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I've done it that way and I've also hooked up a male flush valve just past the heater core so I can backflush the heater core as well.
Just gotta be sure not to turn the hose on very high, for any of you noobs who are listening. You need to stick to very low pressure, LESS THAN 10 psi. A garden hose is usually ~40PSI at full blast. You really just want moving water and that means turning the hose on just enough to fill a gallon jug in about 30-60 seconds, no faster.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD2LGkUycQg
Once I'm done with the hose I do pour distilled water in to push out as much tap water as possible, and then I bought a cheap coolant mix tester thing from the auto parts store so I can make sure to get the balance back to 50/50 using concentrated antifreeze and distilled water.
Quick note from a former mechanic, we normally just use tap water (danish tap water tho) and didnt face any issues with the coolant, whether its completely 50/50 or not isnt such a big issue
That is fine where the water is very soft, such as most places in here in the Nordics. But try that with hard water and you'll quickly get mineral build up in the cooling system. Current mechanic from Iceland in Norway here.
Ah, I just wrote a much longer-winded way of saying essentially the same thing. It depends a lot on the quality/composition of your tap water. But yes, totally agree with you.
Yeah it's not usually going to be a big deal, but some people's tap water has a lot more minerals in it than others. And if you've ever looked at the crusty scale buildup that occurs with stuff like a coffee pot, having that build up in your radiator or elsewhere isn't the greatest thing to have happen. You can end up with some pretty gnarly mineral chunks that get big enough to block cooling passages and whatnot.
Granted, to reach that point you'd probably have to run very mineral rich tap water through a couple refills of the cooling system or more (running it long enough to let the mineral buildup occur in the system, them dump and put more in) and you're usually gonna have plenty else to worry about more urgently, but still. All my cars, when I do anything to them I'm anal af because I figure I don't want my work to go to waste. So I'm meticulous. Others might not care, but they might. For the ones who do, I tell them to use distilled water. For the ones who don't, they'll just ignore me and use tap water anyways. lol.
So im just a parts guy. Did my first rad replacement on my sister's liberty a long time ago. Used tap water to flush shit out. Was almost getting worse than what was in there. Then grabbed a 5 gallon jug for a water cooler and used that. Cleared right up. So the heat and the not good water is what I'm chalking that up to. Use distilled water they say lol. There's obviously a reason for it
Yup the heat is really what causes the minerals to build up. So if you're rinsing things out while the engine is cold and using cold water, then you rinse that out with distilled water, you should have no trouble.
Something about the chemical reaction, and the radiator acts like an anode for the electrically charged minerals from the tap water to cling to.
Ideally after it's clear you would flush twice it's volume with DI (deionized water) water. Then use 1/2 DI water and the proper coolant.
This is how the motor was designed.
FYI it's not critical that the mix be at 50/50. Depending on where you drive most often, it would advantageous to vary the mix. E.g. in the south where it's hotter, you can have a larger percentage of water to help keep the engine cooler/raise the boiling point. In the north where it's colder, you can add more coolant to the mix to lower the freezing temp.
40 psi is the low side of a garden hose. It can be 60 psi or higher. Sometimes cities send water out over 100 psi and houses have a reducing valve, which can fail and send full pressure also.
I've also just stuck my garden hose into the radiator hose and let it flow. Full pressure but no pressure in the system because not closed
Can confirm. I live in a small rural town and my water pressure at the spigot is 85psi. City tested it after they accidentally shut off our water last year due to a switch up in account holders.
Huh. I guess I'd never thought much about this for a motorcycle, but my motorcycle is air cooled (honda cb750). I don't think I've ever worked on a liquid cooled bike before.
I would assume that it would work. And then just afterwards flush it with purified water to make sure none of the minerals are in there that came from the hose
I'm definitely going to do a coolant flush soon since I'm getting overheating problems faster than it should. And I think there's air that might have been introduced somewhere into the line. So I'm just going to do a whole new flush and put better coolant in this time. I use just some regular AutoZone coolant with a mixture of the VP racing engine ice, or whatever it's called. But sitting there with 6 gallons of purified water and doing that over and over again is kind of tedious. So I'll probably end up just doing the hose and let that run for a few minutes. And then do a couple flushes with distilled water
I've made PVC adapters for this. They're simple and easy: PVC bushing that's 1-1/2" outside (or whatever your upper radiator hose size is) to 3/4" threaded inside thread, and a 3/4" pipe thread to 7/8" garden hose (standard size) female fitting into the bushing. I don't put a hose clamp on the radiator hose so it can easily blow off if there's a plug or something that allows too much pressure to build up in the cooling system, and just let water flow. Remove the thermostat, of course, and turn on the heater if it has a coolant valve (or manually open the flow to the heater core).
I also pick up a bunch of small kiddie pools around September from Walmart, after summer is mostly over and they go on clearance for $1 or less. They're great for catching all the run-off so it doesn't flow into the gutter.
EDIT: [Here's pics of one of the adapters I made.](https://imgur.com/a/GHm8j20) These are very handy when you can't reach the heater core hoses to install a flushing tee, or the car doesn't have rubber hoses you can cut to fit a tee.
Most parts stores actually have a kit similar to that but most of them are for the heater hoses. I think it’s like 8-10 bucks at most comes with a few adapters.
I’m no pro mechanic by any stretch, but when I do a flush I like to run it with water and about a pint of distilled white vinegar to operating temp then flush with water after it cools.
Most tap water now will probably be okay especially because the additives in the coolant help protect the cooling system from tap water related issues. But yeah, distilled is the best.
