Engine coolant

Well my past few posts have received quite a lot of attention, so here comes another silly one. Is it possible to totally drain the cooling system including the heater core. iIf it is posible what is the desired method?
Len

The only way that I know of to totally drain the system, is to have a Cooling System Service. This service (if done properly), will push new coolant in, while the old stuff comes out. Simply pulling the drain cock on the Radiator only drains the Radiator and part of the engine block. Most of the heater hoses, including the heater core, will stay full of old coolant. You can however, pull the drain cock, remove one of the heater hoses, and introduce air into the system (pressurized). This will help move the fluid and hopefully empty out the system.

Either that, or turn the car upside down and shake it......

Here's a write-up on flushing your coolant:

https://rivperformance.editboard.com/t5920-write-up-flushing-radiator-coolant

Yes, you can do that, but then how you do you get all the water out you just put in it?

You can't......

Check the write-up on page 2 of that thread.

I read it.....twice. Len asked if there was a way to TOTALLY drain the cooling system. By any of the write-ups on this site, none of them have an answer to draining the entire system. Simply by emptying the Resevoir and the Radiator does not empty the entire system. Neither does flushing it out with water. the water will remove all of the old Antifreeze, but you are still left with just water trapped that you can't get out.

Len, were you asking how to dry out your cooling system?

AA, don't start. He asked how to totally drain the system. Even the flush write-ups on this site don't drain everything out. If all you do is pull the drain cock, you're still left with some cleaner and some water in the heater core and the engine block. The ONLY way to get it all out is to have it machine flushed, or air pressurized to blow it out.

Question asked and answered.

Well what i did after i put cleaner in and then drained it. was filled it with water again, then got it up to normal temp and took a ten min drive. drained again and did the same thing. after that, filled with coolant, about 60/40 cuz of all the left over water all ready there. then called it a day. maybe the round about way to do it i think it works.

Abaddon wrote:

I read it.....twice. Len asked if there was a way to TOTALLY drain the cooling system. By any of the write-ups on this site, none of them have an answer to draining the entire system. Simply by emptying the Reservoir and the Radiator does not empty the entire system. Neither does flushing it out with water. the water will remove all of the old Antifreeze, but you are still left with just water trapped that you can't get out.

...yes but if it is clean, does not really matter much.

Let's suppose you're doing this flush in a service bay and you can pump in clean premix antifreeze. It then does not matter at all.

Let's suppose you're doing this flush at home and you are using a garden hose (along the lines of the Prestone flush kit that you splice into a heater line). Once you drain as much of the water as you can there are a couple things to do. One - do a final rinse with a gallon of distilled water (to flush the tap water with its mineral content out). Just a gallon though. Two - either do the fill with premix or with antifreeze followed by distilled water. The system capacity is something like 13 quarts. The mix ratio you want to hit (OAT dexcool, or HOAT or IAT green stuff) is between 60 water / 40 coolant and 40 water/60 coolant. The more water in the system the better it will be at getting rid of heat.

So assuming there is a quart of water stuck in the engine, and it's a 13 quart system, then a gallon and a half each of water and antifreeze is about right for a fill. If you want to make a mix for a warmer place (vegas) you probably want to add a gallon and a quart of antifreeze and top off with water. If you want a mix for a colder place (international falls mn in the winter) you probably want to put in 1 gallon and 3 quarts (or maybe up to 2 gal) and top off with water. And if you want to avoid the dreaded scale build up problem, do not use tap water to fill it out. Use de-ionized or distilled water. Or even better if you run one, the condensate from your dehumidifier. Now, I'm not sure if there's a quart of fluid stuck in there after I drain the thing--the point is once you know what is still in there you can do a little math and peg your antifreeze mix where you want it.

http://www.challengers101.com/CoolantMix.html talks more about antifreeze mixing (for airplanes) if you have the time and curiosity.

Albertj

Quote :

AA, don't start. He asked how to totally drain the system. Even the flush write-ups on this site don't drain everything out. If all you do is pull the drain cock, you're still left with some cleaner and some water in the heater core and the engine block. The ONLY way to get it all out is to have it machine flushed, or air pressurized to blow it out.

Question asked and answered.

