Thanks for the realistic hose removal and resulting mess!

Good video. Wouldn't hurt to mention that this is a good time to inspect and replace swelled or worn looking hoses, cap, and even thermostat

Thank you so much! Very clearly filmed and explained and saved me a whole heap of money.

anyone else think that these demonstrations should demonstrate the hell of not having a lift?

It’s a good video. Thanks. Like the reminder that anti freeze is toxic to wildlife and dispose of it properly. It also reminds me that if I had a lift in my garage- I probably wouldn’t take my car for service anywhere until my old cold crooked hand couldn’t hold a wrench.

How do I get one of those lifts that plays the cool music while you raising the car up and bringing it down again?

Thanks guy. Just finished an 01 chevy blazer. Saved me a ton of money!

thank you your vídeo is very helpful,I done a few times this process all in VW vehicles,learned in Haynes manual,question,which coolant non vw I can pour in my b5?,thank you!!!

Ive always used hose and flushed radiator and heater core and then added prestone 50/50. I don't get rust, the freeze plugs do not let go etc. I think folks get too crazy sometimes. Great video with very good guidance.

Between the refilling the heater core with water and the first drain, do you reattach the hose? Also, when removing the hose, wouldn't the distilled water be very hot from running the car and turning on the heater?

Good job brother you handled yourself very well delivered some good information and in a very professional manner thank you.

I'm getting a '99 Cutlass running again and since the vehicle's old with mostly stock hoses I'm thinking of replacing all of the hoses and cooling system components. The vehicle had Dexcool stock so it's a good idea to replace stuff anyways, especially the radiator. Since I'm pulling the engine anyways it's the best time to replace anything in the engine compartment.

always pre-mix concentrate, or the heavier coolant concentrate will sit at the bottom of your rad and not properly mix with the water which can lead to many problems. Also don't forgot to bleed your coolant system after you have refilled. Easiest way is to get your fill point (expansion tank or rad cap) higher than the rest of the coolant system and let the engine idle with the cap off, let it run for about 15-20 minutes with your heaters on max (so it bleeds the heater matrix also) and top up as necessary. you will probably get allot of bubbles and the odd spurt out the cap but don't worry about it. when it settles and you have a nice stable coolant level you should be good to go.

I've flushed a few cooling systems in my time. I've found the most efficient way takes a little more work. The system can be flushed with your garden hose with the thermostat removed. Close the system back up temporarily, after thermostat removal, disconnect the upper radiator hose & run water continuously into the radiator while the engine is running. When clear water comes from the disconnected hose, the job is done. Install a new thermostat & gasket, drain radiator & fill with full strength antifreeze. You can't flush the cooling system freely with a thermostat installed because it stops the water flow till the water reaches operating temperature.

Great video for beginners! But what I was wondering about is whether or not I should add coolant directly into the radiator through the shiny cap as well?

Perfect! That was good educational video.

If you drain coolant, fill with distilled water and run the engine, drain, refill with distilled water, run engine, drain, repeat until the coolant is completely clear (water). Then when you fill up with 50/50 coolant wouldn't all the extra distilled water in the heater core, engine block, etc, bring the ratio down to 25% coolant, 75% water? So then, if you drain the new coolant, and add 50/50 mix the second time... The ratio would be at about 37% coolant and 63% water? Since only about half of the total cooling system actually drains wouldn't adding a straight anti-freeze be wise? Then all the water inside the engine, heater core, block, etc would mix with the anti-freeze and give around the 50/50 mark? My car is a 2002 Bonneville, and the capacity is stated as 10 quarts, about only 5 quarts drains from the radiator.

where are you getting coolant for 5 bucks a gallon?

hello and thanks for the video very helpful I have a 1997 Acura CL 2.2 and the radiator loses coolant and it doesn't seem to transfer any from the reservoir tank any help with this thank you in advance.

Thank you for sharing this knowledge.

Ben- Great video. I'm about to do this to my Subaru and I have a question. The Haynes manual says to leave the radiator cap off and run the engine after the new coolant is put in until the thermostat opens, but I've read in many other places that one should never run the engine with the radiator cap off. What should I do, and what is running it with the cap off meant to achieve? Thanks for being there for all of us DIYers.

This is probably the fastest to get all the old coolant out. The only thing I would recommend is doing the distilled water flush at least 3 times to make sure you get out most of the old coolant. Just make sure the water is clear on the last flush.

