Wondering if your car needs a cooling system flush? Watch out for these signs: gunk floating in the radiator or the overflow tank or getting cold air even after you have turned the heat on. This might mean that your used car needs a cooling system flush. If you do a good job of maintaining your cooling system, it can help prolong the life of your car and prevent problems down the road. The experts at CarSwitch.com, the UAE’s leading online marketplace for certified used cars for sale in UAE, have prepared this guide to help you do so.
Contrary to what you might think, draining and replacing coolant isn’t really the easiest job in the world and thus you will have to proceed with caution. First off, you will have to determine the colour of the coolant, and if it is not orange or it has been more than two years since you have drained it, you should not leave it in.
The engines of cars have many aluminium components, including the two main heat exchangers, the radiator and heater. Aluminium needs corrosion protection to thrive. Green and red antifreeze offer corrosion protection for around two years and the orange one offers even more.
How To Drain The Coolant
You will have to check the manual of your car first to determine how much coolant is in the system as the capacity can vary. Begin with a cool engine, disconnect and empty the overflow reservoir and remove the radiator cap. After that, open the radiator drain cock and allow the coolant to drain into a pan. Make sure you dispose of the old antifreeze properly.
After that, the dashboard temperature lever will have to be moved to hot, so that if your vehicle has a heater coolant control valve, it will be opened. If you see a pressure cap on the plastic reservoir, remove it, and then open the drain cock. If the radiator drain cock is missing, just disconnect the lower radiator hose and the radiator. After this, fill the system with water, and then warm up the engine and wait for it to cool. Then, empty the drain again and fill it with water again and then repeat the process.
Fill The System
You should fill the system to half of its capacity with undiluted antifreeze. Since the cooling system can easily trap air, filling it with coolant is no easy job. Thus, it might be a good idea to jack up the front portion of the vehicle. Look for air bleeds and open them up. Slowly enter the required amount of antifreeze until the coolant starts oozing out of the air bleeds. After that, close the bleeds and fill the system with the antifreeze left and plain water.
The coolant that was drained out should be clear, almost like water. Otherwise, the process will have to be repeated until it’s all out. Once the car radiator and the reservoir have been drained, pour in the required amount of antifreeze and top up with water afterwards.
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