Draining coolant completely

[pkr]

Anybody got any tips on draining the coolant from a TS as completely as possible?

The manual only says to disconnect the bottom hose but that will leave a fair amount of water in the block.

At the moment mine has fresh water in and I want to put the antifreeze back in. However with the residual water in the block, the antifreeze will become too dilute.

I did think about putting an airline on a heater hose with the bottom hose still disconnected. I'd probably have to clamp off the top hose as well.

Better ideas?

[aamrit]

Hello,

Here's what I did when I changed my coolant from blue to pink completely flushed the system

1. Drain old coolant as you have done by disconnecting bottom rad hose
2. Reconnect bottom rad hose.
3. Refill at header tank with clean water and keep draining until water runs clear.

hope that helps

[gammakeith]

The easiest is to add the right amount of neat antifreeze to the radiator to start with. Then just add water until it hits the mark. Much easier than mixing in a jug!

Keith

[pkr]

Sorry I should have given some background. I recently had the head off and drained the coolant. As the coolant is fairly new, I want to reuse it as there's nothing really wrong with it.

[Grahameo]

Originally Posted by pkr

Sorry I should have given some background. I recently had the head off and drained the coolant. As the coolant is fairly new, I want to reuse it as there's nothing really wrong with it.

Personally, as a time served mechanic I would never contempate re-using drained coolant,

Imagine a filtered coffee pot all the deposits of grindings always end up at the bottom of the pot, so the good stuff is at the top... Same with your coolant when the engine is off, you end up dislodging bigger particles that have settled in the bottom of the radiator housing and if you re-introduce it things like jacket channels, thermostat and pump, it can end up getting the gritty stuff in places where it can do some harm to otherwise healthy parts
Always use fresh mate, it's false economy otherwise

[Ralf S.]

To completely flush your old coolant out you can refill the system with plain water, run the engine for a bit and then drain it. Do that once or twice and all the old coolant will be out of there.

If you're worried about the residual water in the block diluting the new stuff.. just mix up your antifreeze 55:45 antifreeze to water instead of 50:50.

It won't make a huge difference if you have a bit of plain water somewhere in the block.. but if you have an OCD fetish, just crank the engine over a few turns with the bottom hose off - the water pump will regurgitate what's left. To drain the heater is a different story involving removing bits of lower dashboard... I'd really not worry about that bit.. just use 55%..

You can re-use old anti-freeze but it's got to be spotless to be worthwhile and you have to remove all the bits of dirt and grit that you dropped into the basin you drained it into...

Use a bit of stockinette in your funnel to act as a filter. Stick the funnel into an empty plastic water bottle and then decant the antifreeze through the funnel (i.e don't pour in the whole lot.. let the "bits" settle in the bottom of the basin and leave them there with a bit of the coolant... the stockinette is just to catch any bits that fall in as you decant, not to filter the antifreeze.. ).

If you have any bits in the bottle, get a new bit of stockinette and then repeat into another plastic bottle. You'll gradually end up with antifreeze with no pieces in it. Stick that into the car.


Ralf S.

[pkr]

Originally Posted by Grahameo

Imagine a filtered coffee pot all the deposits of grindings always end up at the bottom of the pot

Interesting you should mention that as an analogy. I was going to filter the coolant through a coffee filter before sticking it back in.

The thing is, I only put this red antifreeze in last year and I hate wasting things

[pkr]

Stockingette - good thinking. I was going to use a coffee filter but that may be a bit too slow!

As to the probelm of plain water in the block, I think I have an alternative plan anyway.

I'll measure the water I drain from the GTV and use that to calculate the plain water in the block. I'll then add an equivalent volume of antifreeze for 50%. I'll then top up to full with the 50% mixture I drained.

As my wife's car is due a coolant change I'll flush the 156 as well and repeat the process ( bearing in mind the lower coolant capacity of the JTS ) topping up with what I have left that I drained out of my GTV. Probably not the best for the 156 but it is a reasonable solution.

Thanks all.