[atikovi]

There is no drain plug and disconnecting the lower radiator hose won't get the coolant out of the the block. Short of draining from there, refilling with water and driving a few miles to circulate the water and draining again, and repeating this a half dozen times, is there a better way?

 

[qualls]

Have you considered one of the "flush-and-fill" kits? Years ago, I had a vehicle with a similar type radiator. I did not want to cut a coolant hose to fit a T-adapter, but that was the best way for me to flush it.

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/radiator-flush-tools/p/peak-flush-and-fill-kit/525931_0_0

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/prestone/oil--chemicals---fluids/maintenance-chemicals/radiator---cooling/radiator-flush/02670340b31b/prestone-antifreeze-flush-and-fill-kit/prs0/afkit?pos=1

 

[atikovi]

I'm not cutting any hoses. Will probably do some drain and refill cycles.

 

[Boomer Guy]

My mechanic has a professional flushing machine which connects the intake and the discharge lines of my cooling system. He pours 3 gallons of new coolant into the machine's tank. While the car's engine is running, the machine pumps the old fluid into a separate tank out while pumping the new fluid in from the first tank. There is no air introduced into the system and no coolant is wasted. The entire process takes less than a half hour including connecting and disconnecting the hoses. Since I provide the coolant, the only charge is for the labor. The added benefit is that I don't have to worry about disposing of the hazardous waste fluid.

 

[atikovi]

Did 5 drain and refills with distilled water and got clear water to come out.

Last refill with coolant and good for -40.

 

[Boomer Guy]

Be sure to bleed any air out of this system and NEVER mix colors unless they are "backwards compatible". If in doubt, use the one recommended in your manual, probably G11 or G12.

I use newer coolant but I did a mountain of research before doing it. This is why I did a professional flush to ensure the colors would not mix and no air would be introduced. Worst case scenario is solids building up and blocking the insides of the system causing permanent damage.

 

[Boomer Guy]

Have you considered one of the "flush-and-fill" kits? Years ago, I had a vehicle with a similar type radiator. I did not want to cut a coolant hose to fit a T-adapter, but that was the best way for me to flush it.

https://www.autozone.com/cooling-heating-and-climate-control/radiator-flush-tools/p/peak-flush-and-fill-kit/525931_0_0

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/c/prestone/oil--chemicals---fluids/maintenance-chemicals/radiator---cooling/radiator-flush/02670340b31b/prestone-antifreeze-flush-and-fill-kit/prs0/afkit?pos=1

Many, many years ago, I was using one of these kits on one of my cars and it bit me in the butt. The plastic tee gets fatigue with age and temperature fluctuations. Add to that, the worm gear type of clamp with a lump where the worm gear is, and you get a fracture in the tee. I lost my almost all of my coolant before I discovered the damage. I replaced the tee with a brass inline tube splice and removed the kit from my other cars. This is a time bomb.