remove lower rad hose to drain coolant?

[Eldorado]

hey all.. I need to replace my lower rad hose.. it's ballooning quite fierce.. and i'll also need to flush the coolant system for the second year in a row.. took it to get my oil changed and they mixed up coolants and didn't put in stuff that was phosphate free...

dont even get me started on them dumping "power steering fluid" into my power steering resevoir full of ATF...

anyway, i digress... here's my question if you haven't guessed already... Can i completely drain the coolant by removing the lower rad hose?

I'm thinking getting a drill and poking a small hole in the hose to avoid the gush of fluid that would come out when i remove the hose from the fitting....

[jezza944]

If you leave the cap on the reservior tank it doesn't come out with a huge rush, but it still manages to go all over the place. The small hole sounds like it may work. Most of the coolant will come out, but you're flushing it anyway, so no probs.

[Techno Duck]

Removing the lower hose will only drain whats in the radiator. There is still going to be coolant in the block that needs to be drained. There is a drain plug on the side of the block, inbetween the #4 and #3 cylinders.

[Razorback1980]

You don't have to worry about phosphate free antifreeze in this continent. That's a European problem which is why Porsche recommended that. (Check the Prestone web site for a complete explanation) I would just dump the coolant in the radiator and replace the hose, refill and go on. Or if you are going to flush, then run the flush through it and drain and replace but use the block drain Jon mentioned if the flush is in there. As for the ATF/power steering problem...probably should take your car back to them and have them drain and replace the fluid....if you trust them that is. OR...do it yourself so you know it's done right and have them pay for it.

[Eldorado]

power steering hasn't leaked for the 2 years I've owned the car.. I take it to them, they refill it, and the next day i have a wonderful puddle of power steering fluid on my driveway.. scared me at first, thought it was oil on the black asphalt..

I can do it myself... just gotta replace a hose and a seal and refill... i've already got the hose...

as for the coolant... if it doesn't matter, then i'll probably just replace the hose..

would mixing phosphate free antifreeze with regular antifreeze be ok? (both are green in colour).

[Techno Duck]

Should not be a problem. I would just flush the entire system and refill it with Prestone phospahe free. Anti-freeze is cheap..if your going through the trouble of draining the system out in the first place just get it done right.

Whatever you do, just make sure you dont mix Dex-cool with the green stuff, or you will be cleaning out sludge.

[Eldorado]

dex-cool = orange, right? I think I bought a bottle of that last year for my last flush.. never ended up using it..

[Techno Duck]

I think there are other orange types of regular coolant, but last time at PepBoys i did notice Dexcool comes in orange. Mixing that with regular green stuff causes a sludge to develop eventually. There is no problem with using it in the system, just make sure you flush the system out properly.

[Razorback1980]

What Jon said. Just don't mix the green and orange...green and green should be fine. I also use distilled water in mine as that process removes all the minerals from the water and helps prevent the deposits in the cooling system. It also cools better. IMO, that's more important than the phosphate free. The phosphate is actually a very good corrosion preventative, you just have to watch which water you mix it with. You may also want to talk to the shop that put the wrong stuff in your power steering and at least get your money back since they screwed that up.

[Eldorado]

they did the power steering top-up for free. lol
in any case, that's not my worry...

I use de-ionized water... i assume that's the same as distilled... just bought a jug of it from crappy tire for like a buck...

[Razorback1980]

I'm not sure...never heard of deionized. I'm going to have to do that to the Grand Prix tonight as the temp is suppose to get really cold on Thursday....almost down to freezing on Thursday night. I have no idea what my anti freeze level is in it but I'm going to flush it tonight after Candace gets home from school and put new in.

[Eldorado]

are you serious? down to freezing? in texas?

[Razorback1980]

Yep....well, that is the prediction. Seems there is a front coming in from our neighbors up north and it's going to drop to the low 30's for a couple hours in the middle of the night. Still in the 60's during the day. I guess that would be close to 0 Celcius. Currently it's still 80 degrees outside. But to be safe, I better check the heater in my house to see if it still works. I am ready for a little cool weather, it's been hot a long time here.

[Eldorado]

it's been in the low 30s-45s around here for a month and we've yet to put on our furnace!

just throw a 100W lightbulb under the hood of your car (plugged in and lit of course).... that'll prevent anything from freezing up for the few hours it's cold.

[Razorback1980]

Originally posted by Eldorado
it's been in the low 30s-45s around here for a month and we've yet to put on our furnace!

Unless Kelly Ripa is in bed with me, I'm going for the furnace with those temps!

[Eldorado]

gotta be like rocky... spend half a year in Russia (filmed in Vancouver, actually).. toughen up!

how's this for a swing... it's supposed to be almost 60F tomorrow (15C).... and Friday is supposed to be 32F (0C)

i've had my window open for a week hehehe

[Slam]

A hole in the lower rad hose will work, but there's a drain plug in the bottom of the rad that'll save you the trouble. And yup, the block won't drain unless you take out the block drain plug. There's something to be said for a coolant bath...and if you're in the mood for one (and the slightest bit masochistic) you can take out the thermostat and the block'll drain. The block drain plug is a fun one to get to, and there's no way to get your arm out of the way of the shower fast enough without losing or dropping the plug. Reminds me of the time my wife yanked the bottom rad hose off her 931 while she was lying under it. Who needs deep conditioner?

[Eldorado]

LOL

i'd use the plug in the Rad, but last year when my car was in the shop and the mechanic did a coolant flush, he said he had a ***** of a time actually getting that plug to pop out with the car hot..

I've gotta remove the hose anyway.. I think that'll be the best way..

where exactly is the block drain plug? it's between the 4 and 3 cylinders.. but where exactly?
do i access from the top? from the bottom?

[shikzachaser]

Speaking of temperature changes. I was driving around last night with the top off and the windows down @ 55 degrees. Today we have had 2 inches of sleet and ice to be followed by 5-8 inches of snow overnight and highs tomorrow in the 20s. Oh well, makes me glad I've got that gas guzzeling Durango. The 944 and the M3 are both safely tucked into their spaces in the heated garage. They are treated better than people, also they are both useless in the snow. The Germans must all drive gray market Broncos or something. I am taking the day off tomorrow to take my granddaughter to the major sled place here in St Louis. Art Hill is an icon here. It is literally the big hill in front of the Art Museum. Back in the late 70s we used to take one of the old 8' Nova Beam fiberglass parabolic screens and put 8-9 people on it and scream down the hill with no steering, brakes, etc. You had to jump off and drag yourself to slow the thing down at the bottom or else you wound up on the lake. Only once did someone forget and she wound up breaking through the ice and having to be taken back to my apartment to "dry off". It was the least I could do.

Steve

[Eldorado]

body heat is the best treatment for hypothermia...

dont forget to bring the can of Pam!!!