No one's starting anything. Len asked how to get all of the old coolant out; you told him he had to go to a service bay. I gave him another option that anyone can perform in their driveway. That little bit of coolant in the engine mixes with the water when you flush, and like the write-up says, you drain the radiator once again. That will remove all but the smallest trace of the old coolant. And who cares if there's some water left inside the system? If you're that paranoid about it, do a third rinse like Albert mentioned.

AA wrote:

Len, were you asking how to dry out your cooling system?

Technically, Len did ask how to totally 'drain' the cooling system, as opposed to totally replace everything in it, which is why Aaron asked for this clarification.

Everyone here is basically correct - if it's the latter... All these methods will clean out the old crud and let you refill with fresh. Personally, I went the multi-fill route, with Prestone Flush then 2 rounds of plain water, then draining the radiator & block and putting in 6 quarts of anti-freeze.

I realize there would normally be no reason to drain/dry out the system, but perhaps Len has to replace his heater core and doesn't want to get any coolant on the carpet...

Eldo wrote:

AA wrote:

Len, were you asking how to dry out your cooling system?

Technically, Len did ask how to totally 'drain' the cooling system, as opposed to totally replace everything in it, which is why Aaron asked for this clarification.

Everyone here is basically correct - if it's the latter... All these methods will clean out the old crud and let you refill with fresh. Personally, I went the multi-fill route, with Prestone Flush then 2 rounds of plain water, then draining the radiator & block and putting in 6 quarts of anti-freeze.

I realize there would normally be no reason to drain/dry out the system, but perhaps Len has to replace his heater core and doesn't want to get any coolant on the carpet...

My point is made. He didn't ask about a flush, or a "refill". Thank You Eldo

first off..WTF?? no offence ,lenrapkins,but if i have to ask a question like this when I'm 69,someone please shoot me!
anyway,these engines have a engine block coolant " plug" i believe it has 1 on either side of the block.. remove these plugs and you very effectively drain a whole lot! way more than the removal of the petcock. i recall removing these plugs,draining the engine and comparing with petcock removed and then with plug removed,and i was surprised at the extra amount of water that came out of the engine drain hole

"No offense, but I'm going to say something offensive..." LOL

Robo, are you talking about knocking out the freeze plugs as a way to drain the coolant?

No, he's not. There are engine "drain plugs", much like a drain for a rear end. Sometimes they are hex head, sometimes they are pipe plugs. These plugs are on the block and are there for block draining. About a gallon of water/coolant gets left in the heater core/block if the system is not properly flushed or drained (pressurized). These plugs are an alternative to get the coolant out. I can't honestly tell you where they are on a Series II, or a Series I for that matter.

What I actually do: take car to the dealer. They put in cleaned, recycled dexcool. They control for mineral content and pH among other things.

Aside to Leonard: short answer is No. Longer answer is there's ways to get it clean and it's real tough to get it empty. However, if you are after getting it empty enough to replace the heater core I think the instructions are in the FSM. Absent instructions, however, I'd undo a heater hose at the firewall and the other at the block and siphon the core dry. Refill with a funnel, then 'burp' the system by parking nose pointed up on an incline (ramps will do) and run with heater on a few minutes to move the air pocket to the radiator. You probably know that drill from prior experience on Jags.

Albertj

OK, thanks Scott.
(Pity though, that means Robo isn't as crazy as I thought he was...)

Aside to the aside: Nose definitely need to be as high as practicable to get the air out of the heater core, but the heater/temperature/blower settings don't matter on these cars (at least on the 96+ models.) They don't have heater coolant-valves...

Eldo wrote:

OK, thanks Scott.
(Pity though, that means Robo isn't as crazy as I thought he was...)

Aside to the aside: Nose definitely need to be as high as practicable to get the air out of the heater core, but the heater/temperature/blower settings don't matter on these cars (at least on the 96+ models.) They don't have heater coolant-valves...

I am too as crazy as you think! (your instincts are very good)...Abadon is right, they are similar to pipe plugs with thread sealant smeared all over then and screwed in. not too many people know about them for some reason,its a 1/4 or so in dia and you cant see them from above,and from below the splash guard has to be removed. they take a 10mm socket. they can be a bitch to get out ,and be prepared to jam a small screwdriver into the hole after the plug is removed to break out and loosen the sediment that gathers over time,and if anyone plans on draining with the engine plug,make sure you chase the threads before putting the cleaned and sealed plug back in....

robotennis61 wrote:

I am too as crazy as you think!

