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How does the dealership flush the radiator?

Austin83

By Austin83
in Ask A GM Technician

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Austin83 Enthusiast

Austin83

Posted
Posted

First off, I don't know anything about actual radiator flushes. I just had the local Chevy dealership flush the radiator on my 2008 GMC Sierra 1500. How exactly do they go about flushing the radiator? It doesn't appear that they even touched the lower radiator hose, and I know these radiators didn't come with a drain. The upper radiator hose doesn't appear to have been disconnected, but the reservoir hose to the radiator appears to have been disconnected. I normally do all of my own maintenance, but I didn't want to deal with the mess and hassle on this job. How did they drain the radiator? There is hardly any dripped or excess coolant on the lower end of the engine bay. Thanks.

8.1HD/ALLISON Senior Enthusiast

8.1HD/ALLISON

Posted
Posted

Depends on dealership. We had a flush mahine that hooked only to top radiator and exchanged 1 for 1. Hose it down good when done and there shouldnt be any signs of coolant.

 

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

Austin83 Enthusiast

Austin83

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Looks like they used a flush machine. Everything was dusty under the hood of my truck and the only parts that appear touched were the reservoir cap and the small hose going to the radiator appears to have been disconnected from the reservoir. Only a few drips and sprays of coolant.

NitroCherokee Enthusiast

NitroCherokee

Posted
Posted

Depends on dealership. We had a flush mahine that hooked only to top radiator and exchanged 1 for 1. Hose it down good when done and there shouldnt be any signs of coolant.

 

Sent from my LGL86C using Tapatalk

Like he said, when I was at the dealer I would have been embarrassed if you could tell I had done anything under the hood especially something as easy as a flush, (aside from having new coolant in the system) I am sure a GM dealer did the 1 for 1 flush with adapters to the upper hose

daxr Enthusiast

daxr

Posted
Posted

We use a machine to flush the system. Usually you disconnect the upper hose at the radiator and install a bridging hose that has connections for a flush and a return line. Warm up the engine until the t-stat opens, close the bridge, push new coolant into the radiator side, and the old fluid is forced up and out through the thermostat. Pretty simple.

 

I'd also say - pretty unnecessary in many cases, as you could just drain the system by pulling the lower hose, but its reasonably fast and clean with the machine, and no air is introduced into the cooling system (which can be a problem to purge on some vehicles).

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