I'm getting ready to start the 350 for the first time in 7rs on a 78 k5. Do I need to flush the coolant? The system still has the coolant in it from 7 years ago. It never leaked.
CK5
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anti-freeze been sitting 7rs
- Thread starter wazzabie
- Start date
If it's the green (should be) it probably isn't a problem like the newer stuff but for piece of mind I would change it anyways. It is always good to flush a cooling system once a year and if it's been in there for 7 years and who knows how long before that it is worth changing IMO.
How do I go about changing it. Is just changing the radiator enough?
If you don't have a flush kit installed then I like to remove the upper hose from the radiator and then stick your garden hose into the radiator nipple and adjust the water flow as needed and then start the engine and let the t-stat open and allow the old coolant to flow out the upper hose and catch it in a bucket of sorts. Keep the engine running until you have nice clean water coming out then you can shut the engine off, drain the radiator then add the proper amount of coolant.
Some people aren't so enviromentally friendly and just let the coolant flow onto the ground and down the sewer or where ever else it will go.
Some people aren't so enviromentally friendly and just let the coolant flow onto the ground and down the sewer or where ever else it will go.
use it EVERY single day this time of year... it is winterizing season...
i drive my boss crazy... instead of pronouncing it re-fract-ah-meter like a normal person, i give him the mongoloid voice and a "seen my re-fract-OOOOOHHHHHH-meter"...
Jessie James
1/2 ton status
I use some of those big 5 gallon buckets you can get at home depot to catch the old stuff. I remove the lower radiator hose from the radiator, quickly bend the hose to slow the flow, and try to catch as much as I can as it comes out of the radiator. I can then dump it for free locally.
I refill with water, repeat two or three times. Then once most of the antifreeze is gone I use a flush kit and run a garden hose until it's clear.
Obviously don't do this when it's hot, you'll burn the heck outta yourself.
in order to do a proper flush, you need to pull the 2 block drains on either side of the block.. right above the oil pan.. (which, on our rigs is stupid simple to do).. if you don't, you'll never get the sediment out of the block... no matter how "clear" the water is...
pulling the lower rad hose only drains maybe 65% of the fluid... everything in the block from the wp down is still sitting in there...
pulling the lower rad hose only drains maybe 65% of the fluid... everything in the block from the wp down is still sitting in there...
How do I pull the two drain plugs? Are they easy to reintall? My K5 has the engine block header.
79rustyk10
3/4 ton status
the block heater will be in a frost plug hole. plan on replacing it.
The block drains are two little pipe plugs one both sides of the engine right about in the middle. You might need to poke a hole through the sediment to get the flow started, Ive had a few that were rusted over.
The block drains are two little pipe plugs one both sides of the engine right about in the middle. You might need to poke a hole through the sediment to get the flow started, Ive had a few that were rusted over.
yup, 1/4 NPT plugs right above the oil pan rail...
and if ya wanna be fancy, you can change the plugs out to petcocks, or drain valves, to make it easier the next time....
and if ya wanna be fancy, you can change the plugs out to petcocks, or drain valves, to make it easier the next time....