Thanks, Very informative, well made video which answered all my Questions.

Open the radiator cap before draining, turn heater to HOT to help drain heater core, coolant is required for water pump lubrication so run for only a few minutes with only distilled water. In Northern US, be sure 50/50 mix protects to at least 40 deg BELOW zero. Some coolants mention 50/50 mix but do not mention level of temperature protection..

I have had cars for over 40 years & have always done oil/filter & coolant changes myself. 1. You know exactly what is going into your car. 2. You know it is done properly (I have a mate who has worked in Dealerships & 3rd Party Auto Car Care Companies. Some of his stories re: servicing, etc are scary & pure rip-offs). He does, however, have a 'service pit' in his garage so you can get under the car safely. As for a full coolant flush, I have always used distilled water as 'tap water' contains minerals, etc. which causes corrosion within the radiator & engine block. If done properly, with superior coolant & distilled water, a proper & complete radiator/engine/heater flush will last between 4 - 5 years under 'normal' driving conditions.

I told the wife I wouldn't be able to do it because I don't own a lift :)

Nice vid mate. Steps though the process nicely.

The only thing I noticed that wasn't done, I personally recommend doing... Wipe off the coolant reservoir when you are finished with it, use some window cleaner (After the cap is installed) to clean it. it makes checking levels easy and it shows someone else that you take care of your stuff.

This isn't a flush, it's a replacement. A flush is when you add chemicals to the system to clean it out. Those of which will be dumped out. a flush is a 5 step processes. Drain, fill with detergent/cooland, run for 30mins or so (depends on the age of the car), drain, fill with new coolant.

What about the air ? how do you get rid of the air inside the circuit?

Yes can you please show me or tell me where is the radiator drain plug on a 2001 Dodge Dakota with a 5.9 Engine

Hi,Ben Wojdyla i like your videos a lot here is my question that what should i use Green or Pink Coolant in my Corolla 1991 AE-91,5afhe16 valve dohc engine?I don't have owner's manual.

Thank for the Video. Take note. You Do not Slam the Hood on an Audi. It is a two step process.

My takeaway from years of reading and watching videos is that no one in these United States knows how to properly flush coolant

Great video to the point. ONE QUESTION PLEASE. ON MY 2000 GMC SIERRA 4.8 - - 178.000 MILES ON VEHICLE. THE GAUGE WAS LEANING TOWARDS THE THE HOT SIDE. THE NEXT DAY IT RAN IN THE NORMAL RANGE. ANY IDEA WHY THE FLUCTUATION = ALL NORMAL DRIVING CONDITIONS NO TOWING OR ANYTHING. AFTER I CHANGE & FLUSH SHOULD I ADD SOME STOP LEAK, I MAY HAVE A SLIGHT HEATER CORE PROB. THANKS KEITH KUHN

All your videos are helpful. Have you down one on changing brake fluid? Thanks again for the videos, youre saving us novice mechanics tons of money.

Some engines have an air vent on the highest area of the block that must be opened to prevent air entrapment when the cooling system is refilled. If you're doing the job yourself, just be sure you know whether your engine has such vents.

You didn't talk about burping the system to get the air bubbles out. Many people forget to do this and their car starts to over heat after flushing the system. Very important!!!

Oh thanks for posting this video this has been helpful. How do you change and install a thermostat??

This was a big help to me , thanks so much !

Car and Driver, I can't believe you put your name on this!

There is no way you will ever get ALL the old coolant out by this method. Think about it, every time you pull that lower hose you only drain the radiator, but the engine block is still full of that mixture so until that water draining out is perfectly clear, you haven't really flushed the whole cooling system, including the heater core [which is just like a mini radiator] I should know, I've been in the business for 40 years.

Is it the same idea for a 2005 holden commodore equipe vz? Just brought it & i plan to do engine oil & filter change, radiator flush & add coolant, & maybe the auto transmission oil. Cheers.

Mack the best way to check for coolant leaks is with a pressure tester made for this purpose. They are not too expensive, or have a shop preform this test. They attach to either your radiator at the cap or expansion tank at the cap depending on what type cooling system you have. Then by pumping up the system to operating pressure, no more than 16 psi, you will see where the leak is coming from. Unless you have a large leak they are hard to see. If no leaks are seen and you are still losing coolant it's possible you either have a blown head gasket or cracked head, block somewhere. There is another simple test you can do to check for blown head gasket, it will tell you if you are getting carbon fumes in the cooling system. You can get these kits for not a lot of money at auto parts stores and they are easy to use, just follow instructions.