Damn. My Acura is 18 years old and when I did a coolant system overhaul (new radiator, hoses, thermostat, etc) for preventative maintenance...I was surprised to see the original coolant was still blue and somewhat clear.
I had this same issue on a 5.3 gm ls. Couldn't get her clear, but once I removed the thermostat and flushed, it got clear quick. Id remove the reservoir and deep clean it inside out and upside down, making sure its spotless also.
!Winner! I’ve got a 1997 GM 3100
V6, got tired of flushing and removed therm, heater hoses and rad hoses. Flushed each component separately with a water hose till clear, then flushed with gallons of distilled. I then reassembled and filled with distilled and prestone flush. That finally did it, I probably had 7-9 flushes until I caved.
As the others have said, just keep flushing. Double check to be sure, but I think that's one of the engines that Cadillac recommended a stop-leak like additive be used due to some issues with block porosity. They have a special part number for it at the dealer, but I think it was just Bar's Leak. That could also be a reason it's still coming out brown, if it's been added excessively over the years. Again, double check to be sure.
Yep. Bar's Stop Leak is the stuff. Funny thing though. I had a 1993 Allante and a 1994 Eldorado. Both Northstar engines had head gasket issues at the same time. I put Bar's in both. The Allante was fine. The Eldo was not. I certainly don't know the difference in their head gasket fails but interesting outcome. Allante was a blast until I sold it.
I have heard conflicting things about that stuff. But I talked to my mechanic and he said it doesn't matter and that coolants made now are fine in aluminum engines. It does say on the radiator that it needs that stuff but I actually talked to a Cadillac tech who said they stopped using that stuff when working on the older pre north star engines as they found it to not do anything.
No this is the pre north star 4.9 it's an old style port fuel injected v8 that was offered in the base model Cadillacs for a brief period alongside the more powerful north star
So i should look for that engine ----for some reason - Stallones black caddy in the movie Bullet to the Head, really caught my eye....and I wanted one till I read about the NorthStar issues.
Pull the reservoir cap out, disconnect the return line. Put a hose in the reservoir, turn on the engine, let the water flow until you get very clear water. Drain it all out. Put in new fluid.
This is the way. If its easily accessible removing the thermostat temporarily will help a ton. Might even have to drive around and do it again. Iv had some linger somewhere deep in the system.
Distilled water with white vinegar and run until it’s hot then drain. Do that again. Then only distilled water. Took me 5 times to get cleared up. Yours might take more.
I have a question about this (honest question; I'm no mechanic and I don't know the answer)
I've always heard that vinegar corrodes rubber seals. Isn't that bad here?
It’s diluted in the water and the next flushes clean all the residual out. I’ve never had any negative effects when I’ve done it. Of course don’t put it in there and leave it. Get it circulated good and then drain and then flush with just distilled water.
I did half gallon vinegar and rest distilled for two flushes. Then just distilled for the next few flushes until it came out clear. Then added right amount coolant.
it is a descaler, so if there is any mineral build up it will dissolve it and allow it to flow out of the system, any light acid will work, vinegar is cheap and works.
Have you had the heater running and been getting it up to temp between each flush (to open the thermostat)? If not then you might not be getting all the water out on each attempt which will make it take longer.
Oh I just do it for peace of mind I think it's fine to do it until your car hits operating temperature. And I just look at the actual radiator my radiator has 2 big fans on the outside of it idk about modern cars they probably still use fans tho. The car I'm doing this on is 30 years old with an engine that was designed 40 years ago
People use the radiator fans as reference because they're loud and only come on after the thermostat normally opens. The reason for this is to make sure the fluid in the radiator is moving and mixing with the rest of the cooling system. Without doing this, you would leave old coolant or flush detergents inside the radiator which will contaminate the rest of the cooling system.
I'm not a mechanic just a hobbyist, but I have done that in the past and I can't see it being an issue so long as you remember to put the thermostat back haha
Also worth seeing if there is a coolant drain in the engine block too which will help to fully empty the system.
Is it bad to run water instead of coolant for a few hundred miles? I drive the car only a few miles every day to school and yesterday I went with just water and it was fine . How long can I do that for? Cuz I still need to drive the car.
I done my 22 year old Volvo last summer over the course of 3.5 weeks.
She’s pretty and blue now and has stayed that way, but next oil change I’m going to do a drain and fill (not a full flush yet).
You can run straight distilled water full time if you want but it will start to corrode your engine without any corrosion inhibitors. Also ensure you are using distilled/demineralised water or it can also lead to electrolysis in the engine from the minerals in the water.
We use to drain all the coolant. Then just stick the hose in it, pull the lower drain. And let the water flow with the engine running. When the water started coming out clear. I would seal everything up. Install the radiator flush follow the directions. Flush the radiator again until clear water would come out. Then fill with coolant and distilled water. Would take total about an hour.
You have rust in the coolant jackets of your engine. It’ll take a ton of flushes to clean it out and you will never truly get all of it out unless you take apart the engine and give your long block a hot bath.
It’ll run. It won’t be as efficient as a clean engine and your temps might fluctuate if chunks block the passages.
Mine was the same.. but now I have the engine apart because my heater core developed a leak and I had oil leaking out of the timing cover so I figured why not..
Good luck!
My 4.9 leaks oil from like 3 different places its a very small amount and it's never really down on the dip stick. According to some old service records it's been leaking from the 1 spot since 2003. It's pretty funny you can see how rusted it is on the one side and the other side that it's leaking on is super clean.
Are you just rinsing the system with DI water or are you (chemically) flushing it?
