Cooling system flush

[Bali]

Hi,

The cooling is not so effective on my car, so I think I will try to clean the cooling system. (I also never had a good heeting...) When I go slow the fan should be always on (I have a switch for it - as I read most of you recommends it). I know that the Beta hasn't got the best cooling system, but now I cannot sit calmly in traffic jams...
Maybe you can advice me how to do it correctly.
My plan is:
1. Drain the coolant
2. Take out the radiator and clean the outside of it (just a little bit)
3. Wash it through with normal water by pouring it at the top inlet opening with a hose
4. Put back the radiator
5. I have purchased Coolant Flush additive (Preston) - so I use it as it needs. Do I pour it at the inlet opening at the top of the radiator or should I pour it into the expansion tank?
6. Wash through the system with the radiator in its place with destilled water (heating on)
7. Fill it up with antifreeze (blue) + distilled water

If you have any comments I would appreciate it,

[Jim Keller]

This is just what I would do and have done in the past with very good results:
Take the radiator to a rad shop and have them go through it, around here, it ruins between $35 to $50 USD for a shop to boil out the rad and make sure it doesn't leak and or repair any leaks they find, most even give it a coat of paint included. Then you are sure it is as clean inside and passing as much coolant as possible, or get lucky enough to get a freshly recored one nearly free off a friend like I did! ;)

However, before that, drain the coolant so the expansion tank is empty and pour in the Prestone flush then top off system, do it as instructed but draing the fluid down well below the expansion tank level so the flush goes into the radiator right away, once through the flush instruction cycles, drain the system, including the block, the block drain plug is located behind the exhaust manifold, be very careful not to burn yourself doing this, then I refill with plain water, run through ther heat cycle again, running the heater all the time, then drain it again, repeating until the system only puts out clear water, it's a pain in the rear but end results are well worth the effort, now that it is flowing clear, drain, remove the rad and send off to shop, then while your waiting on the shop, disconnect both your heater core hoses in the engine bay, the one on the core side of the heater valve, hook up your garden hose to the "outlet" side, (valve is inlet side), turn on garden hose to full pressure, hold the palm of your hand over the "inlet" side to build pressure then release suddenly, do this until it quits puking out crap and runs clear all times, even when you release the pressure suddenly. The important thing here is to run the water through the heater core "backwards", building and releasing pressure suddenly to breakup the stuck-on stuff inside off the walls. If you don't flush everything extreemly well, your heater core will remain partially plugged and you'll never get good heat, plus your rad fluid will be dirty as soon as you get through one heat cycle
Hope that helps! :)

[Bali]

Thanks Jim,

This time I wouldn't take the radiator to a shop. A friend of mine suggested it also, but first I would like to see what can I do with some work and with this additive.
You have mentioned to "drain the system, including the block". I didn't recognized that there is another drain plug beside at the bottom of the radiator - I will check that too.
About the heater core: you say that I can reach it in its place so I do not have to take it out? I have never tried to get it so I do not know this item...
Maybe tomorrow I can work a little on the car and I can recognize the situation and everything will be clear - if not I will ask.

Thanks,

[Bali]

Just to end this topic - I have done it; now the heating is really good (thanks for the cleaning advice, I could do it from the engine bay with a hose); the cooling is better; but I still have a leak somewhere.
I cannot see where does the water go away, but I often have to refill...
I can see rust on the spur wheels on the right side of the engine (where the belts are) but I cannot see water marks. Maybe it is the cylinder head gasket?

Regards,

[Maigret]

Sounds like it could be your water pump leaking. Take timing belt cover off and see if you can see where is is leaking from. It may also be leaking from around the end of a hose, particularly is the hose is getting past it.

For anyone else wanting to flush their system be aware that a hose is often up to seven times more pressure than the cooling system than it normally runs at and it is possible to damage heater or radiator. Just run water through and don't seal against inlet allowing pressure to build up. This is easy to get wrong with the heater.

Just hold hose gently against the heater pipe so excess pressure can blow back.

[Jim Keller]

Wow! :o
(I am being somewhat sarcastic and funny here, so no personal digs intended), Your local water department doesn't have the pressures like the car builds under operating conditions. I will continue to let pressure from my garden hose build under the weight of the palm of my hand over the inlet side of the heater core hoses, then release quickly and repeat until it quits spitting grim and crud so I get a good flush and good heat as a result, just like I have been doing for over 25 years on all makes and models of cars and yet to have anything like that EVER happen! ??? If something does blow out, well heck, I am only using cold water so I won't be harmed as unlike the wicked witch of the west in the film Wizard of Oz, I do not melt in water! ;D and if something does give out on the car, such as a heater core or hose, well, it was about to go anyway so better in your driveway during a flush than leaving you stranded away from home facing a large tow bill, again, just to reinerate, I have been flushing heater cores off and on this way professionaly at shops and car dealerships as well as backyarding at home for well over 25 years and to date, have yet to lose any hoses or cores due to the pressure from my piddly garden or shop hose, and I learned that backwards flushing trick from an old geezer that had been doing it since the 40's after I had done a normal flush/fill on a customer car and still didn't have good heat!......just my opinion..... ;) At one shop I used to work for in the early 90's, we even had a machine that used pulses of high pressure air added with the water to break up crud in the system, it never broke anything either!