Can I drain all the coolant out from the petcock on the radiator?

[dieselfuelonly]

Trying to get the coolant/distilled water mix put into my Deuce today. I found what appears to be the cooling system drain on the rear of the engine, above the starter. The petcock didn't drain anything, so I took the whole petcock assembly off but nothing is coming out of the drain... I tried sticking a pick and a piece of heavy but somewhat flexible electric fence wire into the 45* bend, but nothing is coming out. The bit of crud that sticks to the pick or wire smells like coolant, so I think this is the drain, its just clogged up.

Anyway, I don't think I can remove the bend without a lot of trouble, if I just use the drain on the radiator will this get the majority of well water that I have been using the flush the system with out, so I can put the new 50/50 mix in?

Thanks.

I've attached a couple pictures if it helps.

 

[cranetruck]

No, not all coolant will drain from the radiator.
If the drain on the right side of the engine is that clogged, I'd seriously consider reverse flushing.
If you have a heater, it will have to be drained also.

 

[Oilleaker1]

If you have air, try some quick blasts into the drain hole of the block to see if you can open it up. A rubber tipped blower or extended blower might work. Hope you can get the crap to come out. John

 

[4x4 Forever]

If you have air, try some quick blasts into the drain hole of the block to see if you can open it up. A rubber tipped blower or extended blower might work. Hope you can get the crap to come out. John

Had visions of blowing up the rad with this , just make sure the rad cap is off....which prolly is anyway. But, ya never know!

 

[greenjeepster]

Are you saying that you drained the radiator first and then tried the engine petcock and it drained nothing? If that is the case; yes you may have drained enough from the radiator that the level is now below the petcock.

 

[dieselfuelonly]

No, I tried opening the petcock before draining the radiator, as well as removing the petcock assembly and jamming the wire into the 45* bend, and even with the engine running. Still couldn't get anything to come out. Tried a little compressed air up the hole, no luck though. I couldn't really get the blow gun in there well.. there's no room between those two things surrounding the drain block.. looks like a sender of some kind and a solenoid.

Ended up burning my knuckles on the exhaust manifold more than anything.

I just hate to leave some well water in the system and mix it in with the nice FleetCharge coolant and distilled water that I just got... not to mention that the radiator only drained out about 5 gallons or so.

I wish there was a way to get that 45* bend off of there... but theres just not enough room and that sender/solenoid look like a really pain in the... rear to get off.

 

[Kohburn]

how about a little piece of braided steal cable in a cordless drill. the spinning action should help it turn any corners and clean out any gunk. That or an acid flush kit to remove any old gunk in the engine and radiator (be warned, you may end up with leaks doing an acid flush)

 

[dieselfuelonly]

Alright here's the update. Wanted to give the air another shot, so I drove the Deuce in front of the garage where I could use the compressor with a straight hose instead of a 5 gallon air tank with a coiled hose that got caught on everything that soon became a projectile as i threw it across the yard.

So I figured I'd put the petcock back on as it would let the rubber tip of the blow gun "seal" a little better.

Still no luck though - there's just not enough room to get the blow gun positioned correctly to get a good seal.

I'm nervous about an acid flush, not to mention ANY flush right now because I'm worried I might not be able to get the majority of the flush out.

I've "flushed" the system several times by opening the drain on the radiator, putting a garden hose in the neck and high idling the truck for a while - what comes out is pretty darn clean.


I'm starting to think maybe I should just go get a bunch of distilled water, fill up the system, drive the truck until it gets up to temperature, drain what I can of the distilled/well water mix, then add the antifreeze and more distilled water.

Sound like a bad idea?

 

[cranetruck]

.....
I'm starting to think maybe I should just go get a bunch of distilled water, fill up the system, drive the truck until it gets up to temperature, drain what I can of the distilled/well water mix, then add the antifreeze and more distilled water.

Sound like a bad idea?

It's a good idea, after about 4 or 5 cycles of the distilled water, you'll have a 99% mix of clean water. Before the last cycle, add the right amount of glycol and water, which should be 4 gallons of glycol and 1 gal of water plus any SCA you may want (perhaps 2 pints). After the T-stat opens next time you drive it, you'll have the correct mix.

Hopefully the clogged drain is not a sign of other clogged passages within the block.
Edit: Added image from MVM #109, June 2005.

 

[dieselfuelonly]

Ok, I'll do that. I'm using the FleetCharge antifreeze which already has the SCA's pre-mixed into it, so I just just try to get a 50/50 mix of distilled water:antifreeze, right?

I hope no other passages are clogged as well, but the engine is running nice and cool.

 

[dieselfuelonly]

What a great way to start off the week... instead of looking in the fisheye mirror on my Dodge I was looking at the rear of my Deuce while backing up around the gravel circle in my driveway... and guess what was PERFECTLY lined up? FleetCharge FleetCharge FleetCharge FleetCharge Water Water Water Water.

That's right, instead of hitting one of the $0.99 bottles of distilled water, my Dodge Dually pulled a HULK SMASH on ALL FOUR bottles of the FleetCharge and didn't touch ONE of the bottles of distilled water.

GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[hdexpert]

Looks like somebody has a bad case of the Mondays!! (from office space)

That sucks, sorry to hear about your bad luck. It'll get better.....

 

[cranetruck]

Not good! If it's glycol, it will kill small animals if they get to it...not to mention the $50-$60 down the drain...

 

[wdbtchr]

how about a little piece of braided steal cable in a cordless drill. the spinning action should help it turn any corners and clean out any gunk. That or an acid flush kit to remove any old gunk in the engine and radiator (be warned, you may end up with leaks doing an acid flush)

I have broken speedometer cable I use for things like this. I chuck up the good end in my battery drill and use the frayed end like a roto rooter to clean out plugged passages. Now if you can just find an old speedo cable.

Know how you feel about running over your antifreeze, I've done things like that. I always say, "Murphy was an optimist!" You gotta laugh cause it keeps you from screaming.

 

[Maverick1701]

I didnt use the acid flush, i ran CLR through my radiator for about 10mins, did he same thing, cleaned out a bunch of gunk/crap that had built up in the motor.

 

[DemocracyEnaction]

Someone told me to use Cascade dish soap. They swear by it.

 

[gimpyrobb]

Someone told me to use Cascade dishwasher soap. They swear by it.

It works great.