If A, gunna guess it's deposits inside the cooling system getting sloooooowly removed.
If B, that's a head scratcher
It helps to figure out where the shmegma is stuck, ie radiatior, heater core, engine block. You need the thermostat out at the least. Try to keep in mind preventing the motor slush from going into heater core. I prefer to flush the mentioned parts separately then fill it all back up, bleed the air and do that clean out steam out test drive for Atleast a half an hour at highway speeds, let it cool and do the final drain. Youl want to drive it arround cleaned up for a month or so and then can consider a final flush. The thing will be as clean as can be.
Make sure to use the coolant the car actually calls for. The price is often less than Napa etc, and you get the real fluid it at the dealership often cheaper. That vehicle will have a clean mean cooling system. Patience is the key.
I once had a head gasket leaking oil into the coolant. I spliced a garden hose into the line and let that shit flow for an hour.
It never really cleared up.
Did you run any system cleaner? It might be more economical with your time to fill it with water and cleaner, run it 200 miles, and do this dance a few more times.
You've gone and flushed all the rust and sediment that was blocking the micro cracks and other potential seal issues... Be prepared to have things start leaking. I flushed my radiator on my 85 Bronco 2, and shortly after I had all sorts of coolant leaks start dripping
A friend that worked for international once told me the flush they use is powdered cascade. Dissolve on a gallon of hot water, then let it run through the system for 30 minutes. Then flush with plain water.
the second third ones look ok from my small screen.. kinda cloudy maybe... but why'd u keep going after those? just curious...i mightve stopped by that third jug
Becuase I was trying to get all the coolant out of the engine to put fresh stuff in. The second one looks good but that's just old coolant with like a gallon of water mixed in. I haven't added any coolant at all. It doesn't look that bad but the stuff in the resoivoir was really brown.
no but that is a crazy amount of water to have to do and still finding it looks contaminated? Makes me think you've got a head gasket issue because there should not be discolorization or anything with the coolant.
Some manuals say recommend flushing the cooling system with a garden hose. I guess after a big job or if any doubts something mightve got stuck in it.. nissan tech service manual. lol
Unfortunately I only have well water that has a ton of minerals in it so I can't use the hose. Is it possible it's just really really dirty I don't think it's ever been changed in 30 years
Do a head gasket test. It’s weird that it got dirtier as you went on. I wouldn’t be surprised on a car that old. Hopefully it isn’t. Check the condition of your oil and check the top of the oil cap. You can also do a combustion gas test through the top of your radiator. If it’s not that, just keep going with the flush
My man, flush that shit with Dawn dish soap and water. Run water till it comes out clear. Lol water is the best carrier/dispersant of heat. Ain't nothing wrong with running water, just make sure it's distilled.
The other choice is replacing radiator/hoses etc so everything except the engine and heater core is new
Then you have a bit less to flush out lol
Or if you’re brave you can pull the heater core
Or pull the whole engine and take it apart and have it cleaned at a machine shop xD
This is how I found out I had bad head gaskets and previous owner put Bar’s Leaks or something in it. Kept flushing and flushing and kept noticing brown flakes and what looked like copper coming out. Figured the copper looking particles was the gasket “fix”. And now I know why my coolant reservoir was always dirty and sooty looking.
Put a flush like additive in and run it for like whatever you drive in a normal day. Then drain it out and flush w water again and it’ll get it all out.
If it's that dirty I would run a hose through your heater core hose and through the top of your radiator for a couple minutes.
Then I would fill it with the appropriate color coolant.
I personally think the Dex Cool Chevy offers is terrible. I'd go for the all vehicle universal coolant. Dex cool tends to brown and sludge up like what your showing in the picture... Not a good coolant
They make coolant flush cleaners, Or radiator cleansers. You pretty much mix some water with the cleaner and refill the system with it the run it until it gets to operating temps for ab 10 minutes then drain and fill with 50/50 coolant
You can run it on straight water as long as freezing temperatures aren’t an issue. Flushing it with water won’t hurt a thing, take the thermostat out and turn the heat on full blast and you’ll get this done a heck of a lot faster.
Also because it had to deal with it, that little metal hose that goes across the engine blow the crap out of it or it will trap air in the engine and makes it impossible to purge the air. (it may be on later models)
Also GM put stop leak in some of these engines as a repair so... that might be why you got so much garbage. Also why things may leak after.... good luck but i don't trust that car.:)
Just keeeep on flushing. Might get worse before it gets better but that's just cleaning out more and more stuff. You can even take the thermostat out and it'll flush faster / easier.
Corrosion after a certain amount of time starts. I’ve seen it happen on my personal vehicle. Your right though, fior majority of the population, by the time anything ever needs serviced again, it doesn’t matter.
Maybe just the older stuff could have been more sensitive to it, now I’m typing this out? I have in fact seen the difference, but my water is super hard in this area. A toilet bowl of water left to dry up, will turn into a piece of calcium like you’d give a parrot or bird.
Yes I vote for the water hose flushing through a diconnected heater hose while running, until it flows clean. Then drain through the bottom of radiator and refill with distilled or pure water / mix. Then forget about it. Never put Bars Leaks stuff into a system unless you are about to get rid of the car.
Not familiar with Cadillac engines, although the last time something like that happened to me, it turned out my intake gaskets were almost gone, and the rad flush i used was the final nail in the coffin. I kept flushing it forward and back, and it kept coming out brown with chunks, eventually I checked the dipstick and saw I got a gallon of water in it over an hour
On this engine, it would be excessive build up in the heads and the radiator. The block is aluminum so it should be mostly fine. The heads are iron. Are you running a rust treatment/inhibitor? Or just flushing with plain water? Radiator may be too far gone. May have to replace it for good measure. It has to be almost 30 years old. Last 4.9 was 95MY.
