I suspect a head gasket leak that is consuming the coolant so im gonna try and use some head gasket stop leak, but first I want to flush the system with some flushing fluid.

Im going to be following the directions from this thread, minus the heater core he does
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/cool...lush-your.html

Here are my questions:

How good of a flush is this? Again im gonna be using the stop leak and it says it doesnt do so well when put it with coolant.

Should I remove the thermostat?

Is the water going to come out of the radiator filler neck? Any way to divert it so it doesnt go all over

All help appreciated

 

Prestone flush kit works well. A rubber hose that fits on the neck is good to direct the coolant.

Is your oil milky or is your coolant dark?

 

When looking at the oil with the dipstick doesnt seem milky. There looks to be a film of something on top the coolant in the overflow tank.

I was actually looking at the prestone flush kit today. Im using 50/50 prestone coolant rite now

 

My wifes 2000 Malibu V6 had a similar problem as your car... The dealer told her automatically it was a head gasket....when I got home from work I took a look at it. I noticed oil in the coolant resevoir and a small amount of coolant around the gasket between the intake manifold and the head....I took it to my mechanic and had the intake gasket replaced then had the system pressure tested...everything has been perfect since....that was 6 years ago...With no film in your oil,you might have a similar problem...

Good Luck

 

Should I remove the thermostat when flushing the system with this prestone flush kit

 

Its not necessary but you can if you want.

 

this one accounts for a good bit of work for me,it seems stop leak first stopps up the heater core, THEN the bottom third of the rad, and shortly after that the customer has a overheating problem.any more when i get a car in the shop for a overheating problem the first question i ask is "have you used any kind of stop leak" and "how does your heat/defrost work?"

 

That has been in my head for quite some time now.(Reason for replacing old radiator with new Champion one) Im thinking about just flushing the system.

What if I were to flush the system again, with the flush fluid, rite after using the stop leak?

I also have a brand new radiator, but I know it could still get clogged.

 

Gunnar1. When you had problems with your wifes car, did your radiator have a lot of pressure in it. I have a problem where radiator has mad pressure but I have no coolant in oil and for most part coolent looks ok.

 

If the cooling system was pressure tested and the results came back good would that mean its not leaking into the heads?

I had it taken to a shop to tighten up my belts and check the system. They never said anything and I didnt think to ask.

 

I didn't do the pressure test, but the mechanic that did, didn't report unusually high pressure.