84 CHIEFTAIN COOLING SYSTEM

[johnfrederick]

Good evening, I am getting ready to flush the cooling system on my P-30 454 Chieftain after installing a new radiator. I want to flush every crack and crevice but I'm not sure the best way to go about it.

Any thoughts are comments on the best way to go about it would be appreciated.

Thanks, John

[RockwoodMike]

This is what we did in Auto shop in High school..

Take the thermostat out..Drain all the bad fluid out by way of the lower radiator hose..Refill with distilled water..and then add dishwasher machine soap..Like Cascade..that is made for dish washing machines ..preferable the dry powder type..About a half of a cup..

Start the engine and open the heater..
That soap is designed not to have bubbles like regular soap does..but it has the ingredients to clean everything..
Let it run for 30 minutes or so..The engine will stay cool without the thermostat..but the water flows easier to aid the cleaning..

Works for me! 

After the 30 minutes drain it all out and do it again if you think it needs it..
Now to get all the soap out, it will just about come out when you open the lower radiator hose to let it drain..
Maybe just add distilled water and run it some more, to clean the soap..But I never did that..Just dumping the water with the lower hose was good enough..

After you get it clean, use only distilled water and your favorite brand of antifreeze at the proper ratio..

[eXodus]

Like Mike said. Make sure to turn the interior heaters on if you rig happens to have one.

My P30 Winnie had an engine coolant supplied water heater and a rear heater in the bedroom. Plus the dash heat. So total of 3 heaters.

In case you have those make sure they are running. Otherwise there is old coolant sitting in the hoses and appliances.

[johnfrederick]

Thanks, gentlemen ! Makes perfect sense and what I am going to do.

John