When I did my first drain the coolant was a very dark green. My replacement coolant was blue MINI brand. To be safe, I flushed it with deionized water 4 times to get all the old coolant out. One trick I learned to speed up the process was to blow air through the system using my mouth, creating a seal and pushing air in yes I know it's poisonous. I was careful. and that pushed a ton of old coolant out. I also did that when bleeding the system each time by blowing into the system with the bleeder valve open until coolant started flowing through.
From the picture:
- Sample one was from the first drain of just the old coolant.
- Sample two was after just filling it with water, bleeding and running it, and draining it again.
- Sample Three was the same deal.
- Sample four I used the "blow push" method and it helped a ton.
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MINI Cooper R56 Draining and Filling Cooling System (2007-2011) | Pelican Parts DIY Maintenance Article