How To Flush Your Car Radiator

Most mechanics will tell you that one of the most overlooked maintenance items on a motor car is the coolant system.

It's just that people don't even think about it until they are on the side of the road with the hood up and steam pouring out of the radiator. This traffic nightmare can be avoided by some simple routine maintenance. Your coolant system should be flushed every 2 years and the anti freeze replaced as well. The chemicals in anti freeze begin to lose their effectiveness and rust and grime can build up in your engine and radiator.

This will clog up your engine's cooling system and cause your engine to overheat. The good news is very little mechanical skills are required to flush your radiator system and keep your car running for years to come.

Simply follow these steps:

Step 1. Locate the drain valve on the radiator to drain it. It should be located on the bottom of the radiator. Be sure to drain the fluid into a container and not the ground. Once you have drained it, close the drain valve.

Step 2. you are ready to install a back flush kit. This kit is inexpensive and can easily be purchased at a local auto parts store. Simply follow the instructions on the back on the packet. Basically, you have to cut the heater inlet hose going to the top of the engine. This is where you install the T section provided in the kit into the line. Slip both ends of the hose onto this fitting and tighten the clamps provided in the kit. Go ahead and connect your garden hose to this fitting.

Step 3. Now place the diverter that came in the kit into the opening on the top of the radiator. This is where the water and coolant will pour out from when you start to flush the system. A hose or tube will be helpful to direct the run off into a bucket.

Step 4. Okay, now go ahead and start the engine. Turn the heater on high and also turn on your garden hose. Coolant is now circulating through the engine and coming out through the diverter on the top of the radiator. Continue this process until clean water begins to come out the top.

This should ONLY take a few minutes...

Step 5. After a few minutes have passed by, go ahead and turn off the engine and your garden hose. Now drain the radiator again into a bucket and close the drain valve when you are done.

Step 6. You should next add the new anti freeze. Pour the entire contents of the anti freeze bottle into the empty radiator, and fill it until coolant pours out of the neck. Screw back on the radiator cap and you are done. Make sure you have also screwed back on the provided cap onto the T fitting you installed.

Step 7. Take your car for a test drive around the block a couple of times, and make sure that everything is working okay.

Now you have a back flush fitting installed for the next time you need to flush your radiator and it will be a lot quicker. You will thank yourself the next time you pass that unlucky person on the side of the road with an ominous amount of steam cloud pouring from under the hood.

For free auto repair tutorials on how to diagnose, troubleshoot, repair, and fix car problems, please visit the authors website at www.autorepairtips.org