Before I get a new radiator on my 67, which has been sitting for 18 years, I think I should flush the cooling system? Can I simply stick a garden hose into the upper fitting and let it run out the bottom, or is there more to it? There is no rad in it currently. I simply want to make sure all the crud is out before I install a new rad, so I don't immediately clog it. Suggestions?

 

go to the parts store buy the fluch kit, splice the fitting into the heater hose. drain coolant(dispose of properly) add flush chemical and water, follow direction on can. drain flush and water mix. flush with a water hose, add in fresh coolant and distilled water(not tap because it has minerals etc that cause bad deposits)

 

we have a full house water softener. would this be ok rather than buying distilled? its supposedly gets rid of the harmful minerals in the water.

 

there is nothing in distilled water, idk what is in the softner? distilled is pure H2O nothing added at all

 

idk its a big filter on the outside of our house, with a huge barrell with salt chunks in it.

 

would lead me to think that there is sodium added :P

 

Yeah, don't use softened water, use distilled water. Anything else has contaminants in it that build up deposits in the cooling system. As rmodel said, distilled water is nothing but H2O

 

Make sure you buy a new heater coil cause you'll need it if you flush out the system with any type of pressure. The original heater coil is the first thing to go when you apply a pressurized flush to the system.

 

OK, but I don't have a radiator or hoses attatched to stop the flush fluid from draining right out as soon as I put it in. Can I just cap the top and bottom outlets and then pull them off to drain it? I want to do this before installing the new radiator so nothing goes into it.

 

is distilled water safe to drink?