refilling cooling system

[pensfan74]

ok I flushed out my coooling system from heater hose until water ran clear and let engine pump out all till was done. then I put in engine flush and added water and ran truck for like 3 hours for that to work. then i flushed out system again and even back flushed out heater core and had flow through bout ends so that wasnt blocked i reconnected all hoses and put in new thermostat. Now i am refilling with coolant and it seems like it is taking a long time for it to go in, I have only managed to get in 1 gallon and a half but it is going in super slow. is this normal? My cooling capacity is 11.9 quarts so i was going to put in 2 gal straight and top rest off with water since it should hold almost 3 gallons. am i doing something wrong do i need to bleed something out for it to go in faster? all my hoses feel warm to hot to the touch except for the upper rad hose is that a problem? I do have heat now where before i didnt. also how full should i fill the overflow resivour? Please help. thanks...

[old_master]

Your profile shows a 2000 Blazer, if that's what you're working on... Dexcool coolant ONLY. Did you completely drain the cooling system using the radiator drain before refilling? There is also a threaded brass plug on each side of the engine block if you want to drain the block also. When the thermostat opens, the upper radiator hose will be too hot to hold on to with bare hands... approximately 190*. When the stat opens, the coolant level at the radiator cap will drop. It may take a few quick jabs on the throttle to move any trapped air pockets. The coolant reservoir has two marks on it: "Full Cold" & "Full Hot".

[pensfan74]

I put dex-cool in it. I do have heat now and i replaced the thermostat. I checked it this morning and coolant level only went down a little bit. I added some more and now I am letting it run. the heater hoses feel hot but not the upper rad hose or yet atleast. I thought by letting yhe engine pump put the old coolant would get most of the coolant from the engine from the heater hose. should the coolant level go down after i let it run a while? i only refilled a gallon and almost a half of straight dexcool there should be more room to add rest with water right? but it does have heat now where before i flushed it it was only blowing cold air, so i must have done something right. do i fill resivoir to check hot or full hot level i dont see a cold level...

[Chris Stewart]

With the motor at normal running temperatures, the level in the coolant tank should show Full Hot.
Try to achieve 1 1/2 gal. Dexcool before using straight water to achieve -40F protection. Now is that enough protection for Erie Pa.?---I really don't know.

[pensfan74]

thanks all... its running like it should now, have GOOD heat now and just in time we just got blasted with a foot of snow...