The coolant in my 87 Wagoneer doesn't look good, it is cloudy, probably old.

It is pretty clear how to flush an open system, but what about the Renix ?

Is there an easy way to clean the full circuit ?
Radiator, engine, etc. for someone without a lot of available tools.

shall I remove the bottom hose of the radiator, and open the cap of the bottle.
and wait....... Can't I push water in the circuit ? Or is there an additive to add before the flush ?

Thanks

 

The first thing I'd do is drain the radiator. Then pour in a bottle of a flush (blue devil). Drive it for a week or at least 6 hours. Then re-drain.

Take the two heater core hoses off the thermostat housing and flush the heater core in both direction until it runs clear.

The thermostat is going to be closed so you can can take off the housing and remove it then put it back on. Remove upper radiator hose and then the lower radiator hose. Flush water until it goes clear.

Flush water through your radiator until it runs clear. Hook everything back up, (put t stat back in). Fill it with water and drive it until it reaches operating temp. (You can skip this but I do just in case there was in little pieces in there)

Drain one last time at the radiator and bottom radiator hose and fill with a 50/50 mix. At this point used distilled water.

Fill bottle until it is full and crank the jeep (leave cap off), make sure your heater is on high. Adding coolant as needed. Let it run until it reaches operating temp, adding coolant as needed. Then shut jeep off and let it cool down. Check coolant and add if needed. Crank jeep to reach temp, adding coolant if needed. Basically repeat this until it doesn't need any coolant.

That is really about all you can do with a simple hose pipe.

And never pour cold water into a hot jeep unless it is running and then pour it slowly just as a caution.

 

Thanks,

* For the Fill what coolant color shall I use ? (something international I could find in Europe. Shall I really mix it with 50% water ?)

* Hoses seem ok, but I'll change them. Can I buy Crown or similar parts ? I don't have mopar parts locally.

* Ok to refill from the bottle, BUT my heater doesn't work (ventilation is blows air, but when I ask for hot air, nothing comes from the vents...I'll have to look at that.It might be a flap ? Does it matter in the processu you describe ?

I wonder if I should not use this as an opportuniy to change the water pump.. what do you think ? How do assess its status ?

thanks I know it is a lot of questions.

 

Coolant - Classic Green coolant. Check the bottle for the coolant - they sell it in two varieties, full strength which YES, you mix 50/50 with distilled water and Pre-mixed 50/50 coolant which obviously you do not need to add anything.

Hoses - Gates is a highly regarded manufacturer, but any reputable brand is acceptable.

Water Pump - It may be a good time to replace the water pump since you'll have the thermostat removed and will only have to buy coolant once. You should check with your local laws regarding proper disposal and handling of coolant. In the U.S. we can return used coolant to the retailer or an auto parts store without a fee, but it IS a hazardous chemical, so you can't just dump it down the drain or on the ground.
A water pump usually fails either by 1 - Bearing failure. You will hear a whining when the engine's running or if you turn the pulley by hand (with the belt off obviously) it will be rough. 2 - Seal failure. There is usually a small hole (called a "weep hole") that will begin to leak a small amount of coolant warning you of the impending failure.
I once had the plastic impeller (the inside part that moves the coolant) shear off so that the pump pulley would spin, but it wouldn't move the coolant. There was no bearing noise or leaking, the Jeep just ran over temperature very very quickly.

Heater - Check whether a previous owner bypassed the heater core. The heater core is a big and painful job to replace in a Jeep (it requires disassembling the entire dashboard) so if you don't mind not having heat, it's common for people to just connect the thermostat and water pump pipes with a generic piece of heater hose. Another possibility is that you have a faulty heater control valve (I believe they were used on the 87). It's a small vacuum operated device that sits between the engine and heater core and closes off the coolant moving through the heater core based on the cabin controls for Hot/Cold. Most folks eliminate it if their Jeep still has one. Google "Jeep Heater Control Valve Elimination" and you'll find a lot of information on it.
Finally, it is possible that the Blend door is stuck. This may require some digging into the dash to check on.