4:57 Some say it's still dripping to this day

To get rid of any air in the system after this, should I just run the car a short time with the radiator cap off to let the air escape from there?

hi bro i like your explanetion.I have one question for you.I have saturn ion 2003 2.2 and the coolant use to leak and one day i bought coolant sealant and i add to the reserve coolant after monthes i saw it look like oil in it steaky so i flash the coolant i add new but i didn't run it with distilled water to clean up just i feel up with new coolant but now i can see it look like a bit greasy or oily.so what do i do now?

how long do you remind to run the engine after you drain the old coolant and fill it with distilled water? please advise. Thanks .. great video.

i just fucked this all up, now my engine overheats..... lol

We're going to do the same type operation on our beetle. Except we already know we will be changing out the thermostat, so there's no need to let the engine get 'hot'. Just remove the stat--reattach the outlet with the o-ring. And flush it out. For the record? G12 Coolant is anything but cheap! So I had to grin when he said buy an extra gallon of it...Yeah, it's about $22.00 a throw at the stealership.

Very nice tutorial video! Thanks!

Hi, excellent video. The coolant in my car has turned black. My question is do i need to remove the radiator and clean it too or just flushing is enough.

Isn't it important to bleed your coolant system of air after such a procedure?

Judging by all the comments it will be easier and less messy to take it to some shop. Who could I trust not to scam me? My dealership? Goodyear? Pep Boys? Who out there is trustworthy?

Question, I changed coolant in 2007 chevy equinox I also had to change EGR tube I did not change EGR Valve. I have a water swishing sound in the dashboard as well as a coolant smell coming threw heater vents. Heater works good, no Visible leaks, any recommendations? Block Heater core or hoses maybe? truck has 250,000 miles. Thank you

Hey bud! I respect your knowledge for cars and auto mechanics. You addressed your in the Detroit area in your video, I too am local. I've got a 1965 Ford F250 with a 429 big block v8 under the hood. The engine is backfiring when I ref it in park any recommendations as to why?

You should kill the sound effects on the graphics and transitions. I felt like my neck was snapping.

Forgot to bleed the cooling system. You probably have plenty of air pockets in the system now since you opened the it up.

perfect video for what i need to do to my 2000 Passat..thank you

thank you for your kindness!

No offense to this guy but if you want a more detailed version of this look on crisfix's channel he does a great job with describing it

you didnt run the car and heater when you flushed it...

In the detroit aread and he's working on a VW. Made me chuckle.

There is rust around the top at one time truck sit while payment arrangements made. Was at Raben and stated need of machine to assist in changing or flushing radiator?

do y'all burp the system as well

I hate when these videos make it a bigger point to tell me to recycle my coolant than actually explain the work process thoroughly

I have seen video where a much more thorough flush where done with a garden hose. I wonder if you method leavse a lot of the old anit-freeze behind in the engine block.?

I have 2009 toyota matrix basic 1.8 liter. I like to flush the Radiator coolant but I'm not able to locate Engine coolant drain plug if it has one? Any suggestion where I find information ?

and about $3000 for a car lift to put in your 2 car garage.

First as other Comments stated where the Hell are You going to get Brand Name Coolant for $5.00 a gallon,Just did my 2004 Lexus and my Wife's Subaru 2007 the Dealers were $42.99 Toyota Long Life and 39.50 Subaru Long Life a Gallon Pure not 50/50 ! AutoZ wanted $21.99 for a Gallon of the same thing you are using ! The local oil change place wanted $179.99 to do a flush with city water and then add new Coolant but no Flush Chemical that was $35.00 more! The Dealers wanted over $200 each For the Lex and Sub.?Was on Amaz. and a 4 Gal. pack of Evans HD Coolant was $199.00 thats $50 a Gallon ,So where do you get $5.00 ,Maybe from the same people who made your hose clamps? Another thing why don't you take out the Thermostat to do a Flush and then put a $10 to $20 Dollar New Thermostat and Gasket in? It also makes Flushing Flow through Whole System Right Away and Then It All Drains Out and Don't Forget Thermostats get gummed up and fail too ,Especially with Flush Running Through Them! My manual calls for 40K mile change on Coolant and Thermostat and I see New Prestone with 100,000 mile life sticker on it, Yea you don't change the Coolant you change the Engine and Heater Core and anything Else Connected to the Coolant ! What a Joke!