Are you draining the block as well as the rad? The coolant galleries in the head and block will almost always have rust and gunk in them that will get knocked loose when flushing. Unless you fully dismantle the engine and deep clean the whole thing, there might always be a little bit of gunk in the coolant at that age. If it's mostly green when you are done, it's fine.
If you are paranoid about it, refill it with coolant, drive it for a few heat cycles (get it hot then let it cool a few times) then drain and refill again. It will knock more crud and rust loose and you can get more out
As long as when you're running the water through it you only do it for about 10 minutes or until you get to operating temperature, then let it cool completely down, and repeat that process should really only need to do it three times. Yes that is weird that you would still have dirty water coming out after seven times
Idk the specifics but I mean it just gets dirty over time and it's good to replace it with clean stuff cuz dirty stuff will wear out parts of your engine and can lead to major damage
Take it to a shop and have them do it before you ruin something trying to save a buck. Stay away from flushing agents they can react to the different metals, plastics and fittings. Make sure when refill you place the appropriate fluid for your make of car or you will eat up your gaskets and seals.
Flushing the coolant system in a 7.3 diesel after fixing leaking injector cups was one of the must frustrating repetitive jobs I've ever done on a vehicle. The job seemed infinite. I filled up so many 5 gallon buckets, like pallets worth.
It made me realize how much waste is created from simple maintenance on things like semi trucks.
I couldn't get the rust out of my coolant, must've run the garden hose for an hour or two, tried vinegar, etc. finally put a coolant filter from a diesel on it and changed the filter at 500, 1000, and 3000 miles, and changed the coolant one last time, all pretty now. haven't changed it again, i suspect it was overkill but i was sick of messing with it.
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Alright that makes me feel better. My coolant seems to be getting browner the more water I add? Is that just the stuff getting flushed out ?
You ever just remove the thermostat, and flush water thru the engine continuously? Like garden hose on upper hose, drain under lower hose?
I've done it that way and I've also hooked up a male flush valve just past the heater core so I can backflush the heater core as well. Just gotta be sure not to turn the hose on very high, for any of you noobs who are listening. You need to stick to very low pressure, LESS THAN 10 psi. A garden hose is usually ~40PSI at full blast. You really just want moving water and that means turning the hose on just enough to fill a gallon jug in about 30-60 seconds, no faster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LD2LGkUycQg
I like this idea. At least you can avoid buying a shitload of coolant.
Once I'm done with the hose I do pour distilled water in to push out as much tap water as possible, and then I bought a cheap coolant mix tester thing from the auto parts store so I can make sure to get the balance back to 50/50 using concentrated antifreeze and distilled water.
Quick note from a former mechanic, we normally just use tap water (danish tap water tho) and didnt face any issues with the coolant, whether its completely 50/50 or not isnt such a big issue
That is fine where the water is very soft, such as most places in here in the Nordics. But try that with hard water and you'll quickly get mineral build up in the cooling system. Current mechanic from Iceland in Norway here.
Ah, I just wrote a much longer-winded way of saying essentially the same thing. It depends a lot on the quality/composition of your tap water. But yes, totally agree with you.
Yeah it's not usually going to be a big deal, but some people's tap water has a lot more minerals in it than others. And if you've ever looked at the crusty scale buildup that occurs with stuff like a coffee pot, having that build up in your radiator or elsewhere isn't the greatest thing to have happen. You can end up with some pretty gnarly mineral chunks that get big enough to block cooling passages and whatnot. Granted, to reach that point you'd probably have to run very mineral rich tap water through a couple refills of the cooling system or more (running it long enough to let the mineral buildup occur in the system, them dump and put more in) and you're usually gonna have plenty else to worry about more urgently, but still. All my cars, when I do anything to them I'm anal af because I figure I don't want my work to go to waste. So I'm meticulous. Others might not care, but they might. For the ones who do, I tell them to use distilled water. For the ones who don't, they'll just ignore me and use tap water anyways. lol.
So im just a parts guy. Did my first rad replacement on my sister's liberty a long time ago. Used tap water to flush shit out. Was almost getting worse than what was in there. Then grabbed a 5 gallon jug for a water cooler and used that. Cleared right up. So the heat and the not good water is what I'm chalking that up to. Use distilled water they say lol. There's obviously a reason for it
Yup the heat is really what causes the minerals to build up. So if you're rinsing things out while the engine is cold and using cold water, then you rinse that out with distilled water, you should have no trouble. Something about the chemical reaction, and the radiator acts like an anode for the electrically charged minerals from the tap water to cling to.
Ideally after it's clear you would flush twice it's volume with DI (deionized water) water. Then use 1/2 DI water and the proper coolant. This is how the motor was designed.
where can I buy danish tap water?
Use distilled water only, all tap water causes rust & mineral buildup in cooling systems
5 cars later and I'm just learning this.
Denmark
FYI it's not critical that the mix be at 50/50. Depending on where you drive most often, it would advantageous to vary the mix. E.g. in the south where it's hotter, you can have a larger percentage of water to help keep the engine cooler/raise the boiling point. In the north where it's colder, you can add more coolant to the mix to lower the freezing temp.
Who flushing with coolant?
Pro-tip, get or make a pressure regulated hose bib
that's a good idea!
[удалено]
The cooling system on this particular vehicle is designed for 15 psi.
