My coolant is brown so it needs to be changed. Nothin seems to be leaking as far as i can tell. Should I spend the money to get it pressure tested and a power flush or should I do it at home?

 

you shouls drain it in your driveway and fill it back up

 

Get the flush kit from AZ or any store. Its made by "Peak" or "prestone" and it will back flush everything...Tj

 

you can do it at home, but you need to dispose of the old coolant properly, as it is poisonous for animals to drink (it tastes sweet to them). This method is fine for typical cleaning jobs. You buy a flush kit that you splice a garden hose fitting into the heater hose, then backflush the system to flow out of the radiator fill hole. Run the engine with just water (make sure then engine heats the coolant enough to open the thermostat), repeat flush, run again, flush, repeat till clear water runs out.

Fill with 50/50 mixture of coolant and distilled water until filled, start engine and let it warm up till the thermostat opens, add more till full. You should get a test kit and add coolant/water as necessary until the mixture is correct. You can also buy the premixed coolant...i prefer to mix my own and be able to adjust since i flushed my engine.


That being said however, seeing as your coolant is that color, you really need to get a professional cleaning and chemical flush done, one that power cleans the block passages as well. Also, you don't need a pressure test - It's an open cooling system.

 

Doing it in your driveway is probably fine. When I get a new jeep what I do(because usually its brown too) is do a regular change, drive for 500km then check the colour and do it again if required.

 

So the DIY kit doesnt clean it too well? I plan to have this Jeep for a long time so Im not against doin it right just dont want to waste money.

 

If you get the kit and the cleaning solution it should work fine IMO. I have been doing this way for many years and never came across a problem. Your comparing a $15 job (yourself) to at least $75-100 if done professionally...Tj

 

If the jeep wasnt 11 years old and the coolant were so dark, its looks like coffee, Id be all for it. I called a lil while ago, Im gonna let the shop do the power flush this time then i should be good to do it on my own in the future. For all i know its the original coolant

I dont plan on gettin rid of this so $80 now to get the most outa everything is worth it.

 

I did this a few months ago...same effect

Spent $10 instead of $90 at jiffylube and $120 at a dealer

It pretty easy, just follow the instructions on the bottle of flush

 

I've always thought it much better to flush the 3 main areas of the cooling system (Block/head, heater core and radiator) separate of each other. That way u don't flush crap/crud from one place to another. Get one of those rubber thingys that attaches to a garden hose. I'm not a big fan of harsh/strong chemicals in the cooling system either. Disconnect the heater hoses at the t-stat housing and water pump. Disconnect the top rad hose at the t-stat housing and disconnect the bottom rad hose at the water pump. Squirt the hose thru the heater core for a while, then squirt it thru the top rad hose, then squirt it thru the heater hose nipple on the t-stat housing. Repeat a time or 2 or 3. Snug everything back up and fill it with fresh coolant at the proper mix. Install a new rad cap, even an open system must maintain 15-16 psi to prevent boil-over.

 

Coolant needs to look like this year round.

 

Do it yourself, take it to a shop, but do it.

If the coolant hasn't been changed regularly, it is possible that you will need multiple flushes.

Use conventional (green) coolant.

And while you are doing it, if the coolant hasn't been changed regularly, maybe the hoses and thermostat haven't been changed either? Time to do that too.

 

X2, git 'er done.

 

Thats why Im thinking the power flush will be good cuz it looks dirty! Im sure theres some build up throughout the system. Im sure they'll inspect everything but Ill tell em to take a look just to be sure.

The thermostat isnt too bad to replace. I may have a small leak startin from my waterpump too so Im may end up changing that this summer and ill do the thermostat then too.

 

^ if it lasts till summer. It sounds like your whole cooling system needs a good going thru to replace wear parts and flush the system.