So my coolant is pretty brown. I haven't changed it since I bought my XJ, so I don't know if it was mixed over time, became dirty, etc. I picked up some straight Peak, to do my own 50/50 mix. My main question is how do I access the petcock? I read somewhere it's on the passenger side, but I have to remove the headlight to access it? And could it possibly be rusted to where it can break? I also plan on doing a drain, not a flush. Since I'm a little hesitant with flushing the system, since I don't want to open any filled holes.



Any advice would be great.


Thanks

 

Just pull off the lower rad hose. And flush if your there.
Kinda a waste of time to drain and fill.

 

Alright. I take it the lower rad hose is the hose on the driver side with the little clamp over it? If I flush it, won't I undo any clogs? What would the best method be for sealing them up again?

 

you dont want to clog the flow of the coolant. making the cloggs go away is a good thing.

 

Drain your coolant either with the lower radiator hose (prefered) or drain **** (don't forget to drain/clean your resivour). Then refill your radiator. Add a 1/4 cup of automatic dishwashing detergent. Run the jeep long enough to get warm and everything circulating. Drain the soapy water out (you will be suprised how much extra the soap will clean out). Blow all the water from your resivour. Refill with plain water, run engine untill warm and circulating, drain (repeat twice). The double flushing getts the soap out. Now refill with fresh coolant into your clean system

That trick was told to me by an oilfield mechanic. Supposedly it is a CAT approved procedure. Anyway it works. BE SURE TO USE AUTOMATIC DISWASHING DETERGENT ONLY! Other soaps make alot of suds but auto dishwashing soap does not.

Thx-Ace

 

Don't even mess with the petcock. They aren't easy to get to on many of the years, and they are prone to breaking!

Just drop the lower hose. Be sure to wear eye protection and get out of the way when that hose breaks loose as a flood of coolant will shoot out. Have a large pan ready.

Use a 50-50 mix of either premixed or distilled water to coolant. Conventional (green)

Also review all hoses and consider changing the thermostat while you're at it....

 

Removing the air filter box makes removing the bottom rad hose at the water pump (to drain/flush the system) much easier.

 

I'm hesitant with using soap, even if it's auto dish soap, just cause of bubbles and whatnot. Can I just run distilled water through the system until it comes out clean? And would I leave the hose off during that process?


Thanks!

 

I would be more concerned first with determining why the coolant is brown. That indicates rust and or oil contamination which neither is a good thing.

Agreed with the above though after that... FLUSH IT! It takes all of a hour to do right and you will have a sound piece of mind knowing that everything is good to go for the next few years.

I ran CLR through mine.. cleared out alot of crap. Dont be afraid of detergents though, as long as you flush it out there are no concerns. I didnt run mine after words to clear it out though. dump the cleaning solution into the system start it let it get to operating temp then shut it down and let it cool for a little bit. Once thats done remove the lower hose let it drain. Pull the heater core hose (either one of those will do the trick) basically your running water from the top of the block down essentally cleaning out most of the cleaner. let it flow for a while with the bottom hose detached then you can take the hose to the lower radiator hose and reverse the flow until its draining from the heater core hose. allow it to drain then reattach your lower and start filling. I fill from the heater hose out of habbit. Start it up and allow it to heat up then cool down and top off everything at the radiator to the res. Make sure to double check your levels after a good drive on the system after that and you should be good to go.

 

Put a Prestone flush kit on it.. $7-8 at any auto parts store. Best to drain and properly dispose of the old coolant first, (and yes, just use the lower hose but hook it back up to flush) then put it out in the driveway, hook up the garden hose (not too much pressure) and let it run (the engine & water) until it runs clear. Turn on your heater too, on highest temp, you wanna flush the heater core too. This back flushes your system as it never gets warm enough for the stat to open up. Once it looks drinkable, shut off the engine, then shut off the water and drain out all the water you can. Make sure all hoses are clamped, and refill. Best to use distilled water with your coolant. Now someone will say those plastic caps you screw on the tee will crack and leak over time.. I've never seen one crack or leak and they've been on my cars for years. Have fun!

When you're ready to refill it after the flush, use straight anti-freeze for the first gallon as there's still plenty of water in your engine and heater core. Top it off while idling and watch for the stat to open. You'll see the water flowing if you look down in the radiator fill hole. Let it open several times, then fill up your reservoir, and replace radiator & reservoir caps. Let it cool a few hours or overnite and re-check the level. *Bonus tip* If you put your tee for flushing at the highest point you can in the heater hose, it's handy for 'burping' the system later (when it's cool) and you can top it off there too if it's the highest point in the system.

 

I'll drain/flush it today for sure, but I'll go get the coolant tester again, take a picture, and show you guys. So we can see if it's just dirty, or is there's an issue.


Cheers!

 

Dont worry about putting dish soap in your cooling system, it will not hurt it. Water weter is a product that you can put into your cooling system and is ment to make your coolant more efficient. Its just soapy water. It kinda works. I used it in my motorcycle and it had no ill effects.

 

So with the closed (sealed) cooling system am i supposed to check the coolant level in the coolant recovery tank when the Jeep is cold? Should i start it and let it run with the cap off and add coolant after the thermostat opens up?

 

^^ Convert to a open loop system and ditch the pressure bottle!

 

Hey guys, hopefully this works, I'm on my phone. Anyway, now that I see it in the light, its not Brown. I apparently suck at colors lol.