Would you still have to burp the system for air bubbles or pockets or no because that's typically a problem with an open system where the radiator cap is there but no overflow container? Does the over flow container act like those air bubble yellow funnel kits that fit on your radiator and you fill it up with coolant and it'll draw the air bubbles out?

Excelent video.Excuse me how i can change front bump stop of a jeep liberty 2004

Step 1, put your vehicle up on a lift....

There are so many things wrong with this video, I don't even know where to start!

I'm considering using this method to flush out regular green coolant (which was incorrectly used previously) and switching to G12. Will this method effectively drain out all the old coolant and remove any possible build ups? There can't be any of the old coolant mixing with the new G12... thanks.

Very detailed professional video!

Okay....so how many people watching this have a lift in their garage? How many people have a garage? This is a great video, but would love to see one for those of us mechanics that don't have either of these....I'm sure I'll find one on here......

im going to feed it to the ants

how do you drain the overflow on a car? i am pretty sure the last owner did not use dex coolant on my gm vehicle and i want to get all of it out without damaging my radiator

Very nice information brother.....

Lots of things wrong with this tutorial. The system needs to be bled being the main one

You didn't "flush" anything! You drained part of it (radiator only), replaced that with water and circulated it by running (the same thing it's been doing since new anyway), so where did you actually flush anything? Where did you specifically flush or back flush anything including the heater core? You just wasted a bunch of time and money.

? Ive got a leak in my radiator AGAIN or in my heater core now It's it best to put the stop leak in radiator AFTER FULL COOLING SYSTEM FLUSH. ASSUMING IT CAN STILL BE DONE. Or the other way around?

Good video! Keep making them!

'It's pretty toxic...' Why the heck aren't you wearing latex gloves?

now after reading some of the other comments maybe you should redo this video. popular mechanic should not allow partial work on a vehicle when you say radiator flush you should do it right. this looks like the kind of job that you would probably get an A Instant Oil Change place. please live up to your name you can do better.

You are really awesome man! Great depth and detail =D

can i use this flush/refill method on my 2014 vw jetta 1.8t se ?? please let me know i have all the fluids.

My neighbours cat really likes antifreeze coolant. I drained my radiator and put it into a large bowl . The next thing i know the neighbours cat was lapping it up ! So everyday i leave the friendly cat a fresh bowl out.

$10 or $20??? how in God's name is a weekend mechanic w/o a lift system supposed to do this? Gimme a break

Hey helpful video! The only thing I'm unsure of is people in comments saying you have to bleed/burp the coolant system or it will over heat or idle funny, what's the deal with that, is it required or not?

Quote me if I'm wrong, but even IF you do clear out all the old coolant, there will still be distilled water in your block and if you just "top it off" with coolant the mixture will be incorrect. I think the best method is to just empty the radiator (via drain plug or hose, then top off which is about a gallon depending on the vehicle. Do this once every 6 months and you will eventually have cleaner fluid. I had a bad leak at one point (it's fixed now) and had to refill a few times and the coolant is super clean now.

What is that ANNOYING sound every few seconds? WTF? Toxic, yet you don't wear gloves? You are a genius...

Ric Rust on this car there is only one container to add coolant. its towards the back but higher then the radiator so it all fills up. vw and BMW mainly like this.

I have a 2008 Chevrolet HHR LT any video on that? am asking just to make sure every car is different can I do the same to my car?

I'm trying to do a flush on my chevy Malibu yr 1999 and well I can't seem to know which hose to plug all the flush adapter to can you help me.

do you have any information on using sealant for radiators..mine is leaking at the moment, and I want to find out where the leak is first then try the stop leak...they're telling me because of my vehicle 2004 suburban, there are two radiators and will cost $850-$900 for new one and labor

I have a 2010 Kia Optima EX and I want to change my coolant, is there something I can look at to see where exactly my coolant drain hose is located?

can you please tell me is there a drain port on a VW Touran 2005 or i need to take the hose out?? and where should i look for it? Thanks in advance

Cool video. Mine is not due til 60k miles, but none of the area auto parts stores will take used coolant. Here or the county i work in 🤔 I do plan to d.i.y. this project but idk where i can take the old coolant. Thanks 😊