Wednesday, November 24, 2010

How do I change the coolant in my 97 chevy lumina?

Hello,

The low coolant light started flashing at me in my 1997 Chevy Lumina a few days ago. I took off the metal cap and saw that the coolant is a rusty mud color... not nice at all. It's full up to the point it should be, though.

So I'm thinking I should flush out the coolant. How do I do that?

Also, any guesses on why it's colored that way? Is it actually rust from something, or is it colored that way because oil is leaking into it?

Thanks in advance.How do I change the coolant in my 97 chevy lumina?I wouldn't flush it. To drain and refill, and I am guessing you are doing this due to that 150k/5 year coolant that lasts no longer than the green stuff has gelled up with corrosion in the reservoir and radiator cap, there is a drain petcock on the driver's side bottom corner of the radiator. Drain that. take the reservoir off and you will have to manually clean it out. Put that back on, and tighten the drain. Start the vehicle. As the vehicle warms up, and this is important to start it empty, you can begin to fill it as the temp guage begins to rise. When it is full in the radiator, have a helper raise the engine to 2000 RPMS. This will pull the coolant level in the radiator down. Your helper will scream at this point %26quot;The LOW COOLANT light is on!!! EEEEEEeeekkk. Not to worry. That sensor, as you will have figured out by now is in the bottom on the side of the reservoir. If this model fills through the reservoir, follow the same procedure. Except it won't go as quickly for you. Start the car BEFORE you add coolant. If you do not, the cooling system will have air in it, and you will have a whole new question to ask. So I will answer that one now. Have your helper run the heater on high. If he or she starts sweating, there is no air and the heat will tell you that. If the heat never gets really hot, especially when the temp guage shows the car is at operating temperture, then there is air. There is a bleeder screw on top of the by pass water tower behind the water pump at the front of the engine. Close the radiator cap and loosen that bleeder slowly. Another way to do this is, there is a metal tube that runs across the front of the engine. At the end of that is a hose that goes to the reservoir. Remove the spring loaded clamp on the hose, and pull the hose off the tube. This can be done for bleeding, or it can be done at the beginning. Either way you do it, when you have a steady stream of coolant spraying out and soaking the serpentine belt and making it squeak, put the hose and clamp back on. That will remove air too. Good luck with it.How do I change the coolant in my 97 chevy lumina?The type of antifreeze you have is called Dex Cool and it is junk. The best thing to do if you are short on cash and can't afford a professional antifreeze flush is to buy a bottle of flush at your local parts store and follow the directions on it. You just have to drain out the old antifreeze by either pulling the bottom radiator hose off or if there is a drain cock on the radiator then loosen that. Then insert a water hose into your resevoir and let it run until clear water is running out of your radiator. Then add a 50/50 mix of water and green antifreeze into your system and you should be good to go again.How do I change the coolant in my 97 chevy lumina?THE VEHICLE NEEDS TO BE COMPLETELY FLUSHED OUT AND I MEAN COMPLETELY, THE RADIATOR THE HEATER CORE, THE HOSES, THE ENGINE AND REPLACE THE THERMOSTAT AND ANY OTHER PARTS THAT LOOK BAD OR HAVE A LOT OF MILES ON THEM LIKE THE HOSES.



FLUSH OUT THE SYSTEM MANUALLY AND DON'T USE ANY TYPE OF POWER FLUSHING, THIS CAN LEAD TO OTHER PROBLEMS NOW OR AT A LATER DATE.



REPLACE WITH THE ORIGINAL TYPE OF ANTIFREEZE DEX-COOL AND I KNOW THAT EVERYONE HATE IT BUT IT IS BETTER FOR THE COOLING SYSTEM ONLY IF YOU CHANGE IT AT 25,000 MILE INTERVALS.



GM HAS STATED THAT DEX-COOL WILL HAVE PROBLEMS IF IT IS LEFT IN THE VEHICLE FOR THEIR RECOMMENDED 5 YEARS OR 100,000 MILES.



I HAVE SEEN THIS MANY TIMES AND IF YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL IN FLUSHING THE SYSTEM OUT YOU SHOULD HAVE NO MORE PROBLEMS.