It is better to premix first, so that you don’t have any plain water sitting around waiting to get mixed, meanwhile rusting those parts. This is probably more of a problem on some car’s cooling systems than others. The problem w/pre-mixing is the OP may not be able to fit 2 gallons of pre-mix in. It will overflow.
On my 20+ year old Corolla I’ve always used plain old undiluted Prestone every 2-3 years, following the directions on the bottle the Prestone comes in – which I think is the same as the OP mentions above (remember to turn the heater to max so that gets flushed out too) – then when it comes time to refill, pouring in 1/2 the coolant capacity of undiluted Prestone. I immediately take the car for a lengthy drive, insuring the thermostat opens fully, to make sure everything gets all mixed up. This method has worked for me. I did have to replace the radiator a couple years ago though when it sprang a leak.
No, the procedure is to turn the heater control to high and then find the petcock on the radiator. You will find that it has a tube pointing straight down. I put a 1/2" hose (or what ever size fits over the drain, maybe 7/16" or 5/8") that is long enough to reach into the container I am using. Then remove the radiator cap and open the petcock.
Draining the radiator will take quite a bit of time this way, but be patient. Find the block drain. This will typically be a bolt so it is best if you get some type of manual for the car so that you can see where it is located. When the radiator is completely drained, close the petcock and remove the block drain. Be sure the pan is in position and be ready to move out quickly as often the remaining coolant comes out quickly and can hit you in the face.
When the block is finished draining, replace the block drain bolt. Now premix your coolant in a container and slowly add it to the radiator until it is full. Then start the engine and monitor the radiator. Every time the coolant level drops, add more coolant. When it seems to be full, shut off the engine. Consult with your manual again to find the bleed valve. Open the bleed valve a little until coolant starts squirting out and then close it.
Start and run the engine again until the engine is fully warmed up and keep the radiator topped off. If at any point when it is heating up, coolant starts to overflow from the radiator, put the cap back on. Once fully warmed up, insure the overflow reservoir is filled to the MAX line and put the cap back on.
Shut down and let the car cool completely. The remove the radiator cap and the coolant should be up to the bottom of the cap. If not, add more coolant and re-bleed the system. You should be good to go from there.
I’ll add some more advice, in addition to the good info that @keith just provided . . .
After the coolant level seems to be fine, drive the car for a few miles, with the heater on. Make sure you have toasty air coming out of the defroster vents.
Check the coolant level after your trip . . . you may find you need to top up
I really doubt it. As concerned with cost as the OP seems to be, he will probably keep pouring just to have the satisfaction of using everything he paid for. Never mind the fact that a lot of what he paid for is now going down the storm drain.
I expect you already understand OP, but what I meant in my comment above about not being able to get all the coolant in if you premix first is that there will be water remaining in the engine if you do a water-flush first. On my cars, when it is time to refill and put everything back together, I pour in the proper amount of undiluted coolant (1/2 the cooling system capacity) for this reason, then top off with plain water. Double checking the ratio for proper freeze protection with a coolant tester after is always a good idea.
Disconnecting both hoses from the radiator can’t hurt anything, as long as you reconnect them properly when you are done.
EDIT: MAKE SURE YOU DON’T DISCONNECT THE TRANSMISSION LINE IF YOURS RUNS TO THE RADIATOR. Some radiators cool both the engine coolant and the transmission fluid.
MAKE SURE YOU DON'T DISCONNECT THE TRANSMISSION LINE IF YOURS RUNS TO THE RADIATOR. Some radiators cool both the engine coolant and the transmission fluid.
MOST automatic vehicles with automatics - the radiator cools engine and tranny fluid. But the connections are completely different.
I think you should close the hood. If you can’t find the radiator drain and can’t identify the lower radiator hose you may do more harm than good. Refilling the cooling system will likely be more challenging than draining it.
ok I crawed under the car, is this the drain plug? It’s on the driver side underneath the
i should be able to unscew it by turn it counter-clockwise right? my coworker told me to turn it counter-clock wise till coolant come out of the small tube on the side…
My advice is to position an appropriate size hose onto the drain tube, and point it down, into your drain tub. You’ll make less of a mess. Make sure the hose is long enough so that it reaches the bottom of the tub
