coolant flush 1998 aurora

I would like to flush the coolant on my 98 aurora but have never done a pressurized system before. Has anyone done this or should I just pay to get it done? It has the red coolant.It has 92,000 miles and has never been changed. Thanks

its really easy. there's a drain on the radiator on the drivers side you can't just see it you have to look in a hole on a metal bar, I forget what socket it takes but its plastic so be careful. drain the fluid, then just put your hose in the top and flush it out till its all clear water coming out. when you put your fluid in make sure you put those sealant tablets in cause you'll just leak the fluid all over (learned from experience) it has directions on the bottle of the tablets for that. good luck

Will that flush the whole system or just the radiator since the thermostat would be closed? Where do you get the tablets? Do you have to loosen any hoses or anything to get the air out of the system or does it just fill up? How hard is it to replace the thermoStat? Thanks for responding.

When I first bought my 97 Aurora I took it to the dealer for $95 to have the comlete system flushed and refilled since I didnt yet have my FSM and had no idea how to do it. Ive always done my own radiator flushes but those all had radiator caps on the radiator and my Aurora doesnt, I had no idea how to do it! Oh well, I will next time!


BKVic

GM Seal Tabs(crushed walnut shells and ginger)are meant to help fill imperfections with the porosity of the cast aluminum parts internally. Nothing on the service end would benefit from the addition of these into the system. Silverbullet had something wrong and the tabs clogged the passage. Good, clean connections with fresh hoses and quality clamps will ensure a leak-free system. Any trapped air will find its way to the top throttle body hose and into the reservoir. That's the way it's designed. Use a deep 19mm socket on the drain plug. Thermostat replacement is easy.$14.99 @ NAPA, comes w/o-ring seal. Goes between lower hose and water pump, in the black housing that comes out with two bolts. Hose flushing will get 90% of the system. It should be done more often than recommended. Once you do it and see how easy it is, the more you'll do it.

How much will I need to put back in the system after the flush? Should I take the thermostat out to hose flush or change it after? And I do not need the pellets right?Thanks for the input. It really helps alot.

13 quarts

Drain and flush first, then change thermostat, then refill. Buy two gallons each of Prestone Dex-Cool and distilled water. Seal tabs as a last resort for minor leaks only. Not a substitute for old hoses or bad clamps. Please read "Backflushing Coolant" and "Aurora Radiator Cap" threads on page 6 for more instructions.

Where is the proper place to tap into the coolant lines to do the flush? Which lines?

I don't disconnect anything, I just pull the drain plug and insert the pressure nozzle into the reservoir and it works fine.

So you do not recommend the sealing pellets? Why does it say on the underhood sticker to use it? Just wondering where you get your info. Thanks alot

It won't hurt anything, I just don't see the point of adding anything foreign to the system unless it's needed. I tried them, and it made a mess out of the whole thing. They come six to a pack and it's way too much. They turn the coolant into sludge. These cars run very hot without a real front grille opening, and I don't want to add anything that would slow down the flow rate through the radiator. I put them in to buy some time when my rad cracked. There is no recommendation on the packaging on how many to use, so I assumed all six. They are $4.50 at the stealer, so add three if it will make you feel better about it. Strictly my experience and opinion. I think it's more of a quick fix for mechanics when a customer comes back with small leaks but the system is holding adequate pressure. You have to ask yourself, if it was critical to the systems efficiency, operation or life, wouldn't it be part of the Dex-Cool formula?

Are the pellets something they recommend in all vehicles running dex-cool? I will try it without since I do not have them anyways. This will only flush about half the system anyway won't it? Thanks

If you spend a solid 5 min. flushing, you're going to get almost all of what's in there, out. Including the heater core. Dex-Cool's main feature is that it's silicate-free. Silicate attacks aluminum over time, so different silicate-free formulas are available from various makers for use in all-alum. engines. Toyota's formula happens to be red in color, it doesn't matter as long as you read the content label. I prefer Prestone. The tabs are an alum. safe version of the old sealant additives that contained clay and silicate. The under-hood sticker was probably a reminder for dealer mechanics, as the manufacturers assume a very small percent of owners of newer cars attempt their own maintenance. I have NEVER seen a PROPERLY MAINTAINED cooling system leak without a reason that required immediate attention. If yours does seep, disconnect the lower hose at the thermostat housing and drop in 3 tabs so they fall into the rad neck and it should take care of it w/o sludging everything up.

