cooling system flush

question: any time in the past when i have flushed my cooling systems i would always pop off the thermostat housing remove the thermostat , put the housing back on and run water through it till it come out clean. My question is does anybody have any tricks on how to do this when on the 2002 5.3L (i am sure others as well) the thermostat is part of the housing. how do i flush my system now?

Not a qualified mechanic, but you may just have to let the motor run until the thermostat opens on its own. it should work, but may take longer to acheive the same results.

Well, im not exactly sure what you mean by it being "part of the housing" but, if you bought a new thermostat, can the old one be "gutted" leaveing the mounting surfaces in tact, to allow water to flow through to flush the engine?

Well, im not exactly sure what you mean by it being "part of the housing" but, if you bought a new thermostat, can the old one be "gutted" leaveing the mounting surfaces in tact, to allow water to flow through to flush the engine?

You know on older chevy engines, you could replace just the thermostat and gasket. ON the new ls1 engines, you must replace the thermostat and the housing, they all come as 1 piece now.

You know on older chevy engines, you could replace just the thermostat and gasket. ON the new ls1 engines, you must replace the thermostat and the housing, they all come as 1 piece now.
i have thought of gutting one too.i guess thats the only way i am going to be able to flush the system.just thought i would ask to see if anybody had any tricks other than spending the money on a thermostat that i really dont need (old thermostat is good...dooing routine maint. flushing system)just to gut it.thanks for all the input guys.

You know on older chevy engines, you could replace just the thermostat and gasket. ON the new ls1 engines, you must replace the thermostat and the housing, they all come as 1 piece now.

Wonder what screwed up engineer came up with that stupid idea?

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i would ask to see if anybody had any tricks other than spending the money on a thermostat that i really dont need

You might want to call a junkyard first if one is close enough.

Here's an idea, let the engine run until the thermostat reaches its operating temp..then flush it with the drain-cock on the bottom of the radiator. I've done this to a Oldsmobile before and it worked great. That way you don't have to even remove the thermostat.

what about the flush kits that mount in-line in a heater hose? You would still have to warm the engine up but you might not have to gut a thermostat/housing to flush the system.