Heat Problem 1997 Blazer

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#11

01-21-2012, 07:53 AM

dobyken

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Join Date: Sep 2010

Location: Central Florida

Posts: 237

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gale

50 PSI of water pressure is 3x the normal operating pressure. On the 98 S10 that we did the engine swap on I just blew out the dirty coolant and refilled it by pouring water in to the heater hose and repeating a couple times. After spending nearly $1000 to get a new heater core for the 2002 Blazer I know how weak these can become due to the Dexcool problem that GM lost in court.

I look at it this way...the GM procedure calls for flushing the core with no more than 50 lbs of pressure. If it blows with 50 lbs it's ready to go anyway due to corrosion so you're just speeding up the process a little bit. I would shiver in the cold before I paid someone $1000 to replace the core...or at least plug in one of those mini electric heaters to keep the windshield clear enough to see out of.

#12

01-21-2012, 11:16 AM

Gale

Starting Member

Join Date: Jun 2006

Location: Murray Ky

Posts: 133

Gale is an unknown quantity at this point

That is WHY I would not use 50 PSI. :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobyken

With the chemical reaction from Dexcool in this generation of S10's I just assume after my experience that speeding up the failure of the heater core is not a good thing.

The initial Dexcool and oxygen was a bad mix for our engines that do NOT have the pressurized plastic coolant tanks because there was a fresh oxygen supply everytime they cooled down after use. Our systems were designed to use the old green formula of antifreeze which I think most change to after buying a heater core, radiator or new intake manifold gaskets.

Our 2002 in cool weather would put a puff of moisture on the windshield on start up when we got it in 2006 at 102K miles. It totally failed at about 140K miles and I did change over to the old green formula at that time. Since I do not know if heater core in the 1998 S10 with over half a million mile on it has ever been changed out I assume it is on borrowed time.

The Dexcool problem cost me a transmission I expect because the factory transmission cooler is built into the radiator. That is why at $125 I will replace the radiator to get a new transmission cooler and a new engine oil cooler after either a transmission or engine failure.

When I just back flushed the oil cooler at ZERO pressure with mineral spirits after blowing the engine a lot of metal flakes of bearing material flowed out. To replace a blown transmission or engine with the old radiator in place can dump crude into the new transmission or new engine hence the $125 for a new radiator can sound wise. You get a new engine coolant cooler, a new transmission cooler and a new engine oil cooler for only about $125 for the part itself.