96 Blazer Radiator Flush Problem!!!!

[Rick1488]

Hello,
It was a borning day so I started acting like a mechanic and fixing some stuff on my truck and I decided to do a complete flush of cooling system before winter because the fluid looked rusty. I went to meijer and bought a flush kit hooked the guarden hose up to the T I installed removed the plug and began the flush everything went good until I went to refill the radiator. It's only taking 2 qrts of peak max life 50/50 and have no idea why!! I let the engine get hot so it would suck the fluid into the block, but when I put more antifreeze into the radiator it throws it back into the over full tank. I'm completly lost and thinking about just cutting my loses and bringing it in. as I no longer have any hair on my head and was almost ready to cry.

I feel like a complete idiot as nothing ever goes right for me. I would really appreciate your input on this.

P.S how much fluid is the truck supposed to take anyway??

[Jeremy Fitch]

Did you remove the lower radiator hose or open the valve on the radiator after you flushed it to drain the system? I'm sorry its really hard understanding what you mean, and yes it should hold 11.9 quarts when completely empty.

When you run the truck is the thermostat opening and pulling water through the system? You can verify this by watching the temp gauge and seeing it get over 200 and then drop back to around 190.

[Rick1488]

I'm sorry I wasn't clear in my post so, to remedy that I'll post everything I did step by step to avoid anymore confusion.

1. Removed the radiator cap.

2. Located the heater hose that runs from the firewall to the top of the engine.

3. Cut the hose and installed the T.

4. Threaded the black end of coupler to the T I installed.

5. Threaded the yellow end of the coupler to my garden hose.

6. Inserted the deflector tube into the radiator neck.

7. Opened the petcock drain.

8. Turned water on

9. Turned heater on full and ran the engine for 5 minutes until the water that was shooting out of the deflector tube ran clear.

10. Let all fluid drain out of the petcock drain.

11. Closed drain removed all the flushing equipment, but the permanent T.

12. started pouring fresh peak 50/50 anti-freeze into the radiator with the engine off and noticed it wouldn't take over 2qrts so I started it let it get hot to let the thermostat open which it did because I seen the temp go down once it reached about 200, but it still wont let me put anymore fluid in.

13. Removed hair from my head.

Thanks!!

[blazee]

Your system is probably full. Opening the drain doesn't really let a whole lot of the coolant out. Most of it stays in the engine. That's why I always recommend getting the real anti-freeze and not the 50/50. You add the proper amount of staight antifreeze, and then it will mix with the water in the block to give you a 50/50 mix, otherwise you will end up with a very diluted solution.

You may be able to get a little more in if you remove the cap from the "T" while you add the anti-freeze, this will allow some of the air to come out. Just fill until it come out of the "T". If you haven't driven it much since the flush, you will probably get mostly water coming out of the "T". You can keep pouring the antifreeze in as the water comes out of the "T" to purge some of the water and give yourself a better mix.

If coolant comes out when you first remove the cap from the "T", then most likely your system is full. You may be able to get a little more in after driving it a while and any residual air pockets are worked out.