Page 4 of 6 FirstFirst ... 23456 LastLast
Results 31 to 40 of 60

Thread: Coolant Flush

  1. #31
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,402
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    NB: Opening the drain valve on the bottom of the radiator gets rid of about half the coolant. Whatever hose you may then disconnect, no more coolant will come out! It took me about two hours and six or so refills just to get the old stuff out.
    I think you are missing my point entirely. You drain your coolant from two points, not one. The radiator has a drain plug. The engine has a drain plug. When you remove the engine drain plug, the coolant in your engine & heater core is drained also. Thus, you are NOT leaving 50% of anything in your system.

    You don't mention draining the engine of its coolant, & I wouldn't bother doing it the way you described at all.

    If you don't want to waste a few minutes, watch one minute (0:20 - 1:20) in this attached youtube.com clip.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVdKMIe2Dw0&t=135s

    I am not pretending to be expert on this topic, but I would not do this job the way you describe. If the radiator has a drain plug & engine has a drain plug for coolant, I am going to use both of them to drain most everything out (not 50%) of the entire system.

    I wouldn't mix my coolant by guessing how much distilled water is left in the car. I would drain the engine & the radiator. Then I would add my new coolant mix to the system.


    Last edited by Mark; 02-12-2019 at 12:00 PM.

  2. #32
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,402
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Eggman View Post
    Anyway, regarding coolant flush options, do you (or anyone) have any experience with flushing coolant? What works and what won't? I'm hoping this thread uncovers a coolant flush product, method, technique - whatever - that might maybe help address this problem without removing and replacing the heater core.

    I think it's worth gathering the forum's opinion on coolant flushes. I hope Daox, who currently has our only sample of the Heater Goo, is able to conduct some tests on what the substance is so we can find what can dissolve/remove it.
    "The best way to remove virtually all of your fluid is to hook your car up to a machine that removes it while putting the right amount of new fluid in. These machines can circulate the fluid through your vehicles cooling system a couple times which will remove any debris that might have built up over time. This is really the only good way to have this job done right.

    If there is any debris in the cooling system (like if it has not been drained and refilled for 20 years!) then this is the only good way to get it out. Sometimes scale and other things will build up (especially if you use tap water to fill the radiator) and cause the radiator to become restricted. A flush will help to remove some of this."


    http://www.myautorepairadvice.com/coolant_flush.html

    I am quoting from the source listed above, because I don't flush cooling systems for a living. If I felt this is a serious problem, I would have cooling system flushed with a machine that is designed to do this job right.

    If you are doing an experiment on something, you need to control all of the variables. I don't take much stock in Daox's heater core issue. Daox bought a used car with number of miles on it, & he doesn't know the service history. Someone could have mixed coolant types in his car causing this problem. We really don't know, & that is my point. I do, however, take notice of someone like Top_Fuel suspecting a problem, because he never changed or added a different type of coolant to his system.

    If Mitsubishi is aware of this problem, telling their customers to change their coolant (or at least have it tested) earlier makes much more sense. Being aware of this problem/ignoring it & leaving the recommending interval of the first coolant change at 120,000 miles or 8 years would make me an very unhappy customer. Telling their customers a problem is suspected & a coolant change may help prevent further problems is the high road to take here for Mitsubishi. If this issue truly exists, I don't see what Mitsubishi gains by ignoring it. I do see what they lose by ignoring it. They lose customers like me.
    Last edited by Mark; 02-12-2019 at 11:59 AM.

  3. #33
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Country is Europe, state is Germany
    Country
    Germany
    Posts
    1,713
    Thanks
    234
    Thanked 1,158 Times in 670 Posts
    @ Mark: You are right, the engine has a drain plug! Usually European-designed small engines like ours do not have one. The lowest hose being also the lowest point for the coolant. However, our engines were originally designed by MDC in Germany, a Daimler/Mitsubishi jointly owned company at the time. As a former mechanic, I should have known, my apologies.


    What the FSM says:

    Name:  Coolant drain plug.jpg
Views: 1220
Size:  92.6 KB
    Last edited by foama; 02-12-2019 at 03:23 PM.

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to foama For This Useful Post:

    inuvik (02-12-2019)

  5. #34
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,402
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by foama View Post
    @ Mark: You are right, the engine has a drain plug! Usually European-designed small engines like ours do not have one. The lowest hose is also the lowest point for the coolant. However, our engines were originally designed by MDC in Germany, a Daimler/Mitsubishi jointly owned company at the time. Asd a former mechanic, I should have known, my apologies.
    You probably know way more about cars than I do!!!! He was using a Honda in his demonstration, & I just assumed all cars must have this engine drain plug. Apparently, that's a wrong assumption on my part. Thus, I apologize for that, too!

    If I could not drain all the coolant out of the engine this way, I would probably find a mechanic that has the equipment to do the job (flush the system out) for me. Especially, if I was concerned about the cooling system having an issue. Even if I was flushing the system out with simple distilled water, I would want to remove that as much as possible before adding my coolant mix, too.

    As a former mechanic, you may feel way more confident dealing with all this too!

