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Drain Coolant?


karlp606
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I,ve had some blue cheap coolant in my is for some time, car has always run fine but I understand I should have the red long life coolant in.

How do I go about draining and refilling! Is it pretty straight forward with just draining out the old and putting new in?

Ps what coolant should go for?

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quick way.....

remove the rad cap

remove the bottom you will loose all the coolant this way..

go to toyota and buy the pink coolant(not as expensive as you think)buy 5 lrts you will need it all

put the bottom hose back on

fill up the rad

start the car put the heaters on full blast hottest temp and point to windscreen(if you can have the front slightly higher than the rear)

keep topping up till you can put no more in(remember the overflow bottle too)

put the cap back on and let the car go to temp

turn the car off and let it cool down

once cooled down remove cap and top up

job done...

tools

pliers(for bottom hose)

screw driver(star and straight)i dont know what type of clips on your rad hose

5lrts of pink coolant

1 hour of your time

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  • 3 weeks later...

the toyota lexus coolant is mate....

you dont need to touch the drain plugs on any cars block as long as you drain it from the lowest point ie the bottom rad hose....

it emptys the system..

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I can see the coolant hose at the bottom but how do I catch the draining coolant as the underbody plastic shield straight under the radiator so I cant put a bucket or anything under to catch the old coolant, do I need to remove the under shield? :question:

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  • 2 years later...
  • 5 years later...

There is a drain tap on the bottom of the radiator which only drains the radiator and some of the coolant in the block. To do it properly, engine cool, so no pressure in the system or hot water to scald you. Undo drain tap on bottom of radiator, undo drain tap on block or there will be a lot of old coolant retained in the engine block, remove radiator cap, leave until system stops draining, undo the overflow hose near the radiator cap and lower it so that it will drain the overflow tank to remove the old coolant in it, when it stops draining replace the hose onto the fitting next to the radiator cap. Retighten the two drain taps and refill with the proper Toyota long life coolant (pink in colour) as its not at expensive and much cheaper than having to buy a new radiator or cook a motor from using water or cheap coolant. After filling, I leave the radiator cap off with the engine idling for several minutes until warn or hot coolant starts to flow into the radiator and keep topping it up with coolant as and air bubbles come through the  system. In my experience not much air is trapped in the system. You can feel the radiator hose or the top tank get warm as the thermostat opens when the engine warms up and lets the coolant flow around the cooling system and flushes out the trapped air. Top up the empty overflow container with fresh coolant. Job done, just check the coolant over flow container and the radiator after the next drive and top up if necessary.

Trying to save a few bucks by using water or cheap coolant may end up costing you thousands for saving a couple of cups of coffee worth plus the inconvenience of not having a car while its broken down.

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