First post: At one time in my life I was a fair shade-tree mechanic (scars on my knuckles to prove it) but haven't tinkered with cars in a long time.

I'm contemplating draining and flushing the cooling system in my '89 Brougham.

Is there a block drain on the '89 Brougham 5.0 L or is the radiator drain the only one?

Are the flush 'n' fill kits worth the trouble?

There seems to be a very small leak at the front edge of the right head gasket, but the coolant level never drops below the point where it empties the reservoir. No evidence of water in the oil. What's the prevailing wisdom on various kinds of stop-leak.

Anything else I should know? I'm sure this seems very simple and elementary to most of you but I really love the ol' batmobile (177,000) and don't want to hurt it.

If you can, the backflush devises are a good idea! Just make sure your heater hoses arent brittle, or youll break it and be in a mess of trouble!

You could also get it done profesionally for like $30.... Just a thought!

Do a search.... There is a thread somewhere how to include it with a Tstat r/r....

Wes is right,

You might want to replace the hoses if they are original. Much easier to work with new ones. Then putting on the flush kit would be easy and no busted knuckles.

While there may be drain plugs they may be had to get to. They should be on the bottom sides of the block. Near the motor mounts

Flush and Fill kits, IMHO, are crap. Do yourself a favor. Go to the garden department, and buy high quality garden hose connectors. Splice a T into your heater hose, and work with that.

The reason I suggest this, is the plastic they use for the Flush n Fills usually can't stand to the abuse presented by a cooling system and the hot underhood environment. But the garden stuff can. Where the Flush n Fill can warp and allow air into your system, or coolant out, the garden stuff will not. If you don't want some unsightly brass looking thing under your hood, paint it satin black. No one will know the difference.