Draining 100% of engine coolant

[graham7773]

As the title says, draining 100% of my Alloytech engine coolant. I have a 2006 VZ Commodore and I am trying to avoid the hassle of asking 10 mechanics "how do I drain 100% of my engine coolant?" and getting 10 different methods. I have owned several VT Commodores and removing both knock sensors to get the last 6 litres of coolant out seems to be (to me) the essence of stupidity. Removing the thermostat to flush the engine does not make much sense either but that is what needs doing. I will now sit quietly and wait for the perfect method to remove the pesky coolant from my 3.6l V6 Commodore. Thank you one and all.

 

[gossie]

Get what you can out, mix the red coolant in the bottle 50/50 with distilled water and add it.
If you have some over save it for next time......It does need to be done every 5 years by the book I assume you have read, but just do it say in 3 years and the coolant will stay fresh even with a bit of before's coolant still in there.

 

[Sean880]

You can dilute the remaining coolant in the system and flush it out without removing a bunch of engine parts..

1. After the initial drain using whatever method you prefer, re-fill the system with demineralised or distilled water and bleed out any air. Don't run tap water in there. Then run the engine or take it for a drive with the heater on to circulate the fluid.

2. Wait for the fluid to cool and drain it again taking note of how much old coolant and impurities are being drained out.

3. If you are not happy with the results yet then do the refill and drain with the distilled/demineralised water one more time.

4. At this stage, with 3 drains and 2 water refills, what comes out should look pretty clean and any old coolant left in the system will be minimal and heavily diluted.
You will have a considerable amount of water remaining in the system and you will need to use coolant concentrate to ensure you can get the correct 50/50 ratio of coolant-water. If the system capacity takes, say, 10.5 litres then you will need to make sure you get 5.25 litres of coolant concentrate into the system or whatever is the correct amount based on 50% of capacity. Don't pour raw concentrate into the system. Always dilute it with some water (25 or 30 %) before pouring it in. Once you have the correct volume of coolant concentrate in the system for the specified capacity top up the rest with your distilled /demineralised water. Make sure you bleed the system of air carefully and check the coolant level in your overflow reservoir. If you really want to be pedantic you can use a fluid evacuator pump to suck out all the coolant in the overflow reservoir to refill, or you might want to remove the reservoir and empty it replacing the fluid with completely fresh coolant mix.

 

[greenacc]

Why do you need to drain 100% of the coolant? Most people just run the garden hose through it and call it flushed, then add 4 litres of concentrate, run it and call it mixed

 

[HSV126]

Put your mouth around the hose and suck

 

[graham7773]

Keesh, have you ever tasted straight/diluted coolant? I have not and I have no desire to do so.

Greenacc, I want to remove all of the old coolant for 1 reason. As I said in another post, I have owned about 6 VT's and I do not think any of them ever had a decent coolant system cleanout. My current car, a 2006 VZ executive with all the fruit except a sunroof was previously owned by one of my daughters who maintained the car very well although I would like to put a bullet in the spine of the bludger who charged her $1100 to replace her thermostat.
I had what looked like green jelly come out of one of my VT's
Back to my current project. Running the garden hose through the engine is a non-event as the thermostat has to come out for any reasonable pressure to make any rubbish wash out. Did I mention the $1100 thermostat?
I doubt that I would be able to get any decent amount of water flow through the piddling little hole in the cold thermostat. The Alloytech is an east/west configuration in the US of A so the position of the thermostat is optimal for their application.
The person who did the job claimed that the charges were due to the bad position of the thermostat. I don't want to get into that.

 

[HSV126]

Graham, i gave a sarcastic response because.. well.. ask a stupid question get a stupid answer

Thermostats are in a difficult position and therefore most dealers drop the auto get to it. Some will remove the manifold but unless you have girl hands it is difficult to remove the heater pipe and replace the orings, and rear water pipe orings. Id also charge that to do the job

Jelly in your radiator is caused by mixing coolant types, if the thermostat was done with a coolant change and your mechanic used red/orange coolant this wont be an issue. Why anyone would need to attempt to drain 100% coolant is beyond me and demonstrates your inability to work on cars.
Drain it, fill it with water, run it upto temp with the heater on then drain it again.. its that simple

 

[greenacc]

To remove 100% of the old coolant remove engine from the vehicle then pick it up and tip the water out!
If that's too much hassle and impractical just do what keesh said, that's what I meant but with less detail. If you are extra paranoid repeat that process a second time just be mindful it's not a great idea to fill a hot engine with cold water so take your time.

 

[graham7773]

Graham, i gave a sarcastic response because.. well.. ask a stupid question get a stupid answer

Thermostats are in a difficult position and therefore most dealers drop the auto get to it. Some will remove the manifold but unless you have girl hands it is difficult to remove the heater pipe and replace the orings, and rear water pipe orings. Id also charge that to do the job

Jelly in your radiator is caused by mixing coolant types, if the thermostat was done with a coolant change and your mechanic used red/orange coolant this wont be an issue. Why anyone would need to attempt to drain 100% coolant is beyond me and demonstrates your inability to work on cars.
Drain it, fill it with water, run it upto temp with the heater on then drain it again.. its that simple

keeeitch, I have been working on cars and trucks for 56 years and I think I have some skills although the skills are leaving town now. Began my odyssey at Truck Sales and Service in Alexandria in Sydney working on Commer (knockers due to their 3 cylinder horizontally opposed diesel engines). We were also the importers (ckd) of the Mack Thermodyne prime movers which carted most of WA's foodstuffs from Sydney and Melbourne to Perth. Were you seriously questioning my ability to work on cars?

 

[gossie]

keeeitch, I have been working on cars and trucks for 56 years and I think I have some skills although the skills are leaving town now. Began my odyssey at Truck Sales and Service in Alexandria in Sydney working on Commer (knockers due to their 3 cylinder horizontally opposed diesel engines). We were also the importers (ckd) of the Mack Thermodyne prime movers which carted most of WA's foodstuffs from Sydney and Melbourne to Perth. Were you seriously questioning my ability to work on cars?

Good on you Graham. Loved the "knockers". Loved that note pulling up the long hills.