Only Three Gallons on Coolant?

[Brian Minson]

Starting performing a coolant flush this afternoon on my '97 986 and for the life of me I can only get 3 gallons of coolant out of the system!!! The coolant light has never come on, and the tank was full... What am I missing? (besides the other 3 gallons lol)

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Brian Minson

Starting performing a coolant flush this afternoon on my '97 986 and for the life of me I can only get 3 gallons of coolant out of the system!!! The coolant light has never come on, and the tank was full... What am I missing? (besides the other 3 gallons lol)

First of all, you are never going to get all of the coolant out of the car with a simple gravity drain; there are too many places where it gets trapped. Even tilting the car around, you are only going to get 80-85% of the system capacity out.

How are you trying to drain it?

[Brian Minson]

Thanks JFP! Pulled the drain plug, then removed the filler cap, then removed the t-state house (replacing it), and the two main lines up to the front. Back wheels on the ground, front wheels up on stands about 18 inches.

Brian

[JFP in PA]

The problem with getting a complete drain on these cars is that the cooling system has multiple levels, which traps liquid in various locations. You can try jacking up one end of the car, then the other to get more out, but even then you will not get it all.