Start with a cool engine. If the pressure cap is on the engine or radiator, look at the overflow reservoir, and if it's easy to disconnect and empty, go ahead. Then, remove the radiator cap and open the radiator drain cock. If the drain cock is in tight quarters, use a special socket available at most auto parts stores. Let the coolant drain into a pan. Unless your town has a coolant collection setup, pour the old antifreeze into a household drain, clothes-washer pipe or a toilet. That's an environmentally safe approach. Don't pour it on the ground or into a storm sewer. If your car has a copper radiator or heater core, the coolant is contaminated with lead solder. Many municipalities have hazardous-waste disposal facilities that will take it. Also, in most of the United States it's illegal for professional mechanics to dispose of used coolant, so you may be able to take it to the local shop and ask if they'll handle it.
Next, move the dashboard temperature lever to hot, so if your car happens to have a heater coolant control valve, it will open. If the pressure cap is on the plastic reservoir, remove the cap, then open the drain cock. No radiator drain cock? Disconnect the lower radiator hose from the radiator. Move the hose clamp back from the radiator neck, slip a thin screwdriver between the hose end and radiator neck to free up the hose, then twist slightly to disconnect the hose. Draining the radiator alone normally should remove 40 to 45% of the coolant. After the first drain, fill the system as well as you can with water, then warm up the engine and let it cool. Drain the radiator again and fill it once more with water. Repeat.
Let it bleed
Now comes the hard part-filling the system. If the system holds 12 quarts, you want to install 6 quarts of undiluted antifreeze, or exactly half of the cooling system's capacity.
The cooling system has lots of nooks and crannies that trap air, making it difficult to fill the system with coolant. The fill cap and neck are supposed to be at the high point of the system to help air bleed out, but often they aren't. And even if they are, you need all the natural help you can get. So jack up the front of the car, which gets the coolant fill neck as high as possible.
Check for air bleeds on the engine. Sometimes you'll see an obvious air bleed, such as a boltlike item threaded into a hose. If there's an air bleed, open it. If there are several, open them all. If you have access to a factory service manual or PM CD-ROM for your car, check it for a coolant fill procedure.
Pour in the required amount of antifreeze slowly until you see coolant oozing out of the open air bleeds. Then close the bleeds and top off the system with the remaining antifreeze and then plain water.
If the system has a heater coolant valve, close it by moving the temperature control lever or knob to cold. With the engine running at fast idle and warmed up, have a helper move the lever or knob to hot while you listen at the coolant valve. If after the first rush of coolant you hear a continuous gurgling noise, there's still air in the coolant, and you should be prepared to watch the coolant level in the reservoir over the next few weeks.
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Saturday, September 12th, 2009 AT 3:42 PM
