Trailblazer coolant flush

[BurgerRi]

Hi all

My 2014 2.8 LTZ (144 kW motor) has in all likelihood not had a coolant flush yet. 100k Kms and going strong. We're not planning on getting rid of it and I prefer doing maintenance myself since it is now out of warranty. We have had it for 5 years now and I love it. I think my wife does too...not sure.

So I am planning on doing a coolant flush soon. I cannot find anything specifically about it on this forum but if I missed it I apologize. I will take a look tomorrow but does anyone know if there is a drain plug on the radiator? Often there will be but if not I guess I will have to go old school and drain by removing the lower rad hose. Not the end of the world.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, what products do you guys trust when it comes to the antifreeze that I should put in? Like I said I want to keep the car so I do not mind spending a little more if the product is really superior.

Of course I will check the manual too for any specific mentions of coolant specs.

Thanks

[aidan zimmerman]

Mine has a drain plug on the drivers side of the radiator. You will need to remove the skid plate to access it.

[BurgerRi]

Yes, I saw that and will do so. Thanks

[RoelfleRoux]

This is what I bought directly from the dealer, a few years ago, to carry in my "emergency chest"
PS: no idea why the bottles fell over when I posted the pic

[ekkekan]

Hi all

My 2014 2.8 LTZ (144 kW motor) has in all likelihood not had a coolant flush yet. 100k Kms and going strong. We're not planning on getting rid of it and I prefer doing maintenance myself since it is now out of warranty. We have had it for 5 years now and I love it. I think my wife does too...not sure.

So I am planning on doing a coolant flush soon. I cannot find anything specifically about it on this forum but if I missed it I apologize. I will take a look tomorrow but does anyone know if there is a drain plug on the radiator? Often there will be but if not I guess I will have to go old school and drain by removing the lower rad hose. Not the end of the world.

Lastly, and perhaps more importantly, what products do you guys trust when it comes to the antifreeze that I should put in? Like I said I want to keep the car so I do not mind spending a little more if the product is really superior.

Of course I will check the manual too for any specific mentions of coolant specs.

Thanks

Perhaps the type of anti freeze is most important and not just the make. It does appear as you should use Dex Cool which is red in colour. Refer to the car manual

[Swiegie1]

Good Morning

You can check on the Liqui Moly website. They will indicate what the best coolant is for your vehicle.

Please do not mix coolants as some are not compatible with each other.

My suggestion is, drain radiator, fill with clean distilled water, drive until hot, remember to put heater on as well. Drain again, and refill with new coolant and distilled water. Only do the refill when engine has cooled down.

Cheers
T

[Jared Mk3]

There is definitely a drain plug on the radiator. When you put the plug back in, use a little red rubber grease on the o-ring. Those plugs did give us a few issues in the workshop when I still worked at the dealer. In terms of anti-freeze, use the concentrated Castrol Radicool as shown above. If it was serviced by the dealer while under warranty/service plan, the coolant should have been replaced on 75 000km or at 5 years.

[BurgerRi]

[QUOTE=
PS: no idea why the bottles fell over when I posted the pic[/QUOTE]

Well, luckily they were still closed, so no nasty or sticky fluids on my phone.

[BurgerRi]

Perhaps the type of anti freeze is most important and not just the make. It does appear as you should use Dex Cool which is red in colour. Refer to the car manual

The manual was no help. I called the dealer to ask what they use, so I bought that. Castrol Radicool SF, same as what uncle Roelf showed on his capsized pic.

Thanks for the advice.

[BurgerRi]

[When you put the plug back in, use a little red rubber grease on the o-ring. Those plugs did give us a few issues in the workshop when I still worked at the dealer. In terms of anti-freeze, use the concentrated Castrol Radicool as shown above. If it was serviced by the dealer while under warranty/service plan, the coolant should have been replaced on 75 000km or at 5 years.]

Good advice. Thank you.

[BurgerRi]

Hi all

I did the job on the weekend, together with an oil, oil filter, and diesel filter change. All went well.

