Flushing the Radiator Part 1

So, the second phase of my project is to treat the car's cooling system.  My plan is to replace the thermostat and also flush out all the rust/debris that accumulated over the 10-year period. Of course it has been flushed before but this time, I am going to use the Prestone AS105 Radiator Flush+ Cleaner.

In my previous car, I would just flush it after letting the engine running for 15 minutes. But this time, as per the instructions, I would drive the car for a few days, then flush it out and replace with Toyota Long Life coolant and leave it in there for maybe, two years?

 


So I got the guys to help me out a little by supervising my actions. And thankfully, their 10mm was much stronger than my puny Pro's Kit. The replacement took about 5 minutes and boy, there was rust inside the system!


This was the original thermostat from the car and the brown is actually the 10 year old rust


And it would be operating when the water temperature reaches 80°C


Compare this with the one I bought, which is gleaming silver.

Anyway, once the thermostat is in and the guys confirmed I did it correctly, I poured this whole bottle of Prestone  Flush+ Cleaner and let it run around the system for a few days before I flush everything out.
 

The temperature gauge (on the right) is about 50% and once this is completed, I hope it would drop back to about 25% or thereabouts. If it does not, it means the water pump would be the next suspect.