Coolant flush question

[Lug Nut]

Is it OK to use compressed air to drive out all the old coolant from the system when doing a coolant flush? If so, what would be the best procedure? Seems like the write ups in have seen involve lots of drain points, removing lots of stuff....just wondering if you drained at one point and used compressed air to force everything out through that drain...then maybe flush with a garden hose and then air again before refilling with fresh coolant.....

 

 

Thoughts?

[M61A1MECH]

Never heard of anyone doing that, you would need to regulate the pressure down to what ever the regular system operating pressure is, other wise you risk damaging something like blowing a hose or making a hose clamp get loose , worst would be damaging the radiator. Unless the thermostat is out or fully open, all you will get is what is in the radiator if you do not pull the plugs in the cylinder jackets. Using this procedure from the tech section it really is not to hard, http://www.venturerider.org/forum/showthread.php?37353-Some-Tips-on-Changing-the-2nd-Gen-Coolant, the only thing I ever skipped was pulling the drain plug on the water pump, could not get mine to budge, figured best not to break some thing considering the small amount of fluid left in there.

[Condor]

What I've done in the past on a 1stGen is stick a hose in the filler and open the drain on the water pump. Fire up the motor and regulate the inflow to the out flow. Let it runs for about 15 minutes and all the old coolant is gone..... Turn off the engine, turn off the hose, and let the clean water drain out. Fill with new coolant. However.... on a second gen it would be a PITA doing it this way. IT can be done, but the tank would need to be slid back to get to the radiator cap, and opening the drain on the pump takes a bit of McGuivering.... Using air to evacuate the old stuff is scarry. You could end up blowing the seals in the water pump and you don't want to do that.