The back of the package says to put the splash deflector tube on the radiator where you remove the radiator cap. but by having the old crappy system i have to radiator cap, only that over flow bottle thing. So where is the water/old coolant,etc going to be pouring out of on mine? The directions on the back are a little confusing in that they are worded kinda weird but i think it says that i will need to remove the upper radiator hose at the radiator, but i just want ot make sure. thanks
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Using Prestone Radiator flush kit with old closed system
- Thread starter atfrith
- Start date
RichP
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Effort, Pa
Now that could be a challenge. The goal is to get all the cleaner stuff out of the system after the 7 hours drive [you did use the good stuff and not the 15 min stuff didn't ya 
]. I think I would go get a reducer of some kind that you could remove the return hose to the radiator, put the reducer on with about 3 or 4 ft of garden hose to drain over the nose, then I would put a lenght of old rad hose on the return bung on the radiator and use that to pour clean water into pouring clean water and keeping it full and probably do this for 15 to 20 min or so. Towards the end you might want to switch to 3 or 4 gallons of distilled water to displace all the tap water that will be in there. Then I would remove the pressure bottle and rinse that out. If you have ever seen a cooling system flush machine it works kind of the same way, you remove the top/return hose, put an adapter in the end of the hose the another adapter gets attached to the bung. The machine than pulls coolant out of the hose and pumps new coolant in thru the bung. You will be doing pretty much the same thing only the water pump will be supplying the oomph of moving the coolant vs the machine so in your case it will go slower because the thermostat will be constantly closing and opening every time you pour cold water in.
]. I think I would go get a reducer of some kind that you could remove the return hose to the radiator, put the reducer on with about 3 or 4 ft of garden hose to drain over the nose, then I would put a lenght of old rad hose on the return bung on the radiator and use that to pour clean water into pouring clean water and keeping it full and probably do this for 15 to 20 min or so. Towards the end you might want to switch to 3 or 4 gallons of distilled water to displace all the tap water that will be in there. Then I would remove the pressure bottle and rinse that out. If you have ever seen a cooling system flush machine it works kind of the same way, you remove the top/return hose, put an adapter in the end of the hose the another adapter gets attached to the bung. The machine than pulls coolant out of the hose and pumps new coolant in thru the bung. You will be doing pretty much the same thing only the water pump will be supplying the oomph of moving the coolant vs the machine so in your case it will go slower because the thermostat will be constantly closing and opening every time you pour cold water in.hey thanks for the info. One more question..i accidentally bought the oranage prestone anti-freeze from walmart today and didn't realize till i got home taht it is meant for the newer engines. Is it bad to put in our Xjs or should i be alright to use it? a guy over on jeepforum was sayin that he's been using the orange stuff for a long time now with no problems, but i want to make sure before i do it.
RichP
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Effort, Pa
If you read the FSM it says to use only ethelyn glycol, though you could use the new hoat stuff from the dealer. It also warns against using anything else, I checked because I had planned on putting that 100% racing coolant in my 98 when I bought it new, they specifically recommended against it.
DON'T use the orange! It's meant for aluminum engines and if you have any pockets of leftover green AF, they blend and turn into a sandy sludge that flows through the system, grinding away at the waterpump, cylinders, etc and it's thinner than the green, so leaks may pop up.
Best way to flush the closed system is to add the flush to the overflow bottle and take it for a nice long drive, then drain all of it from the bottom rad hose, put the hose back on and fill/drain several more times. That, or remove a freeze plug in the block and temporarily use one of the rubber ones while you are flushing (that's where the majority of crap settles anyways. When I get a used Jeep, I pull the freeze plugs and fish out all the crud I can and then put in fresh Prestone)
Rather than go through quite so much work on a lost cause Blackstone OEM rad, I toss them away (sell it to someone in dire need of a cheap rad) and buy a '91 XJ 4.0L rad with the cap on driver's side, replace the heater control valve with a universal one and new heater hoses, and toss the plastic bottle in the for sale pile too!
3 core new rad was $130 to my doorstep last year 1-800-radiator with the "internet discount". End of drama, period!
