Fuster_Cluck

My 98 GSr swap has 54k on it and I'm going to replace all the fluids (400 miles of driving).

I'm debating to take the car into Honda and let them do the flush for $70 or DIY way.

How much coolant must be added when doing a complete flush?

So, I remove the drain bolt from the radiator and add the $3 $hit you get at the parts store. Once that process is complete I then can drain the radiator again and remove the bolt from the block to get all the coolant out of the car. Should I just then install the bolt in the block and run water through the system then remove the bolt to drain the water again?

Does anyone know how Honda does the flush?

If I can get the same results for a 7th of the cost I'm there

If the Honda way is better than I don't mind spending the $$, since I have dumped over 4k into this Hybrid to get it running

Thanks for any advice!

5-26-2003

Flushed my coolant. Here's what I did:

1) Set heater control to HOT
2) With engine cold (some say warm is better) drained radiator by removing plastic screw located on bottom of radiator
3) Removed 19mm drain bolt located on front of block next to headers (it was a bitch to loosen!) **Coolant gushed everywhere as my drip pan caught most of it.
4) Using garden hose I sprayed into the opening of the radiator for 30 seconds.
5) Replaced plastic screw @ bottom of radiator and sprayed water into radiator 30 seconds after the water gushed out the drain bolt on the block. **Decent amount of coolant gushed out along with the water
6) Drained radiator again
7) Repeat step 5 **All water this time
8) Drained raditor again
9) Replaced both block bolt (using my hand) and plastic radiator plug
10) Filled with water
11) Removed block bolt and plastic radiator plug
12) Made sure 19mm block bolt was clean / added liquid gasket sealer to threads of bolt
13) Installed bolt until finger tight and torqued to 56 ft/lb
14) Put plastic radiator plug back in
15) Filled radiator with 50/50 Prestone - filtered refrigerator water (don't have any distilled water at the house) **Only got in just under a gallon before filling up.
16) Started the car and let run for 10 or so minutes / normal operating temp.
17) Shut car off and waiting to cool to top of coolant


Modified by Hybrid93Hatch at 1:31 PM 5/27/2003

Spade

Yup.

the $70 pays for the labor.

Behan

DO IT YOURSELF, this is one of the biggest scams, drain rad. insert garden hose flush with water. insert drainplug refill with 50/50 mix. leave cap off, start car, open air bleed on thermostat housing (follow upper rad hose to block). once air is bled close put cap on, your done. you should need 1 gallon of antifreeze ( i think )
let me know if i missed anything.

vimsen

The coolant is very environmentally harmful and toxic to animals and people - so if you must flush yourself contain all fluid and take it to a local shop for disposal or to the recylcing center.

Please be GREEN while saving some green.

TREVER

honda coolant flush.
drain radiator only.
refill with 1/2 gallon of coolant.
top of with water.
pay tech about $5
coolant $5
profit $60
do it yourself

hatchy

Funny, I tried to recycle that ****, and they won't accept it. So into the trash it goes.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by vimsen &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The coolant is very environmentally harmful and toxic to animals and people - so if you must flush yourself contain all fluid and take it to a local shop for disposal or to the recylcing center.

Please be GREEN while saving some green.</TD></TR></TABLE>

RogerYung

Do I need to drain the engine block by removing the bolt? I read in the service manual that if you do, then you need to apply liquid gasket to the threads, get a new washer and retighten to some 56lbs ft lbs. If so, is it easy to get a torque wrench in there?

Thanks

Aaron M

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by RogerYung &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do I need to drain the engine block by removing the bolt? YES

Is it easy to get a torque wrench in there? With the header heat sheild off, YEAH</TD></TR></TABLE>

RogerYung

thanks, I guess I should have said, do I need to bother draining the engine block? Or can I get by with just draining the radiator. I'd rather not take off the heat shield, especially if the bolts are all rusted.

thanks

tC_Dragon

here go to my website... outside of the hose part... i wrote it all out... but still need to get a pic of hte drain boltoff the block.. http://student.ucr.edu/~ohe02

RCautoworks

I'm pretty sure coolant can be flushed down the toilet.

intekragsr

Quoted from someone I forgot in the past :

"Probably not, unless you have some sort of catch container that is wide and very short. My big round oil drain pan/container combo won't even fit underneath my bumper.

