You can use dexcool, the orange dexcool compatible Prestone or any major brand universal long life coolants. Close the caps and run the engine for ten minutes or so with the heater on full blast. Refill and drain several times to make sure it is all out of the cooling system before putting the final mix in. If you’re using a chemical that isn’t designed to be used as an automotive flush (like CLR), that’s a bad idea. Reader comment. Thanks! You can repeat the process if necessary. Powder flushes are powerful but have more risks associated with their use. It said to leave it in for 15 minutes and then drain and flush the radiator with water. Do this several times until the fluid that you see in your drain pan is as clear as water. 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