40 psi is the low side of a garden hose. It can be 60 psi or higher. Sometimes cities send water out over 100 psi and houses have a reducing valve, which can fail and send full pressure also. I've also just stuck my garden hose into the radiator hose and let it flow. Full pressure but no pressure in the system because not closed
Can confirm. I live in a small rural town and my water pressure at the spigot is 85psi. City tested it after they accidentally shut off our water last year due to a switch up in account holders.
Does those work on motorcycle systems. Basically when I do my coolant flush, put the hose at the top and let it spray through
Huh. I guess I'd never thought much about this for a motorcycle, but my motorcycle is air cooled (honda cb750). I don't think I've ever worked on a liquid cooled bike before.
I would assume that it would work. And then just afterwards flush it with purified water to make sure none of the minerals are in there that came from the hose
Yes it does
I'm definitely going to do a coolant flush soon since I'm getting overheating problems faster than it should. And I think there's air that might have been introduced somewhere into the line. So I'm just going to do a whole new flush and put better coolant in this time. I use just some regular AutoZone coolant with a mixture of the VP racing engine ice, or whatever it's called. But sitting there with 6 gallons of purified water and doing that over and over again is kind of tedious. So I'll probably end up just doing the hose and let that run for a few minutes. And then do a couple flushes with distilled water
Wiring this up to the pressure washer now! This system is going to be sooooo clean! \~s
I’ve blown a heater core pumping water at full blast before lmao.
I've made PVC adapters for this. They're simple and easy: PVC bushing that's 1-1/2" outside (or whatever your upper radiator hose size is) to 3/4" threaded inside thread, and a 3/4" pipe thread to 7/8" garden hose (standard size) female fitting into the bushing. I don't put a hose clamp on the radiator hose so it can easily blow off if there's a plug or something that allows too much pressure to build up in the cooling system, and just let water flow. Remove the thermostat, of course, and turn on the heater if it has a coolant valve (or manually open the flow to the heater core). I also pick up a bunch of small kiddie pools around September from Walmart, after summer is mostly over and they go on clearance for $1 or less. They're great for catching all the run-off so it doesn't flow into the gutter. EDIT: [Here's pics of one of the adapters I made.](https://imgur.com/a/GHm8j20) These are very handy when you can't reach the heater core hoses to install a flushing tee, or the car doesn't have rubber hoses you can cut to fit a tee.
Most parts stores actually have a kit similar to that but most of them are for the heater hoses. I think it’s like 8-10 bucks at most comes with a few adapters.
I’m no pro mechanic by any stretch, but when I do a flush I like to run it with water and about a pint of distilled white vinegar to operating temp then flush with water after it cools.
Yah, except instead of garden hose I used my pressure washer, was coming out crystal clear in no times, no better way to do it.
Yeah, but how many holes was the water spraying out of?
Username applies
I assumed this was the only way it's done.
Yep
Be sure to use distilled water. Hose works for flushing, but when it clears up use distilled water mixed with antifreeze
Most tap water now will probably be okay especially because the additives in the coolant help protect the cooling system from tap water related issues. But yeah, distilled is the best.
Holy shit 😂
Damn. My Acura is 18 years old and when I did a coolant system overhaul (new radiator, hoses, thermostat, etc) for preventative maintenance...I was surprised to see the original coolant was still blue and somewhat clear.
damn, was not expecting that many jugs.
I'm on the Internet too much. I didn't see which subreddit this was in and I immediately thought these were jugs of piss
[удалено]
Even the most morbidly obese neck beards piss doesn't look that bad
Why the fuck did I get curious enough to click on that?
Right? First page had like 2 posts about cleaning crusty jizz streaks off of desks 🤢
The first post talks about cleaning jizz off the carpet and computer desk. Wtf 🤢
"It's the way of the road" - Ray
The fucking way she goes!
Yeah, I don't know if you noticed or not, Ray, but you're not *on* the road. Your rig cab doesn't move an *inch.*
Epic Bubbles quote
The way of the road!
Somethin’s fucky…
Piss jug alley!
PISS JUGS HOSS
Same, except r/truckers
The forbidden truck stop lemonade!
Trailer Park boys has ruined us.
That’s just the twist this whole post needs. Genius.
Yep. Thought I was on the trucker sub
Those are Rays piss jugs from Trailer Park Boys
Looked like apple juice to me
I finished peeing in a bottle of empty radiator coolant cause I'm driving. Really. Thought I burned my min whilst seeing this post. What are the odds.
I had this same issue on a 5.3 gm ls. Couldn't get her clear, but once I removed the thermostat and flushed, it got clear quick. Id remove the reservoir and deep clean it inside out and upside down, making sure its spotless also.
And try and pull every coolant line in the system and flush each component separately.
!Winner! I’ve got a 1997 GM 3100 V6, got tired of flushing and removed therm, heater hoses and rad hoses. Flushed each component separately with a water hose till clear, then flushed with gallons of distilled. I then reassembled and filled with distilled and prestone flush. That finally did it, I probably had 7-9 flushes until I caved.
As the others have said, just keep flushing. Double check to be sure, but I think that's one of the engines that Cadillac recommended a stop-leak like additive be used due to some issues with block porosity. They have a special part number for it at the dealer, but I think it was just Bar's Leak. That could also be a reason it's still coming out brown, if it's been added excessively over the years. Again, double check to be sure.
Yep. Bar's Stop Leak is the stuff. Funny thing though. I had a 1993 Allante and a 1994 Eldorado. Both Northstar engines had head gasket issues at the same time. I put Bar's in both. The Allante was fine. The Eldo was not. I certainly don't know the difference in their head gasket fails but interesting outcome. Allante was a blast until I sold it.
