drain coolant

[Torquative]

hey all, I cant find if/where this has been asked before ...

how do I drain the coolant on a Alloytec 175?

I am wanting to drain it and flush it myself as Ive only recently brought the car

Also whats the best coolant to use in it, I realise I'll get different responses from different people but what should I be on the lookout for when it comes to buying the stuff?

Cheers

[andyman]

is the coolant 4 years old yet? id contact holden about it as it seems to be a pretty unusual sort of coolant

[impulsesv6]

i wouldn't use cheap coolant on the alloy thats for sure.

[Torquative]

WTF?

nah the car has done 105 000kays (had done 90 000 when I brought it) so its now due for its first service since I took ownership, which is just oil filter/change and tranny service.

Because I'm doing regular, and quite long JCCC NSW cruises every 2 or so weeks ( I did a 700kay round trip today in 35 degree heat on my day off just to get out of the house). I want to make sure the coolant has been flushed and is decent quality as I dont trust the Holden dealership I brought it from. I know some of their mechanics and I know some of the stuff that goes on in their workshop.

I'm taking it to my mechanic for the service (who Ive trusted for many years with cars), its just he is asking a tad too much IMHO to do something precautionary and prematurely, and something I can do myself at home ... just gotta find the damn drain plug.

[andyman]

just gotta find the damn drain plug.

tap on the bottom of the radiator or remove the bottom hose,

the coolant change period is 4 years regardless of km's, the factory coolant is nealy clear, only a hint of a redy/rust colour and has a fishy sort of smell,

if you can get it tested go from there as i imagine the coolant would be expensive

[Torquative]

I'd rather replace though and know its fresh, good quality blah blah blah. Small price to pay for trouble free motoring.

Dont forget, it takes a typical car 5 years to reach 100 000km, mine clocked over 100 000 about 2 months ago. This is a liquid we're talking about thats running through the engine. I dont care what the bottle or Holden says, its aliquid running through water jackets, radiator, rubber hoses. In 100 000kays its sure to collect gunk and rubbish which affects its performance.

Sealed transmissions that are starting to creep into the Ford range amaze me. Apparantly the oil never need sservicing which is why there is no servicable sump - its all welded to the box. I cant understand how an oil can last the life of a car, but I am assuming the life of the car is 300 000 - 400 000 kays, maybe their idea is lower?

For the $60 its gonna cost me to get done I'd rather piece of mind knowing the coolant will last me the life of the car as I only plan on keeping it 3 or 4 years. Same as all the filters, they probably dont all need doing but at least I know where I stand.

[05 VZ SS]

Agree...Old school mechanics say 18 months at the latest for coolant...Anyway, the Hodlen coolant is not that expensive. Yeah it comes in 5 litre bottles, but then you need to add water to it.So you end up getting about 20 litres(approx).

[nuradh]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to change the coolant in my vz in the future. I found that the radiator cap is not mounted on top of the radiator it is nearly on the left side of the engine. So when I fill up the coolant after draining how much do I fill? Should I fill up to the neck of the filler cap and then put some in the recovery bottle to the level of the dipstick?

I have done coolant changes before on other type commodores and all I had to do was to fill the coolant up to the radiator cap neck and fill the bottler to the correct level. But the alloytech is a bit different. PLS help thanks very much. If some one has a work shop manual reference that would me appriciated.

[Kal123]

Workshop Manual..

Coolant change

[nuradh]

thanks so much mate, appriciate your help.

[vt s]

If your really wprried about the gunk, if theres any, in it, you prob want to flush the thing aswell.
Turn heater to hot, and take off a heater hose (not any of the two heater cores ones).
With bottom rad hose off spray hose into the heater line until you see clear water coming out bottom hose.

[FnomnaVZ]

Can anyone who has done the coolant drain tell me if the whole lot drains out? 10 Litres? I can't see how it can since the inlet and outlets are near the top of the engine.
I remember doing the VT and only about 5L came out - the rest stuck in the engine/heater.