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I have a 95' Saturn SL1 about a week ago I blew a coolant hose. When i
removed the bad hose the coolant that poured out was rather rust colored
and appeared to have a fair amount of rust in it. I replaced the hose and
for good measure i was going to flush the radiator with water to get rid of
some of the rust. I filled the coolant tank, idled the car, and refilled it
when the water pump kicked in. Everything was fine till i tried to drain
it. When I opened the radiator drain valve nothing came out.
My question is why isn't it draining? is the drain clogged with rust? could
the radiator be clogged somewhere else in the system? and what should I do?
Im not the best mechanic so please help, and try to keep the technical
lingo understandable.
thebannanaman
Does your radiator have a cap? There could be a type of pressure lock in
the system if you only have one opening, like a straw when you close the
top with your finger and the liquid doesn't come out. Opening the resevoir
may work too, maybe better as it may drain the whole system.
If this doesn't work, I would consider taking the radiator out to drain it
from whre the radiator hoses go in and getting a better look at whats going
on.
I'm by no means an expert, hopefully somebody more knowledgable will chime
in, just saying what I would do. Also, I believe that coolant has an
anticorrosive chemical in it, if so it there shouldn't be rust in it.
giant016
I recently bought a radiator flush kit. It needs to be spliced into a line,
usually the one going to the heater core. The peice has a cap that you can
plug your garden hose into. Also it comes with a director peice for the
radiator cap(so the fluid being flushed out doesn't get all over the car).
It was only like $3 but made the job a lot neater than just sticking a hose
into the radiator and cost a lot less than having it professionally
done.
If you do go this route I reccomend getting an anti-freeze tester. With all
the water your pushing through, when refilling you wont know if you get the
proper mixture. Also be sure the heat is turned on so the heater core opens
and I believe they say to remove the thermostat and replace the housing
while flushing.
I don't know about your drain, maybe like he said you've got a vapor lock.
However if the fluid is nasty, like you said, flushing it would be a good
idea.
DBain
i believe most radiator caps are like one way valves, so they let air in,
but not out, so it should drain, if only slowly, even with the cap on.
however, if the colant is rusty, the cap may be clogged as well.
Keep in mind that if the coolant is that dirty, the radiator may be clogged
and need to be replaced, which may have contributed to the hose bursting
due to too much heat and pressure. of course a hose from 95 is about due to
be replaced anyway.
if your car has a cap on the top of the radiator, I would check to be sure
the coolant is flowing well when the water pump is running and the
thermostat is open, but be careful, coolant will get very hot, most
thermostats open around 170 degrees
I, as well, am not an expert, just sharing my :2cents:
dvdrose18
