How to Flush Your Heater Core Safely Using a Garden Hose
As ChrisFix explains, flushing your heater core is a necessary maintenance task that can help resolve issues with low heat output from your vehicle's heating system. When you have the fan on, the heat on, and the engine is warmed up, but still not producing sufficient heat, it may be time to consider a heater core flush. In this article, we will guide you through the process of flushing your heater core safely using a garden hose.
The Importance of Flushing Your Heater Core
ChrisFix emphasizes that having a functioning heater core is crucial for maintaining optimal engine temperature and overall vehicle performance. When the coolant is not circulating properly, it can lead to serious issues, including overheating engines, costly repairs, and even safety hazards. By flushing your heater core, you can ensure that the coolant system is working efficiently, reducing the risk of these problems.
Preparing Your Vehicle for the Flush
Before starting the flush process, ChrisFix stresses the importance of preparing your vehicle correctly. This includes having the heat on full blast, as well as an instant-read thermometer to measure the temperature of the air coming out of the vent. By doing so, you can determine if the heater core is indeed clogged and in need of cleaning.
Locating the Heater Core Hoses
Once you've determined that a flush is necessary, it's time to locate the two heater core hoses. Typically found on the passenger side or near the middle of the firewall, these hoses are usually visible as they connect to the heater core unit. In this case, ChrisFix can be seen pointing out the location of the two hoses, which are side by side and easily identifiable.
Identifying the Inlet and Outlet Hoses
The next step in the flush process is to identify the inlet and outlet hoses. The inlet hose carries coolant into the system, while the outlet hose directs coolant back out. ChrisFix emphasizes the importance of locating these hoses accurately, as they will be necessary for the flush process.
The Flush Process Begins
With the heater core hoses located and identified, it's time to begin the flushing process. ChrisFix explains that this involves attaching a garden hose to the system and allowing the coolant to flow freely out of the outlet hose. The goal is to remove any debris or sediment that may be clogging the system.
Monitoring the Temperature
As ChrisFix continues with the flush process, he carefully monitors the temperature of the air coming out of the vent using his instant-read thermometer. By doing so, he can ensure that the heater core is indeed flushing properly and that the coolant system is functioning efficiently.
The Finished Product
After a few minutes of flushing, ChrisFix checks the temperature reading to see if it has reached the desired level. With the flush complete, he then disconnects the garden hose and allows the system to cool down before inspecting the heater core hoses for any remaining debris or sediment. By following these steps and using a garden hose to flush your heater core, you can ensure that your vehicle's heating system is working efficiently and effectively.
"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enHey Guys, ChrisFix here. Today I'm gonna show you how to flush your Heater Core safely using a Garden Hose.The reason you would flush your heater core, is because when you have the fan on, the heat on and the engine is warmed up, you're not getting much heat.It may be a little bit warm or it might just be cold.So we can see the engine's up to operating temperature, the coolant is nice and warm.I'm going to put the heat on the vent, the heat is on all the way, and I'm going to put it up all the wayI have an instant read thermometer, I'm going to stick in the vent, and we're going to see how hot this getsOkay, after a few minutes of this running it's at 125.5 and it's pretty much staying in that spot right there, so now we're going to go and do a heater core flush.To find the two heater core hoses you just go up to your engine.Usually on the passenger side or in the middle of the firewall which is this back wall here.You'll see two hoses going right in to the firewall, in this case you can see here's 1, and 2 they're side by sideand that's what it's typically going to look like.Now that you've located the heater core hoses, you want to try and find the inlet and outlet hoses.The inlet hose is coolant going in and the outlet hose is coolant going out.You want to identify these as we need to \"reverse flush\", We're going to push the water in through the outlet hosethis is to flush in the opposite direction to which the coolant usually runsOn this Mazda B3000 Ford ranger, the inlet hose is easily identified by the heater control valve which allows coolant to flow into the heater coreso this one on the left is going to be the inlet hose.and this one here on the right will be the outlet hoseSo now that we've identified that we can begin!Now you want to make sure the engine is cold as you never want to work on the cooling system when the engine is hot.They make these little flush kits, they're around 5 dollars at the hardware store. I will put a link the description as to where you can get one of these.I'm not going to use that kit, instead, I will use this adapter from the local hardware store.So, this will connect to the hose, the threads are the same however so I will use the adapter to adapt the hose to this 5/8ths fitingThis clear hose will connect to the garden hose, it has a 5/8ths internal diameter.we will need to take off both of these hoses, they have simple hose clamps on here so get your pliers.The garden hose will go into the outlet side so we will do that first.Try not to make a mess so get this ready here.Now we're going to take off our inlet side and install our exhaust hose.It's the same hose as before, just longer to reach into this bucket.Remember to always recycle your coolant and antifreeze, and to keep it away from animals as they like to drink it but it will kill them.Now when the two hoses are on there, nice and tight, we're ready to flush.Now at the tap you want to be very careful, the heater core is not a high-pressure component and only sees around 10 P.S.I max from the water pump.So you definitely want to keep the pressure below 10 P.S.IThe clean water will come in.and the dirty water come out.You can see it's darker.It's pretty quick to do this, the heater core isn't very largeOnce the bucket fills up, you should have clear water coming out of the hose. I'm going to shut the hose off, this looks really clean.Everything looks really clear.There's the dirty fluid that got flushed out of the heater core. You can actually see little pieces floating around.Now we're going to disconnect the garden hose, and flush out the water that's in the heater core.So I'm going to get a funnel, and I'm going to fill it up with antifreeze so we remove the water, and maintain our 50/50 mixtureSo when we see antifreeze in the outlet hose, we will be done.Make sure you use the antifreeze recommended in your owners manual.As you can see, there is now antifreeze in the exhaust hose, that means that our heater core is now correctly filled with 50/50.Now we're going to disconnect our lines.Remember to keep track of the inlet and outlet hoses. The one the control valve is on the inlet side.When connecting them make sure they go right to the base of the fitting and then use the pliers to slide the hose clips back on.And we're done, that's how you flush a heater core! Now we're going to go for a ride and make sure the heating works.Okay the engine is at operating temperature, you can see the coolant is nice and hot.Just got back from a short drive.I have the heat on all the way, the vent and the fan on, Just like before.You can see here, it's at 150 degrees and still rising slowly, that's hotter than before where it was at 125 degrees.So that's an increase of 25 degrees and my heater core wasn't even that dirty! So I hope you guys get the same results.Let me know how you do with your heater core flush. Hopefully this video was helpful, if it was, remember to give a \"Thumbs up\".if you're not a subscriber, what are you waiting for? Hit that subscribe button!and the top tip for this video is; Let's say you turn the hose on and you're not getting much water out. Get yourself some radiator cleaner and run it through the inlet hose.Let it soak and then attempt to flush it out again.\n"