I just drained it and got out 6 quarts. I can only get 4 back in. There must be an air bubble or something keeping the other 2 quarts from going.

Don't worry, just flush thoroughly for 5 min. Two quarts spread through all the passages is not much. That's the reason for the $100 charge to have it done, they use an evacuation machine(vacuum)to pull everything out. Just do what you're doing once a year and you'll never have a problem.

I had a ford diesel truck you had to carck a radiator hose on to get the air out of the system and have heard of other vehicles that you had to burp to get all of the coolant in. That is why I was so worried about this system. I have had this car foe almost 50,000 miles and have not had any problems and am hoping to have it for 50,000 more. Does anyone have the 98 manual? If so what does it say about flushing and refilling the system? Thanks for the help.

Just one question. If there was any air at all in the system would it overheat or would you not know there was a problem until it was to late? I have it all done and it runs about a constant 180-190 degrees.

On the sealed systems like this they say to refill and place the AC control in any AC mode except max. and the temp to the highest setting. Allow the engine to continue to idle until the lower radiator to collant pump hose is hot. Cycle the engine speed up to about 3000 rpm and back to idle five times. Allow the engine to cool and check level again and fill with coolant. Remember to use distilled water and no more than a 70 30 mix. The upper two hoses are for the trapped air in the system it will self bleed itself.

Mine only has one upper hose from the tank to the air intake it looks like. I see in the owners manual picture it has 2.

97 and later only have one hose. Your temp is fine, and oldsdad's post is right on for procedure.

I have had this car for 42,000 miles and never had it leak a drop of coolant. I pulled the plug to drain it put the plug back in and filled it. I have not driven it 100 miles yet and I have coolant leaking from the bottom of my water pump. The first day it just dropped a 1 inch or so spot on the garage floor so I thought maybe it was just running off the frame but today there was about a 6 inch puddle. Are you sure the sealing tabs are not needed or do I have a bigger problem that just happened to come along the day after I put a gallon of new coolant in?

I drained mine over the holidays and went to the dealer parts and they gave me 3 of the tablets free replaced the thermostat at the same time havnt had a leak or any problems yet temp runs at 180 constant now. Only gets to 200 while idleing for LONG periods of time.

Go ahead and put two or three in, that's what they are for, "if a leak develops". Weeping waterpump housing is a sign of an eminent failure, but try the tabs now and monitor the area. A fresh thermostat made my car run ten degrees cooler also. A very good idea to replace every year with a drain and refill.

If the water pump is bad, how much is it and how hard of a change is it? Any tricks or recommendations?

If the water pump is bad, how much is it and how hard of a change is it? Any tricks or recommendations?


The actual changing of the water pump is pretty easy as you have lots of room around it after removing the air cleaner box but you DO have to have a special tool to remove the waterpump from its housing. There are some past posts here that tell where to get the tool and how much it goes for.

BKVic

Don't forget to notice the sticker under the hood about the GM Coolant Supplement (Seal Tabs). I flushed my system when I installed a new radiator and I did not add them. It caused a number of problems and I was loosing coolant. I did not know what was wrong until I noticed that sticker. I added the tabs and all of the problems went away. It comes new from the factory with the tabs added so I think its a good idea to add them even if the idea kind of bothers you like it did me. You will be more bothered if you don't add them.

Don't forget to notice the sticker under the hood about the GM Coolant Supplement (Seal Tabs). I flushed my system when I installed a new radiator and I did not add them. It caused a number of problems and I was loosing coolant. I did not know what was wrong until I noticed that sticker. I added the tabs and all of the problems went away. It comes new from the factory with the tabs added so I think its a good idea to add them even if the idea kind of bothers you like it did me. You will be more bothered if you don't add them.This is crap! What does "a number of problems" consist of? I would bet there are areas in there that need attention. I've looked under the hood of a few new GM vehicles and have never seen the residue of the tabs in any reservoir. The magic tablets make all your cooling system maintenance problems disappear, right?