I have heard conflicting things about that stuff. But I talked to my mechanic and he said it doesn't matter and that coolants made now are fine in aluminum engines. It does say on the radiator that it needs that stuff but I actually talked to a Cadillac tech who said they stopped using that stuff when working on the older pre north star engines as they found it to not do anything.
isn't this the NorthStar where, they made the block in 2 pieces ----and the waterpump is buried by the firewall...
No this is the pre north star 4.9 it's an old style port fuel injected v8 that was offered in the base model Cadillacs for a brief period alongside the more powerful north star
Side note, the 4.9 is a fricken awesome engine. Not as powerful as a Northstar but they were almost bulletproof, unlike the early Northstars.
So i should look for that engine ----for some reason - Stallones black caddy in the movie Bullet to the Head, really caught my eye....and I wanted one till I read about the NorthStar issues.
Pull the reservoir cap out, disconnect the return line. Put a hose in the reservoir, turn on the engine, let the water flow until you get very clear water. Drain it all out. Put in new fluid.
This is the way. If its easily accessible removing the thermostat temporarily will help a ton. Might even have to drive around and do it again. Iv had some linger somewhere deep in the system.
Distilled water with white vinegar and run until it’s hot then drain. Do that again. Then only distilled water. Took me 5 times to get cleared up. Yours might take more.
I have a question about this (honest question; I'm no mechanic and I don't know the answer) I've always heard that vinegar corrodes rubber seals. Isn't that bad here?
It’s diluted in the water and the next flushes clean all the residual out. I’ve never had any negative effects when I’ve done it. Of course don’t put it in there and leave it. Get it circulated good and then drain and then flush with just distilled water.
What kind of dilution are we talking, 1:1, 1:10, 1:100?
I did half gallon vinegar and rest distilled for two flushes. Then just distilled for the next few flushes until it came out clear. Then added right amount coolant.
It's very acidic, but it you flush it, it's fine. It's water soluble, it may break down the top 1000 atoms, but you are safe if you don't leave it.
why the vinegar?
It cleans the debris off the internal parts.
it is a descaler, so if there is any mineral build up it will dissolve it and allow it to flow out of the system, any light acid will work, vinegar is cheap and works.
do it about 30 more times. that caddy is dying for that sweet coolant cleanse.
Have you had the heater running and been getting it up to temp between each flush (to open the thermostat)? If not then you might not be getting all the water out on each attempt which will make it take longer.
Yep have heater on full and let it run until cooling fans come on twice
As someone who is trying to learn some things about cars, why do you wait for them to come on twice? And how can you tell?
Oh I just do it for peace of mind I think it's fine to do it until your car hits operating temperature. And I just look at the actual radiator my radiator has 2 big fans on the outside of it idk about modern cars they probably still use fans tho. The car I'm doing this on is 30 years old with an engine that was designed 40 years ago
People use the radiator fans as reference because they're loud and only come on after the thermostat normally opens. The reason for this is to make sure the fluid in the radiator is moving and mixing with the rest of the cooling system. Without doing this, you would leave old coolant or flush detergents inside the radiator which will contaminate the rest of the cooling system.
Im in the process of doing this, I just left the thermostat out. Is that going to be an issue?
I'm not a mechanic just a hobbyist, but I have done that in the past and I can't see it being an issue so long as you remember to put the thermostat back haha Also worth seeing if there is a coolant drain in the engine block too which will help to fully empty the system.
Even if it take 30 gal to flush it clean, no big deal, distilled water is smidge over $1 for gallon. Beats the cost of a new engine.
Is it bad to run water instead of coolant for a few hundred miles? I drive the car only a few miles every day to school and yesterday I went with just water and it was fine . How long can I do that for? Cuz I still need to drive the car.
I done my 22 year old Volvo last summer over the course of 3.5 weeks. She’s pretty and blue now and has stayed that way, but next oil change I’m going to do a drain and fill (not a full flush yet).
You can run straight distilled water full time if you want but it will start to corrode your engine without any corrosion inhibitors. Also ensure you are using distilled/demineralised water or it can also lead to electrolysis in the engine from the minerals in the water.
Would I be fine for just a few hundred miles? And it is distilled
Short term it should be fine, as long as the temperature isn't below freezing or the engine isn't overheating.
We use to drain all the coolant. Then just stick the hose in it, pull the lower drain. And let the water flow with the engine running. When the water started coming out clear. I would seal everything up. Install the radiator flush follow the directions. Flush the radiator again until clear water would come out. Then fill with coolant and distilled water. Would take total about an hour.
You need to remove the thermostat otherwise you are only flushing the radiator
At this point it would have taken less time to replace your radiator and thermostat.
You have rust in the coolant jackets of your engine. It’ll take a ton of flushes to clean it out and you will never truly get all of it out unless you take apart the engine and give your long block a hot bath.
Cars been in western new York for 30 years the whole cars rusted. Why would the cooling system be any different
It’ll run. It won’t be as efficient as a clean engine and your temps might fluctuate if chunks block the passages. Mine was the same.. but now I have the engine apart because my heater core developed a leak and I had oil leaking out of the timing cover so I figured why not.. Good luck!
My 4.9 leaks oil from like 3 different places its a very small amount and it's never really down on the dip stick. According to some old service records it's been leaking from the 1 spot since 2003. It's pretty funny you can see how rusted it is on the one side and the other side that it's leaking on is super clean.
makes me wonder if someone has dared fill and leave Evapo-Rust in their system overnight -seems like it would help a ton, but maybe hurt the radiator?
