I've drained the coolant before, when I took apart my intake, by using the drain plug on the bottom passenger side of the radiator. Only problem is I cut the **** out of my hand getting to it, and the plug didn't come all the way out of the hole, which it may not be supposed to do, so the coolant just drained onto the lower radiator support tray and spilled all over the ground all along the front end of the car instead of into the bucket I had under the hole. So, I was going to install a backflush adapter kit thing, as well as add some super radiator cleaner to flush out my cooling system, but I don't want to replay draining the coolant that way. Is there any easier way to drain the coolant, like removing the lower radiator hose from the water pump? Just thought I'd ask before I tried again.

 

taking the hose off the water pump would work

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ICON Motorsports
1st & 3rd
MM Black Diamond 538 F&AM

 

Removing the lower radiator hose will drain the coolant pretty quickly. (The pet**** on my radiator didn't come all the way out either.)

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89 iroc-z 305 tbi
k&n filtercharger, open element air filter. nuffin' else

 

Yep, another vote for the lower rad. hose. If it needs replaced just stab it with a knife and let the coolant drain out.

IIRC, the only **** I ever saw come all the way out was the one in my pants .

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1990 IROC 350
Mods: Too busy trying to make it run right to mod it.
Airfoil, Dynomax cat-back, MSD coil, 180 t-stat, Bald Eagle tires,
Hypertech fan switch, Accel 23# injectors, Holley module, ported plenum,
Ported Daytona Yellow stock base, Moroso valve covers, other stuff,
Streetdampr, Ruger P95DC, hot wife, new oil filter, !cats, !TBC, !AIR.
18.0 @ 85MPH since I'm one big-a$$ MF
"It's better to have and not need than to need and not have."

 

Here is a silly one, but it works well, take the rad cap off when the car is "hot"..

Not the brightest idea though..

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Okanagan Thirdgen Association
_ _____________________ _
89 RS Camaro, LO3 305 TBI
Autometer Air/Fuel Ratio Guage
Cooling Fan Overide Switch
L69 Duel Snorkel Intake
Dynomax Ultra Flo SS Cat Back

 

Thanks for that last tip there, I'll have to remember it. Actually it reminds me of a story. I was driving around and saw some steam coming from under the hood. So I pulled over into a parking lot to see where it was coming from, and noticed that my heater valve was dripping. So I was lookin' at it to see where it was leaking from, and I guess it was cracked, and the tube to the lower intake snapped off and spewed coolant all over me, the engine, ground etc.... I had to leave my car in the parking lot overnight so that I could go to Kragen and get a new valve. Sucked.

 

Are you guys serious? Removing the lower rad hose is the accepted way of draining the coolant? Sounds like the water pump would starve before all the coolant came out.

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No guts, no glory.

 

I don't think water pump starvation would be a big issue, since most of the time when people would be doing this, the engine would be off anyway...

Really, the simplest way to do it is to open the radiator pet**** (I'm going to get censored!!!) and remove the 2 block plugs, the pass side one of which may be mutated into a knock sensor depending on what car you're working on. There's no way to avoid getting coolant everywhere except to use a really big pan, not a bucket.

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"So many Mustangs, so little time..."
ICON Motorsports

 

My griffen, removing the lower hose is the ONLY way to drain the coolant... No petKoK