Gorg

I replaced my radiator and attempted to flush the cooling system.

I ran a radiator flushing agent and then attempted to drain the cooling system.

I spilt some flushed coolant, the photo below shows the dried up coolant on my garage floor.


Also while replacing the radiator I peeped inside the radiator hoses--top and bottom--and noticed white sludge like substance.
More sludge on the top than the bottom.

I'm concerned the engine block still contains this sludge and white matter--probably calcium.

Any suggestions as to what to do before I fill the new radiator with coolant?

I'm thinking to fill the system with distilled water, run the car, drain, repeat until I feel better then fill with coolant.

Ive read from Billman that the s2k cooling system is very clean... but for some reason I don't think my one is

flanders

Wow that doesn't look very nice.
What kind of coolant did you run before? Did you see any of that white sludge before you added the coolant flush?

Gorg

The owner before me used tap water...........

So I replaced immediately with Nulon coolant (Nulon is an Australian brand).

And yes, there way some visible when looking through the radiator cap area, but just small amounts of white, not as severe as what come out in the pic.

Car Analogy

Looks like the flush did its job, and that is the residue from the tap water.

I like your repeated flush with distilled water idea. Not much else you can do.

jkelley

Pour distilled water on that spot on your garage floor and see if that material goes into solution again (I also suspect calcium and other water heavies). Then use distilled water if it does.

The general consensus on these boards is Honda Type 2 coolant is the best coolant for these cars. Hands down.

cosmomiller

I just did a coolant flush on my 02 Tacoma truck. Previous owner had her mechanic put in Prestone instead of Toyota coolant (Just like Honda's but red) why, I don't know. It only had 75K miles. I switched back to Toyota but I did the flush with distilled water. It took 3 flushes before the Prestone was out.

I am mentioning this to highlight the fact you may have to flush more than once with distilled water. Do not recommend using the garden hose flush method. Use distilled (not purified) water.

zeroptzero

If it was my car and I could still see residue within the parts I'd keep the flushing process going. I would use a decalcifier , maybe something like CLR, or even the flush that you used the first time, it looks like it was doing it's job. Then flush the rad a couple times with straight water until it runs clean, then fill with Honda coolant.

jkelley

^Agreed.

Be sure to bleed the coolant system correctly. There is a method that Billman250 has posted that I believe is the best method for bleeding this car. Please note that this car is much more difficult to bleed than your average Honda or other car, and it is also much more sensitive to being bled correctly (engine can overheat much more quickly than normal and with less air than most other cars would be fine with).

Second note: if your heat is not HOT (almost, almost burns the tips of your fingers on high heat high fan setting) then you have AIR IN THE SYSTEM, and your engine is at risk of overheating.

Third note: It's a low probability but there's a chance those calciums or other deposits were temporarily plugging some leaks. When you do flush, make sure to check the coolant level often and also under the car in the garage often to see if any leaks came up by flushing out the deposits.

BTW I like using my Lisle spill-free funnel. Helps make things a little easier.

Slowcrash_101

I don't understand the logic behind Billman's method, I mean yeah it works, but wouldn't you bleed the air from the system at the highest part? I did it his way, but then just for poops and giggles I cracked open the bleeder that's on the firewall just to make sure there wasn't any air in the system, sure enough there was a tiny bit of air left.

Gorg

Thanks for the responses fellas , I've got 16L (4.2 Gallons) of distilled water better go buy more.

I like the idea about seeing if the residue dissolves again into solution, and to know that the flush work--that just eluded my mind

Only issue right now is that I don't have a Koyo radiator cap, it is on its way from the US... so I'll have to wait for that before I do the complete flush.

As for Billman's method, if it works for him and others, it works for me. Also my car doesn't have the bleeder valve near the firewall for some reason... I'll take a pic when I'm home.