The best preventative maintenance item for any vehicle is its cooling system- the radiator. In order to maintain an engine, we mostly look out on changing engine well but forget about this. But keeping the cooling system in working order is also important. That is how learning how to flush a radiator at home is crucial. If you know the basic about it, chances are your car wills fewer visits in workshop and more in the road.
Learn How to Flush A Radiator at Home?
Radiators can be extremely hot and could severely burn if not handled carefully. So while working with that, stay cautious every time. At first turn, the radiator off leave it off for a few hours until it is completely cool.
Drain The Old Coolant
Locate the drain plug of the radiator and drain the timeworn coolant inside of it. Park the car where the coolant will not run onto the ground or drain if spilled accidentally. Thus it collects deposits while running through the cooling system of the vehicle. This is damage not only your engine but also the environment. Just make sure the coolant is not hot. For opening the cap, you can use a rag to hold and unscrew the cap.
Take some old towels or rugs around the radiator to catch any dirty flowing water. Because once you remove the radiator, it will flow out all the dirty liquid stored inside.
Put a wide mouth container under it to catch the old coolant drain from the radiator. Use a screwdriver to open the drain plug.
Add The Flush Product
After emptying close the drain plug. Add the flush product and fill the remainder of the radiate with mixing clear water. Tightly screw the radiator cap and start the car engine. Allow the engine to run until the temp gauge shows the normal engine temp. Once they reach the average engine temperature, turn the heater on and set the control setting in highest fan and hottest temp settings.
Let the engine run in this condition for 10 min. after 10 min off the engine and let it cool. When you feel the radiator cap is cool enough to touch, you are ready for the next drainage.
Drain The Flush Product From The Radiator
Now once again open the radiator cap and drain the plug. Allow the flush product to let out fully. You should collect the flush+ coolant combo reduces into a separate container. Coolant is very toxic. If it falls into the ground, it will spread the toxin into the soil, air, water which will affect your pets and children.
Refill The New Coolant
Now close the radiator plug very tightly. Fill it with brand new antifreeze. Follow the instruction given into the car manual for this. Of you can use premixed 50/50collant also. That contains 50% antifreeze and 50% water.
Once the radiator is full, close the radiator cap and run the car engine to check for any leakage.
Why You Need To Flush The Radiator?
To keep the engine from damaging you need a proper cooling system to keep the temp down. In the combustion period, most of the energy produced by explosions. Which transfer into the pistons and propel the vehicle. Like any system, the energy wastage is occurring here also. And that can’t be converted into momentum. This waste energy removed in heat form. If the cooling system is not able to remove this heat, many dangerous incidents could happen. Even your car engine could be blown up.
The vehicles engines and its containing components are designed to operate under a particular temperature. If that temperature range exceeds, the damage could happen. First of all, the engine oil would be running outside of its temp range causing it to thin out and not lubricating well. Second of all, the materials in the gaskets, seals, etc. in your engine can start to break down — even the melts causing leaks. And finally, the real metal in your engine will expand and pass it’s designed to tolerances. That occurred wrapping and cracking which similarly cause leaks and compression losing.
However, the cooling system of maximum vehicles is always made with extra capacity. That ensures that it will stay cold for the maximum time. But as the cooling system age and coolant condition the ability of cooling of the engine get lower. In order to flush your radiator and work of the cooling system, you will manage to keep the entire operation in working form for a long time.
How Often You Should Flush?
As you learned how to flush a radiator at home, you may wonder who often you should perform it. The smart way to learn about it to check the vehicles’ owner’s manual. Or you can ask your motor mechanic. He will suggest you about flushing schedule after judging the condition.
The common mistakes that car owners make are to overlook the maintenance and care of the cooling system — performing a proper radiator flush a crucial aspect of keeping the car well maintained. Unfortunately, the only time a car owner thing of car cooling system at the beginning of winter times or when the cooling system overheats and start to giving them trouble. There is a small percent of owners check the anti-freeze level during the winter months.
But if you take expert’s advice, they will suggest you flush a radiator at least every other year to reduce the build-up of deposits inside of it. Some of auto maintenance manuals suggest flushing radiators in every 12 months.
Final Thoughts
If you have basic car maintenance knowledge, you could try to flush your car radiator. Without knowledge of primary engine and maintenance, this work should not perform at home. However, you can expand your knowledge by learning from an expert (either your friend or fellow mechanic) in practical. However, in case of an emergency, troubling during flush the radiator at home doesn’t force anything and call for a professional.
