coolant flush

[mike561]

ok as some of you may know, i dont know much about cars. but i am willing to learn, i want to flush the coolant, thing is i dont know how or what to use to get the old stuff out, and what to do to flush it. i just put in some valvoline 50/50 because the tank was bone dry and i couldnt get out to the store. if anyone has any pics that would be nice too. its 98 GTP by the way that just turned to 110k miles. i dont want to screw anything up, should i use Dexcool or something else?? i have herd alot of bad things about dexcool so im not sure.

[gprixgtp]

Well if yours still has the original coolant and you have put some of the old style coolant in there, you need to flush it out and quick. From what I have been told by Prestone and Zerex reps, the two do not mix nor play well together. Flushing really depends on the severity of the system. The 10 minute flushes will clean systems that are not to contaminated. Permatex Makes a HD cleaner which is more like an acid. You must follow the directions to the T. If it is left in the system it will eat through the radiator, heater core, and anything else metal and quite possibly plastic. If you are not confident in using the HD cleaner, your best bet is to have a shop do a complete flush and fill. If you decide to DIY, I doubt any of the chain parts stores will have the permatex cleaner. You will have to get that from a jobber store. You can tell if they are a jobber store by 3 main points. 1. They do not have a nationwide name. 2. They carry many more parts than they do accessories and cleaners. And finally and most importantly. 3. They generally have countermen(yes I know there are counterwomen too, but old habits are hard to change.) who have knowledge about what they sell. They generally take great pride in knowing and learning everything they can about parts. I have spent the better part of the last 18 years behind a jobber counter and there is not a week goes by that I don't either have a tech manual in my hand or some class prepared by the manufacturers to attend. Most are ASE certified. Some of us don't even need to know year, make, and model, give us the specs we can match it
up.
Anyway I have begun to babble now. Those are your options on flushing the cooling system.

[indyram]

If you do a complete flush I would put the "green stuff" back in. Just make sure it is flushed out really well.

[mike561]

alright i should be taking it to the shop on wed. so ill have them check it out too, if i do it myself, i know GM reccomends dexcool, but does it really matter what kind it is specificly? the stuff i put in was like a bright neon green, the radiator and coolant tanks were both empty so i just filled it.

[BNaylor]

A lot of us have canned Dexcool and switched over to the Prestone Extended Life in the yellow container. It is green in color too. Prestone EL is OAT (Organic Acid Technology) based just like Dexcool and can be safely mixed with Dexcool. Nice to know since there could be residual Dexcool in the system even after a flush. Regular green coolant should not be mixed with Dexcool. I don't know what Valvoline 50/50 coolant is but unless it is OAT based or the manufacturer specifies it can be mixed with Dexcool the cooling system will need to be flushed. After flushing all air must be properly bled out of the cooling system.

[mike561]

ohh ok, i dont think there was ever dexcool in the car, at least when i bought it anyway. so i dont think it was mixed with any other kind. i geuss the valvoline 50/50 is an anti freeze and coolant all in one also.

[gprixgtp]

The mix you probably used was the old style antifreeze. The 50/50 is premixed with water at a 50/50 mix. If you are not sure what was already in there get it flushed. It will combine with dexcool and create a sludge. That sludge is very hard to get all out. Better to be safe than sorry.

[mike561]

yea i think ill just have my mechanic do a complete flush then, but i was just wondering, is it ok though that i put in that 50/50, since the coolant tank was empty and it wasnt mixed with anything else??

[gprixgtp]

Can't be 100% sure as the radiator and engine block may still have had some in it.

[mike561]

oh ok, guess thats why the low coolant light diddnt come on and the temp guage diddnt go up. thanks for yours and everyone elses help by the way.