And the method for COMPLETELY flushing the radiator listed above isn't really correct. First drain the coolant from the radiator thru the drain plug, then disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator to let coolant drain out of there. Put the radiator hose back on.

Next locate the coolant drain bolt on the engine block. On B and D series engines it's behind the exhaust manifold/header, slighly towards the tranny end of the block. It's a BIG bolt, 19mm I believe, hard to miss. Remove that. Have a large container ready, because it will come GUSHING out. After it finishes draining, replace the bolt.

Now comes the tricky part. Remove the lower radiator hose and coolant temp sensor from the thermostat housing and then remove the housing w/ the thermostat. One of the housing bolts is pretty difficult to get to, so have some wrenches or a swivel socket joint handy (I can't remember what I used). Put the housing back in w/o the thermostat and reconnect the lower hose.

Now remove the upper radiator hose from the radiator and point it towards your drain bucket. Stick the garden hose into the top of the radiator where the upper hose connects and run the water. The remaining coolant in the block will be flushed out through the upper radiator hose. Keep the water running until the fluid coming out of the upper hose is clear.

Reinstall the thermostat and coolant temp sensor and all hoses etc. Fill the radiator w/ a 50/50 mixture of coolant and water (Honda pre-mixed, or Prestone and distilled water, do NOT use Xerex or Peak as it contains silicates which can damage the radiator). You will have to pour it in SLOWLY as it tends to bubble up and spurt out of the filler hole while you pour it in.

Once the coolant reaches the base of the filler neck, run the engine with the heater slider set to HOT. Continue to run the engine until it fully warms up and the radiator fan comes on. The upper radiator hose will also become hot. After this the coolant level in the radiator should have dropped since the thermostat opens and allows coolant into the block and the heater core. Shut off the engine, and continue to fill the radiator until it get to the base of the filler neck.

Locate the bleed bolt where the upper radiator hose attaches to the cylinder head. Loosen this bolt and let the coolant flow out until it flows out steady w/o bubbles. Squeeze the upper radiator hose to help get any remaining air out of the system. Continue squeezing the upper hose until no more bubbles come up at the base of the filler neck, and continue to add coolant as necessary to keep the level at the base of the filler neck.

Remove and wash out the coolant overflow tank, fill it to the proper level, and you're done!

Wow I didn't know it would be this long, but that's how it's done. If I've left out or messed up any steps, please chime in. "

customx_

ill do it for a 6pack of killians

RCautoworks

nice write up, but I don't really think some of those things are necessary.


Modified by 90blackcrx at 1:03 PM 5/27/2003

senpai

My 2000 Civic EX does not have a bleeder bolt. The drain plug for the block is also on the BACK of the block. It is a bitch to do ... trust me.

RCautoworks

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by maztur &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My 2000 Civic EX does not have a bleeder bolt. The drain plug for the block is also on the BACK of the block. It is a bitch to do ... trust me.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Your ex does have a bleeder bolt just to let you know.

Fuster_Cluck

Bump, because I just did this and saved myself $60

Listed what I did up top

Nextelbuddy

good one

Crazydave

you need to get all the air out .. with that bleeder valve..

hint: it's the HIGHEST point in your cooling system

Nextelbuddy

really we didnt know that

Fuster_Cluck

To The Top!

I just wanted to add some pics of the drain bolt and location of the drain bolt on the block. This was the first day I got my new Coolpix3100 so I was snapping like crazy

Anyhow enjoy:

Drain bolt and washer in comparison with a quarter:



The location of the drain bolt to drain the coolant for a good flush: