draining antifreeze/coolant

[Adam1027]

can anyone tell me where to find the drain valve for a radiator on a 1994 saturn sc2?

also, how exactly do i "flush" the radiator after its drained?

[RalliArt16]

Ok heres the low down on how to flush:

1)Jack the vehicle up on jackstands (one per side a few inches away from the front wheels along the metal lip that runs along side of car).

2)The 'petcock' (drain valve) is located on the RIGHT bottom side of radiator. A big plastic piece/protector covers the bottom of the radiator. However, there is a hole in this piece that allows you to access the drain valve, although its a little tight fit. Turn it COUNTERCLOCKWISE and pull down slightly. Be careful! The fluid with shoot out with force.. it is suggested to do this with an ICE COLD car cuz the fluid is really hot. Have a BIG bucket positioned under this valve. Let drain. LEAVE THE VALVE OPEN FOR NOW.

3)To "flush" it run a hose through the coolant tank until the water coming out the petcock is clear. If your coolant is SEVERELY neglected, skip this step for now, fill up with a product such as RADIATOR FLUSH/CLEANER(available at wal-mart among other places) and then top it off with distilled water. Run this for a few days to "clean" the system. THen flush it again the normal way.

4)After running a hose through, open up the engine block drain plug. It is near the petcock, but obviously on the engine block itself. You need a socket wrench for this (dont remember exact size, its pretty small ~10mm?).
Let the coolant drain from this then screw back in.

5)Close the petcock. LOWER the car then fill up with a 50%/50% mix of water and antifreeze (the coolant cap should have a colored dot for which kind). *my personal preference is to buy "pre-mixed" 50/50 antifreeze, also available at wal-mart. Straight antifreeze is SUPER CONCENTRATED and should never be added umixed!

*you may want to let it sit a while or let the car idle after doing this. Usually after it circulates you will need to top it off with more coolant*
*as for disposing of antifreeze, you 'can' severely dilute it with water and run it down your sink without worry.*

[Silver02ex]

http://www.saturnfans.com/forums/sho...light=radiator

[Razorbak]

Originally Posted by RalliArt16

3)To "flush" it run a hose through the coolant tank until the water coming out the petcock is clear. If your coolant is SEVERELY neglected, skip this step for now, fill up with a product such as RADIATOR FLUSH/CLEANER(available at wal-mart among other places) and then top it off with distilled water. Run this for a few days to "clean" the system. THen flush it again the normal way.

Does this flush solution also protect against freezing? (I've never used it before.)

[RalliArt16]

Originally Posted by Razorbak

Does this flush solution also protect against freezing? (I've never used it before.)

I dont think so. On the back of the label it just says it helps get rid of all the rust in the system and clean it out. There is another product by Prestone(which makes all these antifreeze additives i've mentioned) called "radiator treatment". It says you add it and it lubricates and protects the system.. so that *may* help against freezing, not too sure.

[Adam1027]

thanks a ton RalliArt, exactly the info i needed. *thumbs up*

[Razorbak]

Originally Posted by RalliArt16

I dont think so. On the back of the label it just says it helps get rid of all the rust in the system and clean it out. There is another product by Prestone(which makes all these antifreeze additives i've mentioned) called "radiator treatment". It says you add it and it lubricates and protects the system.. so that *may* help against freezing, not too sure.

That's what I thought. OK, just to be clear, you should modify your previous recommendation...

"If your coolant is SEVERELY neglected, skip this step for now, fill up with a product such as RADIATOR FLUSH/CLEANER(available at wal-mart among other places) and then top it off with distilled water. Run this for a few days to "clean" the system. THen flush it again the normal way.

... to prevent someone from using this stuff in the middle of winter, and then leaving the car overnight where this slurry freezes inside the radiator and the block.

[emptypockets]

3)To "flush" it run a hose through the coolant tank until the water coming out the petcock is clear. If your coolant is SEVERELY neglected, skip this step for now, fill up with a product such as RADIATOR FLUSH/CLEANER(available at wal-mart among other places) and then top it off with distilled water. Run this for a few days to "clean" the system. THen flush it again the normal way.

So you run it with no antifreeze at all? Is that going to make the temp rise/fall faster than normal? I would think that the cooling properties of this stuff mixed with just distilled water would make a long highway drive for someone like myself(1 hour round trip) a little different than normal. Anyone know from experience? By the way, awesome "How To" RalliArt