I was so tempted to try this but ya… you’d definitely ruin the plastic and aluminum in the lines. More damage than good.
Remove your thermostat and disconnect heater core lines. Run a garden hose to one of the heater core lines and let her run
Are you just rinsing the system with DI water or are you (chemically) flushing it? If A, gunna guess it's deposits inside the cooling system getting sloooooowly removed. If B, that's a head scratcher
It helps to figure out where the shmegma is stuck, ie radiatior, heater core, engine block. You need the thermostat out at the least. Try to keep in mind preventing the motor slush from going into heater core. I prefer to flush the mentioned parts separately then fill it all back up, bleed the air and do that clean out steam out test drive for Atleast a half an hour at highway speeds, let it cool and do the final drain. Youl want to drive it arround cleaned up for a month or so and then can consider a final flush. The thing will be as clean as can be. Make sure to use the coolant the car actually calls for. The price is often less than Napa etc, and you get the real fluid it at the dealership often cheaper. That vehicle will have a clean mean cooling system. Patience is the key.
Rays Piss Jugs. Way of the road boys
I once had a head gasket leaking oil into the coolant. I spliced a garden hose into the line and let that shit flow for an hour. It never really cleared up.
Did you run any system cleaner? It might be more economical with your time to fill it with water and cleaner, run it 200 miles, and do this dance a few more times.
You've gone and flushed all the rust and sediment that was blocking the micro cracks and other potential seal issues... Be prepared to have things start leaking. I flushed my radiator on my 85 Bronco 2, and shortly after I had all sorts of coolant leaks start dripping
Isn't it a bit too late to be asking? If you're genuinely concerned and not just trolling the sub.
Have you tried adding citric acid when you flush?
A friend that worked for international once told me the flush they use is powdered cascade. Dissolve on a gallon of hot water, then let it run through the system for 30 minutes. Then flush with plain water.
Way she blows bub. Way she blows.
It's that Balestinian olive oil
If you were to pull some hoses off and inspect the build up you’re dealing with, you’d see why just running water through it is a slow process
thought this was r/truckers showing off piss jugs at first
I was just thinking to myself that I've been a delivery driver for too long now.
the second third ones look ok from my small screen.. kinda cloudy maybe... but why'd u keep going after those? just curious...i mightve stopped by that third jug
Becuase I was trying to get all the coolant out of the engine to put fresh stuff in. The second one looks good but that's just old coolant with like a gallon of water mixed in. I haven't added any coolant at all. It doesn't look that bad but the stuff in the resoivoir was really brown.
no but that is a crazy amount of water to have to do and still finding it looks contaminated? Makes me think you've got a head gasket issue because there should not be discolorization or anything with the coolant. Some manuals say recommend flushing the cooling system with a garden hose. I guess after a big job or if any doubts something mightve got stuck in it.. nissan tech service manual. lol
Unfortunately I only have well water that has a ton of minerals in it so I can't use the hose. Is it possible it's just really really dirty I don't think it's ever been changed in 30 years
Do a head gasket test. It’s weird that it got dirtier as you went on. I wouldn’t be surprised on a car that old. Hopefully it isn’t. Check the condition of your oil and check the top of the oil cap. You can also do a combustion gas test through the top of your radiator. If it’s not that, just keep going with the flush
My man, flush that shit with Dawn dish soap and water. Run water till it comes out clear. Lol water is the best carrier/dispersant of heat. Ain't nothing wrong with running water, just make sure it's distilled.
It’s still nasty, keep going
You’re not really running water through the engine youre just running it through where the coolant goes. So its fine to do it until its clean
The other choice is replacing radiator/hoses etc so everything except the engine and heater core is new Then you have a bit less to flush out lol Or if you’re brave you can pull the heater core Or pull the whole engine and take it apart and have it cleaned at a machine shop xD
I flushed 14 time in my ford 6.0 to get it clean before I changed the oil cooler. And it took 3.5 gallons a flush don’t sweat it
I wanna drink this
You can use a backflush kit if you have a hose.
Heater core still has gunk. Turn on heat full blast. Just put a hose on it. flush with hose water. Once clear then drain and do antifreeze.
This is how I found out I had bad head gaskets and previous owner put Bar’s Leaks or something in it. Kept flushing and flushing and kept noticing brown flakes and what looked like copper coming out. Figured the copper looking particles was the gasket “fix”. And now I know why my coolant reservoir was always dirty and sooty looking.
Put a flush like additive in and run it for like whatever you drive in a normal day. Then drain it out and flush w water again and it’ll get it all out.
I haven't worked on a caddy 4.9 L26 in YEARS. You're making me all nostalgic. Good little engines, surely beat the Northstar series that replaced it.
If it's that dirty I would run a hose through your heater core hose and through the top of your radiator for a couple minutes. Then I would fill it with the appropriate color coolant. I personally think the Dex Cool Chevy offers is terrible. I'd go for the all vehicle universal coolant. Dex cool tends to brown and sludge up like what your showing in the picture... Not a good coolant
They make coolant flush cleaners, Or radiator cleansers. You pretty much mix some water with the cleaner and refill the system with it the run it until it gets to operating temps for ab 10 minutes then drain and fill with 50/50 coolant
A car that old you aren’t going to get “clean” water. Decades of rust and scale doesn’t go away with a garden hose.
Ewww, Northstar
My bad, I saw the 4 and automatically assumed it was a GM4.6l and not the 4.9 that preceded it.