Best way to flush the closed system is to add the flush to the overflow bottle and take it for a nice long drive, then drain all of it from the bottom rad hose, put the hose back on and fill/drain several more times. That, or remove a freeze plug in the block and temporarily use one of the rubber ones while you are flushing (that's where the majority of crap settles anyways. When I get a used Jeep, I pull the freeze plugs and fish out all the crud I can and then put in fresh Prestone)
Rather than go through quite so much work on a lost cause Blackstone OEM rad, I toss them away (sell it to someone in dire need of a cheap rad) and buy a '91 XJ 4.0L rad with the cap on driver's side, replace the heater control valve with a universal one and new heater hoses, and toss the plastic bottle in the for sale pile too!
3 core new rad was $130 to my doorstep last year 1-800-radiator with the "internet discount". End of drama, period!
thanks guys. I ended up going back to walmart this morning and exchanging the orange stuff for the 50/50 prestone pre-diluted stuff. How i did the flush was i attached the t-connector, etc. and disconnected the upper radiator hose at the radiator. When i turned the jeep on and had the water running threw the old fluid and junk was pouring outta that upper radiator hole where the hose was connected to. I placed a bucket under it to collect the crap till it was pouring out clear water. o fill it back up with the new stuff i left the upper radiator hose dissoneccted and simply kept pouring the new fluid through the hole in the t-connector which displaced all the tap water left in the radiator through the radiator hole. By the 3rd gallon i had fresh green 50/50 coolant coming outta the radiator and i just reconnected the hoses. Seems to have worked just fine. thanks for the help guys
Well overall my overheating has gone away, but im pretty sure there are some air pockets in the system because the heat gauge fluctuates pretty often, the temp will get aboe 210, sometimes kinda far and then like plumet back to normal temp. Whats an easy way of getting these air pockets out? can i simply unsrew the cap on the t-connecter to let some gas out...or will that just make a huge mess? lol, sorry if this is a dumb question..
Flushing to improve radiator performance is almost as overated as the open cooling system conversion. Nothing wrong with a closed system if it's maintained properly. Permanently attaching some stupid plastic garden hose fitting to your system is simply asking for trouble.
The best way to flush YOUR ENGINE and the rad, if you really think it's gonna help the radiator, is to simply remove the lower hose and the thermostat housing. Stick a garden hose where the thermostat was and flush until clear. If you do this with the front of the vehicle slightly downhill you'll get rid of most of the large chunks. Humor yourself further by flushing the radiator while it's disconnected if you want.
Wanna refill a closed system with no air? Pull the upper hose from the thermostat housing and hold it up while pouring coolant mixture into the hose. If fairly level, the engine will fill from the bottom-up and you won't have to unscrew the coolant sensor to purge trapped air from the system.
Temperature swinging? Probably need a new radiator and/or you have an internal combustion leak into the jacket water. But if you're like most people (myself included) you'll try 185 thermostat, hope-in-a-can flush products and everything else under the sun in a failed effort to solve an engine temp problem. The problem is simply reduced cooling capacity that no over-the-counter product will ever restore. Just change the damn rad, pressure tank and hoses and be done with this BS for the next 5-10 years.
The best way to flush YOUR ENGINE and the rad, if you really think it's gonna help the radiator, is to simply remove the lower hose and the thermostat housing. Stick a garden hose where the thermostat was and flush until clear. If you do this with the front of the vehicle slightly downhill you'll get rid of most of the large chunks. Humor yourself further by flushing the radiator while it's disconnected if you want.
Wanna refill a closed system with no air? Pull the upper hose from the thermostat housing and hold it up while pouring coolant mixture into the hose. If fairly level, the engine will fill from the bottom-up and you won't have to unscrew the coolant sensor to purge trapped air from the system.
Temperature swinging? Probably need a new radiator and/or you have an internal combustion leak into the jacket water. But if you're like most people (myself included) you'll try 185 thermostat, hope-in-a-can flush products and everything else under the sun in a failed effort to solve an engine temp problem. The problem is simply reduced cooling capacity that no over-the-counter product will ever restore. Just change the damn rad, pressure tank and hoses and be done with this BS for the next 5-10 years.