[whincup]

ok, so my stock sierra engine has been running hot for a while, and i finally have the time to do something about it. im planning to get a new thermostat (already replaced it, but im going the OEM part this time), i also want to remove the radiator so i can flush that properly too, and at the suggestion of a few people now, switching back to the green coolant, so need to do a proper flush...

any tips/tricks i need to know before starting? and how do i flush the rest of the engine? just stick a garden hose in one side?

[SuziBlu]

Run a flushing agent thru it. This goes in the radiator, and you go for a drive, then you do a clean water flush, gets the crap out that the flushing agent has broken down, and finally, do the normal coolant thing.

[nato78]

i used mukowt flush, worked that well that it flushed out all the gunk that was blocking all the holes in my system! ended up having to buy a new water pump as the old one was leaking like a seive after i flushed it.

easiest way is just follow the instructions on the bottle of flush, but make sure you run your engine for at least 30mins with the flush in, then disconnect your bottom radiator hose and drain it straight away so the shit doesn't have time to resettle.

[royce]

And turn your heater on!!!!

best way is to remove the radiator hoses and flush the rad from the bottom outlet up so the flow is reversed

then do teh block top down, youll need to remove the thermostst to do this

then pull the heater hose and flush it too, so you want all clean water through all of it, then drain as much as you can and put it together with new coolant

it makes life easier if you drill a little hole in the side of the thermostat too, so the air bleeds out as you fill and not get stuck under it

[PeterW]

Quote:

makes life easier if you drill a little hole in the side of the thermostat too, so the air bleeds out

Seriously? or you just jokes?

[89_tintop]

serious mate

some new thermostats come with a little valve that helps to bleed the system

[SuziBlu]

royce wrote:

And turn your heater on!!!!

best way is to remove the radiator hoses and flush the rad from the bottom outlet up so the flow is reversed

then do teh block top down, youll need to remove the thermostst to do this

then pull the heater hose and flush it too, so you want all clean water through all of it, then drain as much as you can and put it together with new coolant

it makes life easier if you drill a little hole in the side of the thermostat too, so the air bleeds out as you fill and not get stuck under it

Opps, forgot those little, but ever so important things.

Heater so needs to be on, so it can flush.

The thermostat, drilling a hole is sound, but, make sure its a mall hole, or you loose the effect of the thermo, as water will rush around unchecked, and so, no control.

[steak_knife]

PeterW wrote:

Quote:

makes life easier if you drill a little hole in the side of the thermostat too, so the air bleeds out

Seriously? or you just jokes?

89_tintop wrote:

serious mate

some new thermostats come with a little valve that helps to bleed the system

That lil brass thing on your new one PeterW, tis a bleeder, I normally cut em off..

[whincup]

ok so ive run the flush through, pulled off the heater hose and stuck the garden hose down there, did the same down the thermostat housing, then the opposite way to reverse flush. had a bit of crap come out of there... pulled the radiator out and have found that its in worse condition than i thought... can people tell me, does this still look ok to use? either way, its going back in for now, since i cant afford a replacement at the moment...

[Zook_Fan]

looks fine. as long as it doesn't leak it will be good for a while yet

[royce]

is that mud in the middle? clean that out

[steak_knife]

royce wrote:

is that mud in the middle? clean that out

Isn't that the wall behind it??

[whincup]

yea no leaks so far, holds pressure so its alright. i gave it a quick hose, but i gotta hose it properly, there is a bit of mud in there... i was just a little worried about the bent fins in there, but if they're ok then i guess il put it all back together tomorrow and see how i go.

[whincup]

well ive done the flush, put it all back together and filled it with coolant/water... but i was just thinking, id like to put an aftermarket temperature gauge in, but most are 100-250 degrees on the gauge, i would think a sierra would need one much lower... what is the ideal operating temperature of a stock 1.3L sierra motor, and what is the redline temperature?

[fordem]

From the FSM - the G13 engines the thermostat should start to open around 180-190*F and is fully open at 200-212*F - so that gauge should work fine.

I've never checked the operating temps on my G13 (in a Swift), but under normal circumstances the temps on the J20A in my GV stabilize at around 180*F so I'd expect the Swift to be fairly close to that.

I'd say if you see it approaching 200*F you need to find out why.

[atari4x4]

whincup wrote:

well ive done the flush, put it all back together and filled it with coolant/water... but i was just thinking, id like to put an aftermarket temperature gauge in, but most are 100-250 degrees on the gauge, i would think a sierra would need one much lower... what is the ideal operating temperature of a stock 1.3L sierra motor, and what is the redline temperature?

is the gauge your looking at in degrees Celsius C* or degrees Fahrenheit F*?

[jonno_racing]

82' is operating temp i think....

[whincup]

atari4x4 wrote:

is the gauge your looking at in degrees Celsius C* or degrees Fahrenheit F*?

yea i didnt realise the ones i was looking at were all in fahrenheit, stupid me... haha.