I am having my dealership do the coolant replacement on my '07 2.4. They do the full chemical flush with DexCool and I feel that is the best way to go. However, I don't want to pay them to change all my hoses so I'll do them myself. What I need to know is, when I drain the radiator (not the block too) and replace the two hoses plus the two heater hoses, do I need to be concerned with air getting trapped anywhere? Should I also replace the thermostat (no problems at present, but it is 6 yrs old)? Thanks for the info.

 

Follow Smoke Wagons description on the thermostat replacement in the stickies above, on how to refill and you should be ok. I'd replace the thermostat at the same time if you are replacing all the hoses.

Actually I'd skip the dealers 'flush" and just buy some new dexcool and replace it myself without a "flush", other than drain and refill several times with water to flush it out. Be aware however, that it IMPERATIVE that you never let the water pump run dry - ie: do not let the water/antifreeze run so low as to not supply water to the waterpump. Letting the water pump run dry is the kiss of death to it's seals. So the routine there would be to drain, refill with water, start engine making sure you are topping up the rad at all times, shut it off, drain, refill and restart - do that several times, then do a final drain of the "water" and refill with dexcool following the above mentioned sticky.

Good luck.

 

Great info., thanks!!

 

Have fun with the hose clamps. Make sure women and children are out of ear shot and you have a knuckle repair kit handy. Wait till it is warmer outside, that will make the knuckles hurt less.

 

Although it's probably more important for older vehicles, the reverse chemical flush DOES have greater benefits than a clear water forward flow flush. It gets into nooks and crannies where crud (that's a technical term, btw) builds up specifically because it runs the flush in reverse, so different currents and such. Not to mention that the entire process is done with a hot engine, so that's better as well, and it's more efficient at keeping air out because it's a sealed process. I don't sell the stuff, but I used to... it actually works. There are home kits for it too, maybe look into one of those? Kleen Flo is a good product.

 

Thanks, I'll look into this some more.

 

OUCH!!! I've been there in the past (other cars over the yrs.) and have the scars to show for it. I'll have my first aide kit standing by. I'm old school (5-6 yrs. and replace no matter how they feel/look)so about how long are these new rubber hoses good for?

 

The companies that sell them claim something like 60K. GM does not seem to even have a replacement recommendation, not sure if they are even in the "inspect" category. I would not bother preemptively changing them. Wait till you can see them bulging, cracking, leaking etc.