| Subject: Re: Mike |
Author:
Glen
|
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Date Posted: 05:30:29 11/21/03 Fri
Author Host/IP: 67-39-236-62.ded.ameritech.net/67.39.236.62
In reply to:
Denise
's message, "Re: Mike" on 13:46:00 11/20/03 Thu
Denise,
As always, Mike has given you very good advice on your car. If you don't mind, I'll add a few comments.
First, just take off the radiator cap, loosen the bleed screw on the thermostat housing. The bolt looks sort of like a bolt with a small tube coming out the top. Open it until you have coolant running out, and then tighten it and top off the 100% coolant (or a 50/50 mix if you're concerned that you have too high a concentration).
Also, make sure the heater control is all the way to hot so that you're getting coolant flow through the heater core in the dash.
Generally what you do when you can't completely drain the block is to backflush the system and basically dilute as much of the coolant as possible with water. You then find out the coolant system volume via the owners manual, and then add 1/2 that amount of pure coolant. Fill if the rest of the way with water, and you're set. In theory, the slight amount of old coolant in the engine will cause the ratio to be slightly greater than 50/50, but that is not a problem.
As Mike said, the addition of water and the resulting chemical mixture is more efficient at removing heat than pure coolant. Water is the best, but you need coolant to extend the non-freezing range of the mixture to below the typical winter temps, and also you need coolant for the additives. One last thing - pure coolant is pretty flammable, so the dilution in water reduces the chance of fire.
Finally, the fans rarely come on when driving, but should come on after you've sat idling for awhile in hot weather, or if you shut off the car, and it is still pretty hot. Usually in cooler temps (say 40-50F), the fans will not come on during a drive cycle since the airflow through the radiator just due to driving is enough to remove the heat rejected to the coolant by the engine.
Hope this helps (sorry to butt in, Mike!)....Glen
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