Hey quick question, does anyone know where there is a step by step process of taking apart our coolant systems? Like taking the radiator out, the overflow tank out and stuff like that? My coolant system is pretty much destroyed so we bought a new radiator for the monte a couple weeks ago & it's just been sitting at the shop bcuz my dad keeps making excuses that I can't do it bcuz I'll need his help when he's trying to do other things so yeah I'm to the point where if he doesn't let me do it soon then I'm going to be sneaking to the shop late at night to do it myself bcuz I'm tired of having to keep an eye on my temp in fear of it rising too far bcuz of the chocolate orange chunky milkshake tearing up the system. Thanks for the help y'all!

 

Not really, I mean just take off everything where coolant goes... Lower intake, blower, throttle body, t-stat, hoses, overflow and clean them out. Don't forget the valve covers, they get gunky if there's any coolant mixing with oil. Then just put together, refill with coolant and bleed it, you should be good to go

 

I would worry less about disecting everything and more about just flushing it multiple times. Of course, disassembling everything is the perfect way to do it. But if it is really that bad I'd flush more than once

 

Well we have one of those really nice pressurized coolant flushing machines that should help but I doubt it will get all of the crap out of the hoses & what not without some assistance. I'll have to take pics of the parts that are plastered pretty bad to show y'all what I'm talking about before I clean it all

 

I may be mis-understanding what you have going on Brit. Is the car overheating? If so, do you guys know why?

Now, I saw you said that you have a new radiator to put in. Is the current one leaking or clogged? If you are replacing the radiator, and don't know the age of your hoses, this would be a good time to change them (I learned that the hard way a with a couple radiators and a month later I'd have a hose blow out).

Do keep in mind that I believe it's recommended to flush the cooling system every 5 years or 50K miles (I might be off on the miles, but I am fairly certain I am right about the years). As I understand, since our cars run Dex-Cool (from the factory), as that stuff ages, it begins to become acidic and can corrode parts of the system (most people blame Dex cool for the nylon intake gaskets breaking down, but I've had those gaskets break down with the good ol' green stuff).

 

It isn't overheating but it's irritating bcuz one second the temp will be fine & then in the blink of an eye the temp will jump to well over the halfway mark. It's just stressful having to always keep an eye on it while city driving. On the highway when not in traffic her temp is usually stable but man the second I start hitting stop signs is when the temp jumps like crazy.

The hoses can't be that old. She only has 49,000 miles on her, bought her in May 2008 with 18,000 on her. I'm thinking about putting in a 180 thermostat though whenever I do everything but I haven't decided yet. & about the radiator, I'm sure it's prob clogged some bcuz of all of the crap I see in the overflow tank or on the lid of the radiator cap.

& I've heard of that horrible Dex-cool...you couldn't pay me to ever put that **** back in my car with what I see it's doing to my car.

 

Replace your t-stat and bleed the system

 

I'm assuming you're running a stock thermostat. What is the temp reading when you're moving on the highway, and how far past the halfway mark is the needle going when you're stopped in traffic? Also, does it move to the exact same points every time, or does it vary depending on ambient temperature?
Any chance you've noticed if the fans are kicking on when they're supposed to be?

 

Keep in mind, hose age is not all about mileage. Granted, I believe you're driving an '04, I would like to think the hoses are still holding up (as during the summer, I inspected my hoses on my '04 and they seem good and probably factory original).

Based on what you described about your "over heat", I would suspect an old/aged T-stat (it's opening too slowly). Flush your cooling system, replace the T-stat and you should be fine, if not, that was a good starting point.

As far as Dex-Cool, I question how harmful it really is vs being a "scape goat". It's to blame for nylon intake gaskets breaking down and destroying them selves. Well, my '94 Grand Am uses nylon LIM gaskets too. I bought that car in '03 and at 90K I changed the LIM gaskets (they broke down). When I got the car is was not running Dex (and I assume it never did). I flushed the cooling system, loaded it with green stuff, at 180K when I had to change head gaskets, when I took off the LIM, I found the gaskets were breaking apart again, this was without Dex. I also know a friend with a '94 Firebird, 70K miles on it, running Dex since it left the factory, flushed regularly. So I'm not sure I believe Dex to be what people say, but I believe it needs flushed regularly and most people neglect that. I just flushed my Monte over the summer and threw Preston Dex back in.

Just my 2 cents about Dex.

 

I agree about the Dex. It's not bad stuff - its just not good for the 5 year life it claims. Flush it every 2 years and it will never give you a problem