changing the prestone

[katana1981]

Hi again guys! My buick Regal LS 2002 with the 3800 engines has now 100 000 km or almost on the clock! I wanna change the prestone myself..

I've heard that it isn't a hard job to do, is that correct?!

What I need to know is all the tasks to do from A to Z please. And also, I want to know what kind of prestone is best for the car and if I need a cleaner product to wash everything and flush it before putting the new anti-freeze..

thanks again! Mark

[BNaylor]

I'm assuming you are referring to the antifreeze/coolant which is Dexcool and you want to switch to Prestone? I use Prestone Extended Life in the yellow bottle which is fully Dexcool compatible and based on the same OAT technology. I mix it 50/50 with distilled water.

It is a DIY job and not hard. You can get a Prestone flush kit which will tap into the heater core hose input to use fresh water for flushing. Prestone Super Flush solution is recommended to loosen up any old Dexcool sludge, etc. before flushing.

I'll check to see I have a old coolant flushing procedure.

[katana1981]

Yes.. I wanna change my anti-freeze because there's some deposit in it and it is 5 year old already or almost. So it needs to be change and I don't want to make any mistake by choosing the wrong product.

Tks for the step by step procedure you're searching for me

And can you tell me what could be the best product to clean everything inside the radiator and the hoses etc. And what product should I buy to replace the anti-freeze that I have in the car.. right now, there's a red-orange product inside and in everystores, there's thousand of different anti-freeze/prestone... I don't want to make any mistake.. tks!

[BNaylor]

Yeah, 5 years is about the limit for Dexcool which is red-orange in color.

I use Prestone Super Flush which is an additive you pour into the cooling system before doing the actual flush. For antifreeze/coolant I use Prestone Extended Life. It is in a yellow container and will appear green in color.

Here is a basic coolant flush procedure:

Install the flush T from the Prestone Flush Kit in the heater return line hose.

1. With engine cool, remove radiator cap and drain the radiator.
a. Turn drain plug (lower left engine-side of radiator) counter clockwise about 1/8 of a turn (may require a little force if it's not been opened in awhile--be careful because it's plastic). Use the end of a 1/4" drive handle. Plug will extend slightly as it loosens. Be sure to have a container in-place to collect the antifreeze.
2. Let all the antifreeze drain into a container.
3. Remove, drain and clean the antifreeze overflow bottle. Reinstall bottle.
4. Hook up a garden hose to the flush T and turn water on (not too high or you can damage seals/gaskets with the pressure). When water starts to run from the drain plug, start the engine and turn the heater on (make sure you leave the water running during this process).
5. When water runs clear (about 5 - 10 minutes), turn off car, then turn off water, and remove hose from T and cap it. Let remaining water run from drain plug. (Note: Not all of water will be drained out of system mainly the engine block. What I do is hook up a drain hose to the T connector, start engine and let the water pump push water out of the system. As soon as you see no water coming out turn engine off, remove drain hose and cap off T connector).
6. Close radiator drain plug and fill radiator with a 50-50 mix of antifreeze/distilled water (or buy premixed).
7. Start vehicle and bring to operating temperature to make sure thermostat opens. Add additional mixture as necessary until full.
8. Reinstall radiator cap.
9. Release any trapped air in cooling system by turning the plug on the top of the thermostat housing (be careful not to burn yourself). When only coolant (no air) flows from the plug, close it. You may have to repeat this several times to get all of the trapped air. Raising the front end of the car where the radiator is higher than the engine helps bleeding.
10. Add additional coolant as necessary. Also, fill overflow bottle to recommended level. Be careful not to open radiator cap if hot. You may have to do this several times.
11. Check for leaks.
12. Properly dispose of old antifreeze.

[katana1981]

Thanks a lot Bnaylor! I'll do that sunday or at the beginning of next week and I'll give you news Very appreciated!

[katana1981]

Hi there! So yesterday I did change the anti-freeze in my car.. everything went perfect.. the car doesn't overheat and it stays in the right range of operating temperature!

My only concern is this: how come I only put about 8 L. of prestone in the car when in the manual it says about 11L ? I started the car many times to make sure the liquid is circulating everywhere, then I open the rad's cap, added some coolant til its full. Started the car again and since then, when I open the cap, the rad is full of anti-freeze+ the overflow bottle is at the "max cold" when cold and "max hot" when hot!

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by katana1981

Hi there! So yesterday I did change the anti-freeze in my car.. everything went perfect.. the car doesn't overheat and it stays in the right range of operating temperature!

My only concern is this: how come I only put about 8 L. of prestone in the car when in the manual it says about 11L ? I started the car many times to make sure the liquid is circulating everywhere, then I open the rad's cap, added some coolant til its full. Started the car again and since then, when I open the cap, the rad is full of anti-freeze+ the overflow bottle is at the "max cold" when cold and "max hot" when hot!

Glad it worked out OK for you. That is still pretty good if you could put in 8L of coolant after doing a flush. I found out that it is hard to get all of the old coolant out when you do the DIY method. Even after flushing water stays in the engine block unless you open the block drain plugs which are difficult to access. You could get an inexpensive coolant tester to see if the mix is right for proper boil over or freeze protection.

[katana1981]

Okay great.. I'll do that tomorrow.. last quick question.. I've done about 60 kms yet with the new coolant.. do you think that now all the liquid is mix enough!? And when I'll test the freeze temperature, should I test it where the rad cap is located or in the overflow bottle?!

[BNaylor]

Originally Posted by katana1981

Okay great.. I'll do that tomorrow.. last quick question.. I've done about 60 kms yet with the new coolant.. do you think that now all the liquid is mix enough!? And when I'll test the freeze temperature, should I test it where the rad cap is located or in the overflow bottle?!

Coolant is definitely mixed well. With engine cool you run the test directly at the radiator after removing the radiator cap not at the reservoir bottle. Good luck!

[katana1981]

yesterday, I did the test of prestone.. -23 C Not enough so I took off about 3 liters and switch for pure prestone! Now it says - 50 C Excellent.. the only question I have is this:

Is that normal that when I open the cap of the radiator, some prestone's missing? I had to fill again but just a little bit (about 100 ml).

[BNaylor]

It could be normal as long as it is not too much. Mine are normally at the top checked when completely cold. If the level is really bad a coolant level sensor will trigger a warning light on the IP Cluster. How is the coolant reservoir level?

[katana1981]

Originally Posted by bnaylor

It could be normal as long as it is not too much. Mine are normally at the top checked when completely cold. If the level is really bad a coolant level sensor will trigger a warning light on the IP Cluster. How is the coolant reservoir level?

when the car was hot, it was a little bit higher than the cold line! So I added about 100 to 200 ml max! I'm a sales rep working on the road so at the end of the week, I'll probably make about 1000 km so i'll check the level when I'll put gas in the car!

[djjsc]

Re: instructions given by BNaylor

"1. With engine cool, remove radiator cap and drain the radiator.
a. Turn drain plug (lower left engine-side of radiator)"

I have the exact same car; without any radiator drain. A friend had a similar Buick; a conversation w/ him tonite confirmed that his also had no rad drain. Go to the GM Parts website; there is NO RADIATOR DRAIN illustrated or listed!!! It's extremely difficult to follow bogus instructions. JMO

[Tech II]

It probably has a drain, you just haven't found it....three possible places.....

Facing the car.....look at the left left inside of the radiator, near the lower hose...

Look at the lower right inside.....

Look at the lower right outside(this may have a square opening that you insert a 1/4" extension, rotate and pull outward, counter clockwise)....