Flushed my radiator yesterday!

[Click_It]

I feel a bit silly, over the years I've never tried doing a radiator flush myself. I remember as a kid someone telling me years ago that it can be a real hassle so I just always assumed it was a difficult job. In the last few days I've been thinking about when my festiva's radiator was last flushed. It's never been done in my 2 years of ownership and I don't remember my mother ever getting it done in her 10 years (!!) of ownership so lets just say it's probably been a LONG time between flushes. So I had a think about it and hooked in.

Final thoughts: One of the easiest things I've ever done on a car!

The fluid was a bit sludgy but otherwise in good condition. No rust anywhere, it's like brand new still! I had some of my expensive (>$60) concentrated fluid left from my previous (performance) car. So I used that with a mix of distilled water and the job was done in 10 minutes, minus running the car for 15 minutes afterwards.

If anyone wants to have a crack at it themselves I'm happy to explain the process. Beats paying $100 for someone else to do it who will probably use the cheapest crap on the market.

[Aaronbrook37]

Awesome... glad to hear it, Click_It. I definitely want to do mine soon just for peace of mind. If you wouldn't mind whipping up a quick guide, that'd be awesome. I have guides on hand from my Haynes manual and Google handy, but a personalized Festiva one would be cool as well!

[Click_It]

Hi mate, sure happy to help! Best to be of the safe side, here in Australia they say the 2 lead causes of breakdowns are engine oil & radiator fluid related. When both jobs are only 10-15mins and so cheap even using quality products you'd be crazy not to...

Okay so here is my write up. I'm no expert by any means but it's a fairly straight forward job, apply common sense and not much can go wrong.

1. Getting started
Park the car on a reasonably flat surface, engine off and turn your heater on. If car is hot let it sit for an hour or 2 so you don't risk scolding yourself. Jack the car up at the front so you have plenty of access under the radiator. Since radiator fluid is toxic we're supposed to contain it and dispose correctly. I used a 4L/1 Gallon bottle with a large neck which caught 99% of it but an oil pan would be fine too (especially if you're not jacking the car up).

2. Remove caps, empty radiator & inspect fluid
Remove the top radiator cap. Then look (or feel) under the bottom of the radiator where you'll find a plastic release cap (probably white), unscrew that. Pay close attention to the color of the fluid, hopefully it's the color of the coolant currently in there but there may be brown rusty water too. Don't worry if theres just a little if it comes out thick brown I'd be budgetting for a replacement radiator in the near future (though you can extend the life of a rusty radiator with rust inhibitors etc, I just don't like bandaid solutions much)

3. Inspect hoses
Now that the radiator is empty check the condition of your upper and lower hoses. Mine felt fine but apparently if they feel overly brittle or spongey soft it might be a good idea to replace them.

4. Flushing the system.
Regardless of clean/dirty water ddo this anyway as it only takes a few minutes. Get a hose, fill up the radiator from the top and watch the color of the water coming out, then fill from the bottom. Repeat this process 2 or 3 times or until satisfied water is coming out clean. When filled with water you should also be able to see into the top of the radiator crystal clear now. If you're still getting brown water then it might be time to go buy some radiator flush, it's like a detergent, it will help lift stubborn deposits. Seal the bottom cap, fill radiator with this stuff and run engine for a few minutes then repeat flushing process. Its time to price a new radiator if there is still rusty water coming out!

5. Apply new coolant
Screw the bottom cap back on and fill with coolant. There are 2 types of coolants. Cheap premixed stuff ($5) and quality concentrated stuff ($30), either will work it's totally up to you and the climate you live in. I used the quality stuff despite it being overkill for my local climate. If doing as I did, since it's a concentrate you need to mix it yourself. Don't be a cheapskate now, spend another $2.50 on distilled water to mix it with. Tap water is full of minerals which will accelerate rust corrosion. I find my bottle suggests 50/50 mixture but I use 70% coolant for added protection. Just don't use 100% I think that's bad (too thick). Since the Festiva radiators only hold about 3L you might want to premix this stuff prior to pouring it in.

6. Inspect radiator cap
These things have a life span and do go bad. If it's looking rusty or worn just get a new one. If unsure just replace it anyway, they only cost a few bucks.

7. Start your engine (with heater running)
Keep your top radiator cap OFF during this stage. You will see air bubbles coming to the top, as this happens the level will drop as fluid fills the air pockets, this is perfectly normal, just keep watching it and top up as required. This whole process shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes. Once happy with it screw the cap back on.

8. Test drive & final inspection
Take the car for a drive making sure everything is fine. When you get home let it sit for an hour or so to cool then take the top cap off and check levels once more. It should be exactly as it was before. If the level is down you have a leak somewhere, this could simply be caused from not reinstalling a hose tightly enough to something as serious as a leak in the radiator or elsewhere. If it's not the hoses then I'd advise getting it to the professionals sooner rather than later as it might be time for a new radiator.

Hope this helps some of the less car savvy people amongst us save a few bucks, this whole job can cost you anywhere from $4 to $40 and a little bit of your time. A garage will likely charge you over $100 and you'll never know if they used a quality coolant or one of the $4 cheapo bottles they probably have stacked up in the office.

[Aaronbrook37]

Cool... thanks! I had already done it by the time you posted it haha... very easy process by all means. Certainly easier than a DIY oil change. Fewer tools too, which is always nice.

[Click_It]

Cool... thanks! I had already done it by the time you posted it haha.

Oops sorry Hadn't logged in for a few days.

Well yeah I'm going to change mine yearly now I think, doing it any sooner is probably overkill considering the stuff I've used in mine is rated for 250,000km I change my oil every 3-6 months depending on mileage. All money that used to go to the mechanic once upon a time.

[freshtiva]

I usually unhook the heater hoses and run water both ways through the heater core and the engine block as well.

[Click_It]

I usually unhook the heater hoses and run water both ways through the heater core and the engine block as well.

Ahh okay, when I originally looked up how to do the flush it did mention doing that but when I saw how clean the water was during the flush I got lazy and didn't bother. I'll do that next time.

[Charlie1717]

Thanks Click it, for the write up! I've never done this and I doubt the previous owner has done it either so not only was this a reminder to do it but since I've never done it I don't need to look at how! Will be doing this very soon!

[Click_It]

Hi Charlie1717,
Glad you found the write up helpful! I've been slowly in the process of touching (spray painting) up the side trims and later plan to touch up the trim in the boot (around the speakers) which I might do a write up for. Simple stuff people without lots of experience can accomplish. Anyway am very happy someone found this write-up helpful

[miami man]

i had bad luck back flushing my 86 pontiac sunbird years ago. it seamed it poped a hole in the heater core and flooded my floorboard with coolant.

[batstiva]

i had bad luck back flushing my 86 pontiac sunbird years ago. it seamed it poped a hole in the heater core and flooded my floorboard with coolant.

That was fate telling you that you never should have bought a sunbird.

Kidding. Well, mostly. Nice write up, Click-it. Probably wouldn't hurt mine to have this done.