  6. #35
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    ...Telling their customers a problem is suspected...is the high road to take here for Mitsubishi.
    ...If this issue truly exists, I don't see what Mitsubishi gains by ignoring it.
    That reasoning makes business sense for future sales. Unfortunately, automotive companies are driven by quarterly earnings and accountants often influence policy.

    Even if Mitsubishi is aware of the problem, the remedy in this case could be quite expensive and the Mirage isn't exactly a high-profile flagship vehicle.

    The lack of heat issue develops slowly over time and mileage. By the time most Mirage owners realize they have a problem, they will be out of warranty. It's better for Mitsubishi (short term) to ride it out and just handle the few complaints on an individual basis. This is what they have chosen to do with the rear axle problem. They are still shipping new Mirages with deficient rear axles and they have known about that problem for at least 4 years now. To the best of my knowledge, there still is no Technical Service Bulletin for that issue.

    In other words... Don't wait for Mitsubishi to come forward and admit there's a problem.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  7. #36
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,402
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    That reasoning makes business sense for future sales. Unfortunately, automotive companies are driven by quarterly earnings and accountants often influence policy.

    Even if Mitsubishi is aware of the problem, the remedy in this case could be quite expensive and the Mirage isn't exactly a high-profile flagship vehicle.

    The lack of heat issue develops slowly over time and mileage. By the time most Mirage owners realize they have a problem, they will be out of warranty. It's better for Mitsubishi (short term) to ride it out and just handle the few complaints on an individual basis. This is what they have chosen to do with the rear axle problem. They are still shipping new Mirages with deficient rear axles and they have known about that problem for at least 4 years now. To the best of my knowledge, there still is no Technical Service Bulletin for that issue.

    In other words... Don't wait for Mitsubishi to come forward and admit there's a problem.
    If they aren't addressing this issue & you get a new heater core compliments of them (under warranty), what prevents the new one from not having the same issue a few years later (other than sell the car to someone else)?

    I like my Mirage, & I have no problem recommending one to others. I am not impressed with Mitsubishi as a car company, however. Then again, I am not impressed with any car company at the moment.

  8. #37
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post

    I have no problem recommending one to others. I am not impressed with Mitsubishi as a car company, however. Then again, I am not impressed with any car company at the moment.
    I'm with you there! Though I just made money from them on, guy went to a Toyota dealer and they told him it need a bunch of recommended service and a few light bulbs. They wanted $1000 labour, I did it for $300 in under 2 hours. They wanted $150 to change 2 light bulbs that you didn't need tools to change, they were right in plain view!

    They sure prey on people that don't know much about cars. Drives me crazy!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


  9. #38
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,699
    Thanks
    2,582
    Thanked 2,537 Times in 1,471 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Mark View Post
    If they aren't addressing this issue & you get a new heater core compliments of them (under warranty), what prevents the new one from not having the same issue a few years later?
    Well...if I use the same coolant...maybe nothing.

    However, if/when I do get a new heater core, I will probably change to the coolant BASF recommended to prevent these deposits in the first place (Glysantin G64). See their comments in this post.

    Mitsubishi Customer Service has been very cooperative with me on this heater core deal...so I can't complain. I think they will accommodate someone who has a reasonable, documented concern that is brought forward during the 5/60 warranty period.
    Last edited by Top_Fuel; 02-12-2019 at 05:32 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  10. #39
    Senior Member stevedmc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2015
    Location
    Baton Rouge
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    758
    Thanks
    7
    Thanked 288 Times in 193 Posts
    Despite all the gurus on this forum, I'm still running green Prestone coolant just fine at nearly 240k miles. If my car ever gets totalled in an accident, I will make every effort to remove my heater core and gut the thing just so I can show you boys and girls how nice it looks.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to stevedmc For This Useful Post:

    Fummins (05-31-2022)

  12. #40
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2017
    Location
    SW, WI
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    7,402
    Thanks
    594
    Thanked 2,688 Times in 2,106 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by stevedmc View Post
    Despite all the gurus on this forum, I'm still running green Prestone coolant just fine at nearly 240k miles. If my car ever gets totalled in an accident, I will make every effort to remove my heater core and gut the thing just so I can show you boys and girls how nice it looks.
    Just for clarification sake - Your maintenance thread states you bought your car on November 7, 2014.

    On May 17, 2018, you changed your coolant @ 200,000 miles. If you changed it earlier than that, you never stated it. If that is the case, the majority of your car's life had been with factory coolant. You have only gone about 40,000 miles and less than year with the green stuff.

    May 17, 2018

    200k miles - Preventive Maintenance

    Replaced brake pads
    Replaced brake rotors
    Replaced spark plugs
    Replaced air filter
    Replaced cabin air filter
    Flushed/replaced coolant
    Flushed/replaced manual transmission gear oil


    There is nothing wrong with being confident with what you have done, but it doesn't seem like you have been really using the green stuff for all that long. If you flushed your system well and change your green stuff often from now on, I highly doubt you will have a problem.

    If you waited until 200,000 miles to change coolant, however, you should be praising the factory blue stuff!!!



Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •