[thscott]

There is also the rear heater core. Not sure if that has to be drained separately or not.

 

[davedrivesody]

rear heater core

Good point, but unfortunately there's no easy way to drain it. The coolant in it (and its long supply pipes) remains and gets mixed with the new coolant.

 

[bilboinsa]

Does the undercarriage shield have to be removed for this service? When I crawl under the front, I cannot seem to “feel” the petcock. It seems awfully crowded under there. Maybe I will have to jack up the front end?

 

[davedrivesody]

Does the undercarriage shield have to be removed for this service?

I have done it several times on my 2002, and each time I have to hunt for the darn thing.

The shield has an access hole for the radiator petcock. The hole doesn't align directly with the petcock, so you need dexterous fingers to reach it.

But yes, it can be done without removing the shield. Jacking up the front would definitely make it easier to locate. That's also a good position for bleeding the system after the job is done. Nose-high encourages air pockets to leave through the radiator neck.

 

[as400jockey]

Replacing my radiator on 2009 EX-L. I want to flush while I'm at it, and replace several hoses.

Specs say a coolant capacity of 10.5 quarts. I drained the radiator... drained the block. Removed the hot side hose that goes to the heater cores. Used about 20psi on my compressor to attempt to push the coolant out of the two heater cores into the block, where it would either spill into the radiator or out the block plug. I applied pressure to the 'cold' (downstream) side, which is the top pipe on the firewall. Turned the temps on front to high and rear to low, and vice versa, trying to push the air through each core independently. Heard some reassuring gurgling, which stopped after a while, so it felt like it was moving some. Dunno if I got 10% or 90% of it.

But I only got 7 quarts out in total - just over a gallon draining from the radiator, the rest from the block. Maybe I was a pint down due to the leak. To have 3 quarts still trapped in there someplace seems like a lot. Put back 7Q of distilled water, plus maybe a pint of Prestone flush.

I will drain the flush, remove the radiator, then use the heater core hoses to push some more air and distilled water through to try get more out of the cores. I'll also try to measure what's left over in the radiator and hoses.

<<later>>

Let the car idle for about 30 min yesterday with the Magic Radiator Funnel attached. As expected, bubbles came out for a while, then it settled down. I let it run. All good, temp at dash vents about 130F. Today started again. After 30 min the funnel had at least a pint more than when started. No heat at dash vents - a sign of low coolant. Magic Funnel had tiny bubbles streaming up.. so much it was almost like beer foam. Maybe the Prestone doing it's thing... or maybe something more sinister - like a head gasket leak.

Revving the engine to about 3k caused larger bubbles to come out and the level in the funnel to drop. And the heat came back to 130F.

No puddles under the car. Looks like a small radiator leak at the top, just under the top tank, which was likely the source of the coolant smell and the fog I'd seen during cold weather.

Stay tuned.

Anyone have an opinion about the possibility of a head gasket issue?

 

[davedrivesody]

Anyone have an opinion about the possibility of a head gasket issue?

Because of the beer bubbles? Probably a small quantity of air being slowly forced out of an enclosed space by the coolant expanding.

Getting all the air out can be elusive, even more so where you blew out the heater cores. Be patient.

 

[as400jockey]

Because of the beer bubbles? Probably a small quantity of air being slowly forced out of an enclosed space by the coolant expanding.

Getting all the air out can be elusive, even more so where you blew out the heater cores. Be patient.

Thanks for that. What troubles me is that it appears to have forced enough out of the block such that the heat stopped working, which means that coolant wasn't flowing through the heater hoses. Revving the engine got it to 'burp' several times and accept more coolant (like a pint), and heat started working again. The thermostat was open, as the top radiator hose was hot. Temp gauge was normal (but I should disconnect the muzzler to get a more accurate reading).

No white smoke in the exhaust. Oil is clean as a whistle. So no symptoms of a head gasket leak from those angles.

I'll carry on and report back with the results.

<<later>>
DRained the flush juice. Got 8 quarts out this time, so doing better in that regard. Running a load of distilled water through now to flush, and then my new radiator should arrive tomorrow. Stay tuned...

 

[davedrivesody]

Revving the engine got it to 'burp' several times and accept more coolant

Good.

That's also in line with the factory bleeding procedure.

BTW, don't forget to change out the coolant in the reservoir.

 

[ISTVAN]

I did my timing belt and water pump today and had to drain the coolant. I decided to also drain the back of the engine. I made a childish mistake: I unscrewed the 17 mm big bolt not the actual bleeder screw. Anyway when removing the water pump there was still plenty of coolant in it.

 

[John Clark]

Yeah, I used to drain the block but it doesn't really alleviate the mess. I've found it's easiest and quickest to just pull the water pump and not bother draining anything beforehand. If I'm looking to change as much coolant as possible I'll drain the radiator first.

 

[davedrivesody]

when removing the water pump there was still plenty of coolant in it.

This is yet another space where old coolant remains after draining the system, and why coolant must be changed more frequently after the factory fill expires.

 

[Kevinmatth]

I went to drain the coolant for the first time and found that the drain plug is on the frame and cannot be turned. This van has never been wrecked and has not ever had anything aftermarket. I can't imagine how this happened.

 

[94eg!]

I went to drain the coolant for the first time and found that the drain plug is on the frame and cannot be turned. This van has never been wrecked and has not ever had anything aftermarket. I can't imagine how this happened.

You should be able to remove the upper cowl and the two radiator brackets. Then the radiator should be free to be lifted slightly so you can turn the drain cock.

Lower rad support could be bent upward from jacking. Or maybe the lower rubber rad mounts disintegrated, or weren't installed at the factory or during service.

 

[thscott]

That’s odd. I’m sure there are probably other ways to drain the coolant without needing to open that drain valve. Perhaps you simply disconnect the lower hose?

 

[94eg!]

Make sure there are two of these cushions holding the radiator up.

 

[Kevinmatth]

Thank you guys so much for the help I will check that out for sure!!

 

[marciano]

Put a shallow or regular depth 3/8 drive 22 mm socket on that petcock, then turn it loose with a ratchet.

There’s not enough room there for a 1/2 drive ratchet.

Ask me how I know.

Edit: I replied without looking at your pics carefully. You seem to be missing two rubber stands at the bottom of the rad. Lift up the rad, then use the method I mentioned.

Also, you seem to have removed the under carriage shield. That should give you enough room for 1/2 ratchet and socket. On mine, with the under carriage shield in place, no room for any 1/2 drive tools.

 

[Kevinmatth]

I didn't remove the undercarriage shield for this job. The other guys mentioned the little cushions too. I bet they disintegrated like 94eg! mentioned. Thank you for the comment.