Draining coolant

[cherrington17]

how?

i see the bottom nylon radiator bolt.. but it only seems to 1/4 turn one way or the other.

i know this is really dumb... but what am i missing?


(never drained a radiator before)

[99alerogirl]

pull the lower hose (or something, that's what i was told). i just used the draincock though (i believe it's the radiator bolt you speak of). it's on the bottom right of the radiator, and it's plastic. mine was broken and i had to replace it, only reason i know. haha.

i'm probably totally wrong, and am going to regret even posting this in about 15 minutes.

[cherrington17]

i see the little white drain plug (drainchicken? :lol: word filters = hilarity)


thats the one i can only turn, like... 90 degrees. does it pull out after that, or is it suppose to turn more? i'm confused.

i might just end up pulling one of the lower radiator hoses... but i'd rather avoid the mess.

[99alerogirl]

mine turned and then pulled out, but then again mine was broken.

i don't know if you can see it, but there's a little slit or something (unless it was just cause mine was effed) that a tab in the bolt has to line up to to pull it out... i dunno hard to explain i guess...

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/aderz2616/photo.jpg

that was with my broken "chicken"

[cherrington17]

so... you excel at breaking "chicken"?

woah.. OT.


serious... i need expert answer before i haul off and break it trying to figure it out.

[99alerogirl]

yeah, i agree. don't listen to me... i wouldn't! haha. just wanted to throw something out so i looked smart. i do work at autozone now.

[cherrington17]

so does my brother.

he double gasket'd his oil filter and shot oil all over their parking lot. he barely knows how to turn a car on... :glare:

[99alerogirl]

BAHA that makes me proud.

[Gr1m]

just disconnect the hose that goes to the tstat housing and you will be able to get a significant amount out that way.

[Alero_1986]

There is a nylon fitting/switch on the front driver side of the rad. Mine fit a metric 4mm allen wrench.

If you turn this CCW about 90 degrees, the fluid should flow out off the bottom of the rad.

[Alero_1986]

i see the little white drain plug (drainchicken? :lol: word filters = hilarity)


thats the one i can only turn, like... 90 degrees. does it pull out after that, or is it suppose to turn more? i'm confused.

i might just end up pulling one of the lower radiator hoses... but i'd rather avoid the mess.

I don't think that it should turn more than 90 degrees. Sometimes pulling the lower rad hose is just as easy, and will still drain the majority of the fluid.

[cherrington17]

ok... so i turned it and got nothing... turned it the other way... still nothing.


gave it a sturdy yank w/ pliers.... notta.

gave it a sturdier yank. coolant shot out everywhere. :lol:


so approx 2 gal is in there? (not that all of it will drain)

[lonnie]

mine turned and then pulled out, but then again mine was broken.

i don't know if you can see it, but there's a little slit or something (unless it was just cause mine was effed) that a tab in the bolt has to line up to to pull it out... i dunno hard to explain i guess...

http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g173/aderz2616/photo.jpg

that was with my broken "chicken"
So uuuuhhhhhmmmm why is there a pool of coolant there? You didn't just take that pic did you?

[Nate's Alero]

.......

[Alero_1986]

There should also be a drain plug in the engine block. If you have a V6 there will likely be 2. 4cyl there should be one.
Located by the exhaust manifold I believe.

[cherrington17]

nah... she had that problem a while back.

[cherrington17]

There should also be a drain plug in the engine block. If you have a V6 there will likely be 2. 4cyl there should be one.
Located by the exhaust manifold I believe.

oooh?


gonna need a little more direction then that....

[rowdygls]

The white plug on the drivers side only unscrews so far, after that it needs to be pulled out. The further you pull it out the faster it drains. I drained my coolant twice last year when I was installing my s/c(various issues).

Just make sure when you get done, you push on the plug as you turn in back into place otherwise it will wiggle loose and you'll leak coolant. You should hear a slight pop when it locks into place.

I hope this helps you out.

[rowdygls]

There should also be a drain plug in the engine block. If you have a V6 there will likely be 2. 4cyl there should be one.
Located by the exhaust manifold I believe.

I think those are to perform a full coolant flush. If you just want to drain the radiator or to lower the coolant level then there is a plug on the front of the car under the radiator.

sorry for the double post.

[cherrington17]

so for LIM i don't need to fully drain?

[rowdygls]

so for LIM i don't need to fully drain?

That I don't know as I haven't done my LIM.

[cherrington17]

its my understanding that if you undo the lowest point (drain plug) the whole system should drain, except for a little residual sitting at the very bottom of the engine... which won't matter cuz i'm not going that deep...

[rowdygls]

The lowest point is correct and in this case you should be fine because the LIM sits at about the same level as the coolant hardline that runs in front of the motor.