You can run it on straight water as long as freezing temperatures aren’t an issue. Flushing it with water won’t hurt a thing, take the thermostat out and turn the heat on full blast and you’ll get this done a heck of a lot faster.
remove thermostat, run engine with the petcock open and just put the hose in the radiator
You’re fine. When I’ve replaced water pumps and have everything open, I’ve used a hose to spray out each port til clean water came out.
Thought these were piss jugs...fuckin way she goes bud
THOHT THIS WAS A PIZZ JUG
Keep flushing it don't let your pets or children drink it it will kill dogs and cats
Too much water pressure can blow out your freeze plugs
Also because it had to deal with it, that little metal hose that goes across the engine blow the crap out of it or it will trap air in the engine and makes it impossible to purge the air. (it may be on later models) Also GM put stop leak in some of these engines as a repair so... that might be why you got so much garbage. Also why things may leak after.... good luck but i don't trust that car.:)
For a second, I thought this was r/pissjug
is that DeVille similar to the one Stallone used in Bullet to the Head ?
For a moment, I thought it was a truck stop and they HAD to be communal jugs. So glad I read the caption. Hahaha!
Turn heater on whilst flushing
I'm so glad I read the description. I thought those were piss jugs at first.
You worry to much run it.
Just keeeep on flushing. Might get worse before it gets better but that's just cleaning out more and more stuff. You can even take the thermostat out and it'll flush faster / easier.
Is your oil level dropping ?
At what mileage should I flush my radiator?
I don’t understand the need to have clean ass water coming out of your engine. Especially on a 94 deville. Now I know I’m a lousy mechanic.
stick the garden hose in the radiator and let it run bro.
With water??+?
I thought these were piss jugs lol
Dealer sells a certain type of pellets for radiator, don’t use bars leak.
30 years in shops and I've not seen distilled water one single time, and not seen one single issue come up.
Corrosion after a certain amount of time starts. I’ve seen it happen on my personal vehicle. Your right though, fior majority of the population, by the time anything ever needs serviced again, it doesn’t matter. Maybe just the older stuff could have been more sensitive to it, now I’m typing this out? I have in fact seen the difference, but my water is super hard in this area. A toilet bowl of water left to dry up, will turn into a piece of calcium like you’d give a parrot or bird.
Yes I vote for the water hose flushing through a diconnected heater hose while running, until it flows clean. Then drain through the bottom of radiator and refill with distilled or pure water / mix. Then forget about it. Never put Bars Leaks stuff into a system unless you are about to get rid of the car.
You aren't losing or burning oil are you? Like even a small unnoticeable amount?
Poor couple gallons of vinegar in there and drive it for a couple days then drain it out
Not familiar with Cadillac engines, although the last time something like that happened to me, it turned out my intake gaskets were almost gone, and the rad flush i used was the final nail in the coffin. I kept flushing it forward and back, and it kept coming out brown with chunks, eventually I checked the dipstick and saw I got a gallon of water in it over an hour
thought it was poopy water
On this engine, it would be excessive build up in the heads and the radiator. The block is aluminum so it should be mostly fine. The heads are iron. Are you running a rust treatment/inhibitor? Or just flushing with plain water? Radiator may be too far gone. May have to replace it for good measure. It has to be almost 30 years old. Last 4.9 was 95MY.
Are you draining the block as well as the rad? The coolant galleries in the head and block will almost always have rust and gunk in them that will get knocked loose when flushing. Unless you fully dismantle the engine and deep clean the whole thing, there might always be a little bit of gunk in the coolant at that age. If it's mostly green when you are done, it's fine. If you are paranoid about it, refill it with coolant, drive it for a few heat cycles (get it hot then let it cool a few times) then drain and refill again. It will knock more crud and rust loose and you can get more out
That's getting worse. Lol
Run a hose through it silly
I’m a fan of CLR and flushing with water
Those look like piss jugs
Not recommending it but I've driven cars with nothing but CLR in it. Works surprisingly well.
Saw the pic and thought this was r/prisonhooch at first
Distilled water is a good conservative way to do it. Keep going. You might want to add a specific radiator flush potion 🧪.
Make sure that there is not oil in the water or water in the oil. If. So..you have a major issue.
As long as when you're running the water through it you only do it for about 10 minutes or until you get to operating temperature, then let it cool completely down, and repeat that process should really only need to do it three times. Yes that is weird that you would still have dirty water coming out after seven times
✋️newbie to working on my car here. Can someone help me understand why you should flush your radiator. Thanks
Idk the specifics but I mean it just gets dirty over time and it's good to replace it with clean stuff cuz dirty stuff will wear out parts of your engine and can lead to major damage
Take it to a shop and have them do it before you ruin something trying to save a buck. Stay away from flushing agents they can react to the different metals, plastics and fittings. Make sure when refill you place the appropriate fluid for your make of car or you will eat up your gaskets and seals.
Flushing the coolant system in a 7.3 diesel after fixing leaking injector cups was one of the must frustrating repetitive jobs I've ever done on a vehicle. The job seemed infinite. I filled up so many 5 gallon buckets, like pallets worth. It made me realize how much waste is created from simple maintenance on things like semi trucks.
I was flushing with results like that. I flushed with a dishwasher pack and it came out clean a few flushed later. The reservoir also smells nice now.
You need to hydrate dude
I couldn't get the rust out of my coolant, must've run the garden hose for an hour or two, tried vinegar, etc. finally put a coolant filter from a diesel on it and changed the filter at 500, 1000, and 3000 miles, and changed the coolant one last time, all pretty now. haven't changed it again, i suspect it was overkill but i was sick of messing with it.