A few notes:
- The skid plate has to come off, like someone said. It has 4 x 15 mm bolts, but man, were mine on there tight!
- I first added Wynn's radiator flush and drove around for 20 minutes
- After draining it the first time I had to repeat the draining 3 or 4 times before clear water would come out
- For each refill I used hot water from the tap in order not to shock the block with cold water - this way I did not have to wait for the engine to cool before filling again
- I managed to drain around 8 liters out every time, and the system takes 9 liters according to the manual
- The correct 50/50 mix was made up with distilled water and anti-freeze and put in, but only after the engine had cooled a few hours
- I am convinced the dealer did not do this at 5 years, as they should have. That would have been ant the last service with them in 2019 (only two years ago) and the stuff I drained out of there was really nasty. That makes me wonder about whether they did the brake fluid at all, so I will call and see what excuse they come up with.

So, baie dankie vir almal se raad. Dis altyd lekker om van mense te hoor wat darem weet waarvan hulle praat.

Die volgende items op my lys is die ATF en die diff olie. Daarna sal ek my BMW se radiator ook flush, en dan die Corolla s'n.

Groete

[RoelfleRoux]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.
You say the coolant looked bad. What did the expansion bottle look like? In other words, did you know the cooland was bad, or did it surprise you.
Mine still looks like new, but I could be mislead by what I see in the expansion bottle.

[Gav.S]

I once caught a dealer that claimed they changed the radiator fluids and charged me for it. The expansion bottle looked fine, but open the radiator cap and the water was chocolate brown. They very quickly offered to change it outside their workshop, dumping the old fluids onto the floor. I trust no mechanics because of this. I now mark filters, ask for all my old parts and certainly don't agree to change brake pads unless I see them.

[BurgerRi]

I once caught a dealer that claimed they changed the radiator fluids and charged me for it. The expansion bottle looked fine, but open the radiator cap and the water was chocolate brown. They very quickly offered to change it outside their workshop, dumping the old fluids onto the floor. I trust no mechanics because of this. I now mark filters, ask for all my old parts and certainly don't agree to change brake pads unless I see them.

Not cool. Most people really have no clue, so that could be why some of the dealers try to get away with stuff like that. I just like the fact that I do it myself on the Chevy and I know it was done.

I am trying to call the dealer to check on the coolant and brake fluid flushes but their phone does not work.

I smiled at your brake pad remark. The number of customers that get conned in that way must be high. Once I was warned when they serviced my car that it urgently needed new pads in the front. I mean, URGENTLY. I asked them to measure it, got a silly answer, and then declined. When I got the car back I measured it myself and there was 14 mm of pad material left.

[BurgerRi]

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated.
You say the coolant looked bad. What did the expansion bottle look like? In other words, did you know the cooland was bad, or did it surprise you.
Mine still looks like new, but I could be mislead by what I see in the expansion bottle.

Well, before the job the contents of the expansion bottle appeared red from outside, and it looked good. I never looked inside though. If I did I probably would have seen what ended up in my bucket - dark brown/reddish colour, almost rusty. After completing the work the bottle still looks red from outside, but lighter. And if I remove the cap and look inside I can see that the fluid is a light pink colour, and as stupid as it sounds, clear. Thus, clean.

Not sure if this helps.

[RoelfleRoux]

Well, before the job the contents of the expansion bottle appeared red from outside, and it looked good. I never looked inside though. If I did I probably would have seen what ended up in my bucket - dark brown/reddish colour, almost rusty. After completing the work the bottle still looks red from outside, but lighter. And if I remove the cap and look inside I can see that the fluid is a light pink colour, and as stupid as it sounds, clear. Thus, clean.

Not sure if this helps.

It helps plenty, thank you. I'll try to look at the coolant itself.
But like I said, my car's bottle still looks like the day it arrived off the ship. So, hopefully all is still well.
The service record definitely doesn't reflect a coolant change at any service.