73 Scout ii Coolant Flush

7

73 Cornbinder

New member
I have Scout II with a 304 v8 that I just picked up. Im wanting to do a coolant flush and the process I've been told to do by a local mechanic is to...with a cold engine

remove the bottom radiator hose at the point where it is connected to the radiator and let it drain fully

start the engine and wait until the coolant is pushed out from the motor (this is when the coolant from the reservoir will be sucked into the radiator)...keep an eye on the temp gauge and shut the motor off after just a few minutes

add distilled tap water to the reservoir and repeat the process

I was told this is the most accurate way to do this....before I get into this, are these steps a good idea.

Thanks
 
You can purchase a very inexpensive prestone back flush kit. It will allow you to put a 't' fitting in your heater hose so that a garden hose can be easily attached there. With the garden hose attached, and the radiator cap removed, you can do a pretty rigorous flush with pressurized tap water while the engine is running. No need to unhook any rad hoses or watch your temp gauge like a hawk. No chance of an overheat situation that way. Then if you really want distilled water, you can drain the radiator via the petcock valve and refill with the distilled and a proper glycol mix.
 
Cornbinder:

after you use plain water to flush out the system there will still be a lot of gunk left which can cause some problems. I suggest you consider adding a bottle of rmi-25 cooling system treatment along with your new anti-freeze to supplement and continue cleaning and giving protection to the cooling system. Bear in mind, however that it is designed to clean systems and if you have a freeze plug or other item which is corroded to the point of being close to failure, it will clean that out too, and possibly cause a leak.

Details on the product can be found on the IHPA "parts" section under "lubricants." Jeff has it in stock.

This is not a swepco product, but I have handled it for almost 20 years....there is nothing else like it in the market.
 
I suggest using 2 bottles of rmi-25 due to the volume of coolant in your Scout. Be sure to drain both sides of the block as well so you aren't using any of your cleaning gunk for coolant.
 
It is not necessary to use 2 bottles of rmi-25 for cleaning out the system, however it might be wise to do the following:

1) after you flush the system with plain water to get the loose stuff out, do not add the anti-freeze yet, only add 1 bottle of rmi-25. It will take about two weeks of normal driving to clean the system.

2) if after two weeks you notice that there is a lot of loose particles floating around in the radiator/overflow tank, and you want to get rid of them from re-circulating in the cooling system, do a drain, flushing with plain water is not necessary (but can be done if you desire).

3) re-fill the system with the correct ratio of anti freeze and water and add 1 bottle of rmi-25 to continue any cleaning up of the system and coat the inside of the metal passageways from forming more rust and corrosion.
 
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