The sticker under the hood says that it came from the factory that way. I don't know about EVERY new GM vehicle. But the Aurora and most northstar engines do (from inspection myself).

Regardless, that was my experience with it. I just thought I would share it.

I maintain my car religiously and I don't take any shortcuts. My water pump is near brand new. I took the car to an Oldsmobile dealer and they said that the system was in near perfect condition but that I just needed to add the tabs. They also said that if you don't add the tabs, it can mess up your system even more the coolant leaking through the seals and moving parts can cause increased wear.

The sticker says that the cooling system "Requires" the tablets. I think that is a pretty clear warning in itself. Probably not a good idea to ignor something like that.

I am just trying to save someone from having a problem. It is better in my opionion to have a healthy cooling system that meets factory specifications.

Also, according to the olds dealer, if you purchase a new car that requires the tabs and you flush the system without putting them in, you void your warranty on the cooling system. If the dealer inspects your system and sees that is does not meet the correct requirements, your warranty on the system will be void.

When I installed a new rad and hoses with new stainless hose clamps, I had zero leaks. There are only a few possible areas that CAN leak. I'm not disputing the sticker, I just have never heard of ground up walnut shells and ginger being required for warranty. The packaging they come in says nothing about being necessary either. I have a 97 and it only has the Dex-Cool warning on the sticker, I quess they added it later.

Indy I have a 96 and it does have the sticker stating cooling system needs the walnut shells and ginger. Maybe thats so if you over heat it will smell like christmas and mamas in the kitchen making cookies and pies NOT!! I do agree with you Indy as to if its done right you shouldnt need anything but a good coolant mix and you shouldnt have any leaks. I put the tabs in mine cause they were free and I dont have enought time to do it over just do it right the first time. I figure that if they were there when they made the car and its still fine at 100k then it sure cant hurt when I change it.

Will that flush the whole system or just the radiator since the thermostat would be closed? Where do you get the tablets? Do you have to loosen any hoses or anything to get the air out of the system or does it just fill up? How hard is it to replace the thermoStat? Thanks for responding.

You're supposed to take the thermostat out and reinstall the housing. Just don't forget to put it back after you flush

Yes the difference between Draining and Refilling. And Flushing is that the manual suggest removing the thermostat before Flushing.The manual treats them as two different procedures.

I am goin to do a flush and fill or a backflush. Not decided yet. But I had a quick question. The cooling system is VERY nasty. White sludge and just plain nastyness. I bought a bottle of cleaner for it. Does it have to say on the bottle if it is aluminum safe, or shoudl I assume it is if the bottle does not specify it is not ?
I have read a few of these procedures as far as the time and methods go. I was wondering if a simple drain and refill (even if for 15 - 20 mins) will clean out the system if it is really dirty. Or do I want to put a bottle of cleaner in there to de-gunk the really stuborn particulates ? Any other time I have ever done this, I have used a cleaner, even if I did not need it . . . maybe that is stupid, but I thought, its cheap and I cant hurt anything, only help. Any ideas or opinions welcome.

I am goin to do a flush and fill or a backflush. Not decided yet. But I had a quick question. The cooling system is VERY nasty. White sludge and just plain nastyness. I bought a bottle of cleaner for it. Does it have to say on the bottle if it is aluminum safe, or shoudl I assume it is if the bottle does not specify it is not ?
I have read a few of these procedures as far as the time and methods go. I was wondering if a simple drain and refill (even if for 15 - 20 mins) will clean out the system if it is really dirty. Or do I want to put a bottle of cleaner in there to de-gunk the really stuborn particulates ? Any other time I have ever done this, I have used a cleaner, even if I did not need it . . . maybe that is stupid, but I thought, its cheap and I cant hurt anything, only help. Any ideas or opinions welcome.

Sorry but please check the date and do not resurrect old threads per AF and our forum guidelines. See link below.

Click here (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=891499)

Just make a new post addressing the your issue or question. This thread has been closed.