cooling system flush

[red98]

Been doing a bit of service work on the mighty thou , all the usual things and a flush of the cooling system , its looking a bit murky brownish in the header tank so pulled the bottom hose off and connected the garden hose and gave it a good flush for 10 mins or so , refilled with some fresh antifreeze and started and let run for a while whilst checking for leaks , no leaks but the fresh
antifreeze is brown again  ....so i guess i need something more than just clean water although the fresh antifreeze is doing a good job of loosening the gunge  .......thinking of  using "mannol 9965"  "bars flush" or something simular....you lot used any of these ?

[fazersharp]

I used radflush, but my coolant looked clean before I replaced it.

I wonder if by attaching a hose and something to do with extra pressure and finding the easy route that the flow of water has missed a section. Perhaps doing it with normal water but close it off and let the pump push it round ??? 

[red98]

Yeh , thats what iam thinking SHARPIE , I, ll give it one more flush through with the hose , refill and see what happens , if its murky again I, ll get some rad flush....its only discoloured , not  gungy so iam not worried about it , just be nice to get it right.....after all it is a 

[darrsi]

Always used Radflush.
Take the bike for a gentle spin for 10 miles so it gets a good chance to do the business, but you don't wanna go mad otherwise the water will just boil like it's in a kettle.


You want the bike just casually running but being aircooled at the same time so try and avoid traffic or where you might need to sit still at lights, etc.

[Arfa]

Yep use Radflush. Flushed mine with it a couple of years ago, as it all came out super brown like yours sounds. Flushed it again last month and all came out a nice bright pink, so it must have done the job.

[tommyardin]

Not sure if it is absolutely necessary but I used de-ironised water you can also use distilled water instead of tap water.


I live in a really hard water area and kettles fur up badly so my thinking was to go the above route.
I also flushed mine with a hose and ran the bike for about 12 miles (to local town and back) with just fresh tap water in it and drained it out again while still fairly hot, the flush water came out clear.
But to be honest I actually think the original stuff in the cooling system was fine as it was still very pink and no hint of discolouration. The little clear expansion tank at the back was also clean inside.


I refilled the system with pink 5 year concentrated stuff and de-ionised water, that was the winter before last and it's still clear pink.

[darrsi]

Stuff i use is luminous yellow, but comes ready mixed.
Not changed it for a couple of years now but it's still yellow and never needs topping up so it's obviously all good.

[red98]

Quick search on ebay found 250ml of holts rad flush for £3.98...should be with me before the weekend .......will flush again with the garden hose before using the rad flush....

[red98]

Oooooops , didnt update    .....couple of weeks ago now , but , drained the system again and flushed out with garden hose , refilled with radflush and ran for 20 mins or so , drained system again and flushed through  , most of the brown stuff , not really gunge as not thick enough , was at the bottom of the header tank so put the hose on the filler and flushed it out through the overflow , refilled with fresh anti freeze , that was about 700 miles ago , is a bit discoloured now but a lot better than It was , will do the same again in a few weeks , almost certainly caused by not changing often enough   

[VNA - BMW Wank]

Not sure if it is absolutely necessary but I used de-ironised water you can also use distilled water instead of tap water.

Never use tap water.  Always de-inonised or distilled.  It's the tap water that causes all the issues.  Never flushed mine out cos it's nice and clean due to only using distilled water.

[fazersharp]

Here you go everything you will ever need to know - and lots you don' t here 
http://foc-u.co.uk/index.php/topic,10671.50.html

[darrsi]

Oooooops , didnt update    .....couple of weeks ago now , but , drained the system again and flushed out with garden hose , refilled with radflush and ran for 20 mins or so , drained system again and flushed through  , most of the brown stuff , not really gunge as not thick enough , was at the bottom of the header tank so put the hose on the filler and flushed it out through the overflow , refilled with fresh anti freeze , that was about 700 miles ago , is a bit discoloured now but a lot better than It was , will do the same again in a few weeks , almost certainly caused by not changing often enough   

As long as your system is air tight and functioning okay, and because now you've used Radflush to clear the waterways of any shite you can leave it alone now for a couple of years no problem, unless you do particularly high mileage i s'pose.