I knew you'd say that!!
(You're right, my instincts are good...)

robotennis61 wrote:

Eldo wrote:

OK, thanks Scott.
(Pity though, that means Robo isn't as crazy as I thought he was...)

Aside to the aside: Nose definitely need to be as high as practicable to get the air out of the heater core, but the heater/temperature/blower settings don't matter on these cars (at least on the 96+ models.) They don't have heater coolant-valves...

I am too as crazy as you think! (your instincts are very good)...Abadon is right, they are similar to pipe plugs with thread sealant smeared all over then and screwed in. not too many people know about them for some reason,its a 1/4 or so in dia and you cant see them from above,and from below the splash guard has to be removed. they take a 10mm socket. they can be a bitch to get out ,and be prepared to jam a small screwdriver into the hole after the plug is removed to break out and loosen the sediment that gathers over time,and if anyone plans on draining with the engine plug,make sure you chase the threads before putting the cleaned and sealed plug back in....

thanks for the comment on my aside - shoulda said the point was to get confirmation (thru heat) that you did indeed run fluid thru the heater core. So few people on this forum have complained of heater problems, I probly shouldn't have bothered. My bad.

Albertj

I did not realise how passionatesome of you are when it comes to posts. I am sorry if I stirred things up. The reason that I am asking questions at 69 years old is because I am on a learning curve with my first American car and want to know as much as I can about it so that I can enjoy it better. The reason that I want to totally drain the system is because the PO mixed several coolants together and I want to put in some good stuff. I have concluded that if my tech removes a bottom hose and then jacks the car up as much as possible at the rear we might be able to get it all out.
Thanks for all the interest and happy motoring to all.
Len

Lenrapkins wrote:

I did not realise how passionatesome of you are when it comes to posts. I am sorry if I stirred things up. The reason that I am asking questions at 69 years old is because I am on a learning curve with my first American car and want to know as much as I can about it so that I can enjoy it better. The reason that I want to totally drain the system is because the PO mixed several coolants together and I want to put in some good stuff. I have concluded that if my tech removes a bottom hose and then jacks the car up as much as possible at the rear we might be able to get it all out.
Thanks for all the interest and happy motoring to all.
Len

IM just messing with ya Lenrapkins:) It took me forever to find that engin block drain plug and even longer to find a good mechanic,so i finally gave up and went at all by myself. and working on American cars is really no different to working on foreign cars,its really a matter of thinking in American.

Lenrapkins wrote:

I have concluded that if my tech removes a bottom hose and then jacks the car up as much as possible at the rear we might be able to get it all out.

Not true. He needs to remove a heater hose and the lower radiator hose and then introduce shop air into the disconnected heater hose. This will force out all the coolant that is "stuck" in the heater core and the lower part of the block. It's either that, or he does a cooling system flush. This flush is a 2 part system, provided he has the proper machine to do so. If not either of those 2 ways, he needs to use a water hose (as stated in other posts) to flush out all the old stuff. Either way, he's a mechanic and should know how to get it all out. If he doesn't, he needs to choose a different profession.....just tryin to save you useless money spent.

Abaddon wrote:

Lenrapkins wrote:

I have concluded that if my tech removes a bottom hose and then jacks the car up as much as possible at the rear we might be able to get it all out.

Not true. He needs to remove a heater hose and the lower radiator hose and then introduce shop air into the disconnected heater hose. This will force out all the coolant that is "stuck" in the heater core and the lower part of the block. It's either that, or he does a cooling system flush. This flush is a 2 part system, provided he has the proper machine to do so. If not either of those 2 ways, he needs to use a hose (as stated in other posts) to flush out all the old stuff. Either way, he's a mechanic and should know how to get it all out. If he doesn't, he needs to choose a different profession.....just tryin to save you useless money spent.

Correct! and if your mechanic continues to have problems with instruction,tell him he must break down and learn how to read in English. if Spanish is his native language..well then..just let him keep working on the car..eventually he will have it all figured out...