please help! problem flushing coolant

[2tone10]

i've got a 95 3.0 4runner that i was going to change the coolant in, at first it had a dirty orange color when i first got it, so i drained and added green stuff from autozone. after reading online that apparently wasn't a good idea so i got some distilled water and the toyota red and was going to flush out using distilled water. well after draining the green i filled the with distilled water and cranked her up with the heat on high, almost instantly i could tell it was running rougher and started to overheat, i could here the water boiling in the radiator.

 

[MikesToy]

Sounds like you didn't do a flush. You did a drain and refill.

 

[2tone10]

the first time i did just a drain and fill didnt think i had to flush, im a noob at this kind of stuff, but after reading a little bit i decided i need to completly drain all the green coolant and add the red coolant. i read it was best to flush with distilled water. just fill, run with heater on full, drain, repeat….

also when i had the heat running full blast and it never got hot. wasn't a problem before i drained and added distilled water…..

 

[ALLEGRO]

......just making sure you understand that you will have to let the engine run for some time in order to build enough heat to have hot air come out of the registers. If I remember, the thermostat does not open until 185*

 

[2tone10]

yea i understand that but i let it run for a little while never even warmed up. i just want to know why it would be overheating and smoking and boiling like that after just putting in distilled water

 

[Acidmeld]

The whole point of the coolant is to raise the boiling point of the water. Water boils at 212, coolant mix boils at over 300.

 

[2tone10]

so ur saying that is normal for it to do that?

 

[Acidmeld]

That plus air pockets will do that. Bubbles doesnt always mean boiling tho. Run it for a bit let it cool and run it again til it stops bubbling. Keep your heat on the whole time.

 

[2tone10]

should i do it with the cap off, to get air out???

 

[ALLEGRO]

My other cars have been a butt to "burp" after a flush. Here is what I did last on my Vette:

Drain the coolant, flush several times until the waste is clear.

Then, fill with the proper coolant and start engine with radiator cap loosened or removed. Watch the coolant level as the engine runs and warms up and add if the level falls too low. You will probably see it rise in the resevior eventually, and if so, TIGHTEN the cap so that coolant does not go everywhere. Vary the RPM's from time to time and continue to monitor the progress.

Carefully squeeze the hoses to encourage any air to leave the system as the engine runs....again, be careful.

Shut off engine, and SLOWLY loosen the radiator cap. Hopefully the level will go DOWN as you do this as air is removed. Let it cool a bit and repeat as necessary. It took several attempts at this before my Vette was even drivable. At first attempt, my temps got pretty high until enough of the air was out of the system to allow proper flow. After all, good flow is what you are after.

After you get it to some level of success, drive for a couple of days and then check and adjust the level. Keep you eye on the temp gauge and be sure you are not running too hot.

Good Luck

 

[fourwd1]

should i do it with the cap off, to get air out???

Yes. To burp the engine -

park the vehicle uphill or something else to raise the front end a bit
set the heat control to max Hot
take the cap off (while cold)
start engine a let it run
you'll see coolant flowing, if it spits some out it's ok, just make sure to top it off when done