radiator flush question
 

after multiple attempts at burping the system, i can still only get ~ 1.3 gallons of coolant in.

first flush of the cooling system for me.. i followed the guide on rob's site (http://www.robrobinette.com/flush.htm).. according to rob's site i should be able to get around 2gallons into they system.. which seems about right compared to how much drained out.

i only drained from the radiator (no engine block drain). is it okay to drive the car around with a estimated .7 gallon deficit on coolant?

Well, if you just drained the radiator only, 1.3 gallon might be ok..

I would start the car, let it warm up, shut it down, let it cool, and fill it back up.. You might want to do this procedure few times.

Also, just for the future flush. Get one of these.
I've told few people about this item and works wonders.. I been using it on my 7 for past 3 years.
https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...d=147327&stc=1
http://www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=10122

You could use it to do oil change (since the filter is on top, you don't even have to jack the car) and also suck coolant out. If you have AST, just take the hose to the radiator and suck out the coolant. Also, you don't have to jack up the car.

wow the sucker is too cool :)

yeh im wondering the same thing. i just recently flushed my system and i only put in about the much into my system. i burped it several, several times and im not getting a low coolant buzz or anything. like sevensix said, is this right?

What a good idea, especially for oil changes. Having to crawl underneath was one of the reasons why I get lazy in doing changes.

^Agreed. While I didn't measure it, IIRC quite a bit of coolant will drain from the block. Setiment too.

Yes, you're fine. I did the same thing this year when I flushed mine. about 1.3-1.5 gallons total (didn't empty the block). I was having a friend pulse the coolant hose while I was filling her up, so after I started her up for 5 minutes (buzzed just once), shut her off, pulsed it one more time while topping her off, and drove her around the block, haven't touched her since.

from the robrobinettes' site:

"When my car was at MazMax here in Houston last fall (turbos were being pulled), the mechanic gave me this tip which is fantastic. Remove the top coolant hose from the throttle body (is in the rear near the firewall) when refilling the system. Today I did a cooling and heater system hose replacement job, along with eliminating the coolant separation tank (installed the 86-88 pressure cap neck). I removed the top hose when I started filling the system. This was the first time in 6 years that the system almost took the full amount, about 8 quarts. After filling, replacing the hose, and running the engine for 2 minutes, it only took about 1 pint more. Then I drove the car until fully warmed up and let it cool down; it then took about ¼ cup more. During this the overflow tank was filled ½ way of course.
Chuck 93 R1"

go to a place that has a machine that flushes the coolant system .You will be amazed how much gunk is in there.

Interesting, any well known places that does that?

Also the key is to use distilled or super pure water.
I'm not sure what these guys will do except to hook up a tap water and flush the system, which will later deposit minerals in your system if left in.

But to be honest, if you aren't having issues with cooling and such, don't bother spending ton of time and money going to these places to flush.

I think jiffylube flushed my last fd ,back in 2000.I wouldnt worry about non distilled water if you flush the car every 2 yrs.It was a specific machine,not just a hose.

Coolvette,

I would worry about tap water. I had my engine cranked on an engine stand and cranked for about 10 hours over 2 week period. Afterwards, we emptied it and it was full of mineral deposit. When I get it in my car, I'm going to run it with some distill water and coolant and flush it out after my initial break in.

ok,i guess i will use distilled for my next flush ,in a couple months.

Use nothing but distilled water and change the coolant once a year. Everything will stay clean and deposit free.

i keep filling it at the neck now, after each day of driving when the motor is completely cooled. now today after i've filled it maybe... 6 times using this method, its coming out my overfill tank. this is normal (for overfills) i hope.

what bugs me is that i still hear tiny bubbles getting pushed thru the system when I drive. ive tried all the burping methods

hey. How's it going.... Bringing the thread back. lol
ok.... so everyone keeps saying that you have to flush it with distilled water.....
On robinette's website it says to just pour in about half a gallon of distilled water and let it drain... so you just leave the radiator drain plug open and just pour in the water and let it drain?.... or do you guys fill up the cooling system with distilled water and then run the engine for a lil while?

and also.... is 50/50 coolant good? Does it work good? Like 50% coolant and 50% water? Or should i put in a HIGHER percentage of coolant since the rotary engine gets really hot?


And about pulsing...... I don't get what you guys mean by pulsing..... Do you just squeeze that hose or what? what does it mean to pulse it?

Coolant is primarily there to keep the fluid from freezing (reason why it also goes by the term "anti-freeze") and has the added benefit of raising the boiling point temperature.

This thread does a fair job of explaining this in more detail:
http://www.automotivehelper.com/topic298108.htm

If you live in a warm climate or run the car under high loads/racing, I would run a higher percentage of water. The reason be behind my statement is that pure water has a higher heat transfer coefficient and requires less pumping energy from your water pump. In theory, if the work done by the engine to power the water pump remains constant, you will have a higher flowrate going through your radiator if you are using pure water versus some mixture of coolant and water. The primary reason behind this is that the coolant raises the viscosity of the fluid. This effect is more dramatic at room temperature... at driving temperatures, the difference in viscosity should be neglegible. However, the difference in heat transfer is still significant.

Open both radiator and block drain plugs, then replace when empty. Pull off the coolant hose from the back of the throttle body (prop it up above the throttle body so it's the highest point). Use a coolant funnel and fill with distilled water until it starts pouring out the hose. Reconnect the hose and start the engine, warm up until t-stat opens. Turn on heater full blast. Then I rev it up to about 2500 and hold it for a couple minutes to circulate. Watch funnel and stop if it's near overflow. Turn off, cool down for an hour or two, drain. Then repeat but start with a gallon of antifreeze and finish with distilled water. This will get you close to a 70/30 ratio.

Thanks. When you said to fill with distilled water until it starts pouring out of that hose, where do you pour the water? You just pour the water in like always and it should come out of that hose?

and HAPPY NEW YEARS ALL!!!! have a kick ass new years eve!!!!

Yes. That hose (back of the throttle body) is at essentially the highest point of the cooling system not including where you fill on top of the thermostat housing.

in the filler neck

coolant - water percentage is dependent on weather and yoru location. b/c depending on coolant percentage is the defense against freezing.. i.e,, and this is only a example not definate numbers... 20% coolant vs 80% water is 20f freeze.

50/50 is 0 deg till freeze, and 80 coolant and 20 water is -30 degrees. also.. d/f on the radiator only is about 1. somethign gallons b/c your only draining equale to the upper hose, rad and lower hose sectino of water.. NOT the engine.. if you want to truly D/F a rotary... on the bottom i think mid section of the block, i think Driver side, is a 12 or 14 mm bolt, has a crush washer, remove that and you'll dump another gallon or so from the water galleys in the engine.. then you'll notice almost 2.5 gallons of coolant to fill. and i do definately reccomene the yellow funnel that attaches to rad cap, and removing the t/b upper hose for faster and more accurate burping. happy flushing!!!


Clos