How to change the engine coolant?

[pawkar]

I am thinking to change the engine coolant from my car in the near future and I would like to know if some of our friends with some experience could share their knowledge with me and with all of us. I would like to know what tools I would need and it would be nice if you can provide pictures or drawings to have a better visual idea.Thank you so much for all your help,Pawkar

[damronjr]

There is a white screw-in plug on the bottom of the drivers side part of the radiator. Just unscrew that to drain the old coolant and add new coolant at the top of the radiator cap (after reinstalling the lower cap of course!). It's 50/50 (50% coolant, 50% water) for most coolants BTW. Oh, and 1/2 a jug of coolant is more than enough and fill the rest with water.

[dog paw]

If you want to get it all there is a draincock on the rear of the block on the drivers side (at least on the GT's) The block hold about as much as the radiator.

[joatmon]

if you change your own coolant, be sure to dispose of the old stuff properly. That stuff is pretty toxic

[ZubenElGenubi]

Mine's about due for a coolant flush (@ 30K miles). Has anyone done this themselves? If not, who do you recommend I have do it (ex. GM dealer, Toyota dealer, Jiffy Lube, reputable shop).I had to add about a quart of coolant/H20 mix to the reserve about a month ago and don't know if the original coolant was the "pink stuff"...I used Prestone.

[the1stacekiller]

There was a huge and long debate, and it was decided that you can pretty much use ANY coolant.. Toyota Pink Extra Long life is a popular choice but its also really expensive.. I'm going to switch to Prestone 250,00 kms all car pre-mixed yellow coolant.. it even says safe for any car..cheersMartin

[pawkar]

Thank you so much for letting me know. I am going to use surgery gloves and I will put the old coolant in a container, I will label it accordingly for the municipality services.

[pawkar]

Thank you so much for all the information it seems is not difficult to change the engine coolant. I have Prestone 50/50 antifreeze coolant and also have Prestone summer coolant ready to use. How safe will be to mix these two together, instead of using distill water for the Prestone 50/50. Your comments will be invaluable.

[Cougar Vibe]

Well, everyone pretty much has already mentioned how to do this, but here's some things to look out for...1) Get a three foot piece of rubber tubing (Lowes/Home Depot) to slide onto the drain (removed) valve, so as to direct the flow of the radiator fluid into a bucket.2) Remember to remove the radiator cap while draining. 3) Remember to drain the coolant resevoir.4) If you're flushing it out, use a few gallons of de-mineralized water ($99/gallon) with whatever radiator flush you choose. Hose water is fine for the rinsing phase.5) Dispose of the radiator fluid correctly, but the subsequent flushing water can flow to a drain.6) Pre-mix your coolant in a bucket if you buy straight coolant, since it's inevitable that you won't get all the original radiator fluid out of your engine. Trust me on this one; it's much easier to do it this way than to try and get a 50/50 mix by pouring coolant first in the radiator and then adding water. BTW: Make sure you've closed the drain (removed).7) With the cap still off and the engine off, reach down or from underneath and squeeze the lower radiator hose to get air bubbles out. Pour some more mix in to top off.8) Now with the cap still OFF, start the engine, put the heater on full blast, and watch for the thermostat to open. You'll know it because you'll see the fluid stop gurgling and drop substantially. Start pouring more of your pre-mixed coolant into the radiator until it's at the top, then cap it.9) Pour pre-mixed coolant into the resevoir to the "low" or "cold" line.10) Take it for a nice spin, keeping an eye on the temp gauge. When you get back, let the engine cool down and check the coolant resevoir to see if the radiator has sucked more coolant back into the engine block & radiator. If so, fill again to the "low" or "cold" line.11) Check on it a few times over the next week to make sure the levels are fine.The most frustrating thing about this whole process is getting caught up in what type of coolant to use. Remember that the dyes they use as indicators are just arbitrary. I've used Prestone in a Ford no problem, even though the dealer suggested the earth would explode if I didn't buy their expensive stuff. If in doubt, spring the extra bucks for the Toyota OEM coolant. Same goes for the pre-mixed stuff: Prestone sells a 50/50 mix, makes it a little easier, albeit you're paying for half a gallon of water. Good luck.

[Cougar Vibe]

Ha-ha...$99/gallon water. If that's the case I'll be drinking Amsoil & Redline. Duh, $.99/gallon water.

[kevera]

Make this a sticky please.

[joatmon]

I took mine in somewhere to get it flushed/refilled, I am about due to need it again, who knows, I may do it myself this time. Or I may just throw money at it and have someone else do it again.Quote, originally posted by Cougar Vibe »Well, everyone pretty much has already mentioned how to do this, but here's some things to look out for...1) Get a three foot piece of rubber tubing (Lowes/Home Depot) to slide onto the drain (removed) valve, so as to direct the flow of the radiator fluid into a bucket.http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=16641 has some pics of the radiator drain. Although the valve control is on the engine side of the radiator, the drain tube empties out from the bottom of the radiatorQuote, originally posted by pawkar » I am going to use surgery gloves and I will put the old coolant in a container, I will label it accordingly for the municipality services.Coolant is toxic, but I have never worried about getting it on my hands. Adult humans are usually smart enough to not drink the stuff, but apparently dogs and cats find the flavor appealing, and will drink enough to die from it if given the opportunity. I don't think surgical gloves are a required precaution.

[djb383]

As dog paw mentioned earlier, if the block is not drained, about half the system still has water/coolant in it. If you flush the system with clean water and don't drain the block, you need to add full strength coolant, not 50/50 pre-mix. If you drain the block, then a 50/50 mix would be appropriate. Be sure that the system "burps air" after refilling and check the radiator (remove cap when cold) level for several days after refilling just to make sure the coolant level is at the top of the radiator. Also check the overflow bottle.

[Atomicpunk]

It's also a good idea to change the engine thermostat when you flush or have the coolant flushed, -- cheap insurance.

[michaelgt]

I just did this last Saturday. I decided that if it was 45 degrees on January 6, it was a sign to do it myself. I drained from the block and radiator. This was extremely easy based on the information in this post.