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In response to another post -- I wouldn't leave my cars to be flushed by a local mechanic -- chances are, they wouldn't take the time (and time is money to them) to do it as thoroughly as you can by yourself! And it's so easy.
Materials needed: besides sockets for the clamps' nuts, all you need is a garden hose and a couple of feet of another, certain size hose -- I prefer a length of 1" I.D. RBU (reinforced with braided vinyl) transparent hose (transparent, so you can see the quality of the water coming out). This hose is available in all hardware/plumbing stores, and it's external diameter lets it snugly fit into the upper radiator hose forming a good connection.
Step 1: drain the cooliing system (preferrably cooled off, so there won't be a temperature shock or overheating to the engine). If you can reach the engine block's drain, so much the better, but at least pull off the lower radiator hose where it goes in the radiator.
Step 2: remove the thermostat (this is why it's all right to do this on a cool engine -- there's no thermostat to remain closed), and then reinstall the thermostat's "top" (the metal "cap" of the housing). Don't worry about a gasket -- there's no pressure in this process, so just finger tight the two nuts. And throw away the old thermostat -- treat the car to a new one and its gasket, after all this effort, it deserves it :-).
Step 3: After draining, slip the lower radiator hose back onto the radiator's "neck", but don't bother with a clamp (again, no pressure).
Step 4: pull off the upper radiator hose from the radiator's neck. Now, stick the transparent hose into the open end of that hose, so that the transparent hose extends forward over the radiator (so discharged coolant doesn't fall into the engine compartment) -- later you'll be watching the appearance of the coolant in the hose before being discharged, a more reliable view than watching the stream of coolant.
Step 5: wrap a little tape around the end of an ordinary garden hose, and jam it (gently) into the open upper neck of the radiator -- it will fit nicely. Now, turn on the garden hose's water supply.
Step 6: watch as the fresh water circulates throughout the cooling system, flushing out the old stuff. Keep an eye on the color of the solution in the transparent hose before it spills out.
You can even turn on and run the engine (at idle, only) to use the engine's water pump to help circulate the fresh water and dislodge heavier debris. But don't rev the engine, as the garden hose usually can't keep up with the pump's needs, and you'll get pump cavitation.
Step 7: after it's thoroughly flushed, drain all the "garden hose water" (e.g., pull off lower radiator hose again, etc.).
Step 7: undo all the temporary connections and hoses, reattach proper hoses with tightened clamps, install a fresh thermostat, and then refill with a good quality antifreeze (about a gallon of antifreeze to similar amount of distilled water -- depending on your model engine -- I prefer M-B brand antifreeze, even though it's expensive, and suggest not using garden hose water, which may in some areas be "hard" and have a lot of minerals).
Wasn't that fun?
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