how long does it take to drain the cooling system?

i have been pretty confused on this and the haynes isnt real clear on this process.

i dont see how i need 8 jugs of coolant...i bought 3 of 50/50 from oreilys (**** is expensive) when i tried to do the plenum, tc, etc a few weekends ago.

what i first started off doing was draining the radiator from the plug with a 3/8 rubber hose into a bubble gum bucket...then i removed the bolt in the side of the engine with a breaker bar and coolant rushed out of there. i couldn't find the other bolt on the driver side of the engine, so i just let it drain out of these two areas. the engine stopped draining within 3-5mins. but the damn radiator kept going for almost 10mins and i felt like i wasnt getting anywhere. i turned the drain back off and just refilled with 1 50/50 jug because no more would go into my radiator...

ever since then i have been double checking my fluid level and it is fine...after all that damn draining and only needing one jug?? especially when it calls for 8??? wtf...

im sure the balance in the coolant is off but i plan on trying the plenum fix again within two months (when it is cooler) and my a/c doesnt work so i doubt im gonna screw anything up within 60days..

 

Lots of coolant is held within the block and heads when you do the plenum fix. You are essentially just draining the radiator and hoses when you remove the intake manifold. it doesn't take much when you do just that.

20 quarts is the entire system. If you pulled a block drain plug, you should need a lot more than one jug. You have a problem. perhaps a blockage somewhere, or massive air lock, but you definitely need more than 1 jug. Might have a dry water pump that isn't moving coolant, I'd find a very close, very steep incline and get that system filled or you're going to break ****, quickly.

1 gallon full strength AF and 1 gallon distilled water = 2 gallons 50/50 mix at about 60% of the price.

 

thanks aim..im just thinking what the best course of action should be when i try to tackle this project in the future...i will do the full strength and distilled water but not sure how many of each...i think i am going to drain the block and radiator again an just let it go til it runs out...then flush it with water...i guess i can expect to do this for about an hour at the most...thanks again

any other input on draining/flushing/refilling coolant sys?

 

reread post, i edited a bit.

 

great....thats not what i was lookin for lol...

damn i am in a dilemma now...how should i go about filling it up? just pouring full strength AF into the radiator?

**** im hoping i can make til i change the plenum, WP, and TC at the end of the summer

 

I refilled my radiator, with the engine running, and let the thermo cycle twice. Topped off the system best I could, put some in the overflow tank, and drove it for a day or so, paying attention to the temp gauge. On day three, or four..... went out in the morning, checked the radiator, topped it off again, refilled the overflow tank to the cold level, and called it good.

Seems heater cores like keeping some air in them....... takes a bit to burp it out. (and I can't afford to let my v8 just sit and idle.)

 

My issue is with the amount that should have drained given what he stated, vs. what he put in. Something doesn't jive there.

 

Yeah, there is indeed a discrepancy there. Maybe it was one of the new "multidimensional" bottles? That is the size of a gallon jug, but, holds five?

I had to put a substantial amount of fluid in mine twice..... once right after I bought it, and again about four days later. I suspect there was just a major air bubble in there somewhere.... That may be the case for his as well. My level goes down a bit over the course of a week....... but, the truck has 160K on it.... I don't see puddles under the truck, and I don't see any evidence of leaks either, which really doesn't make me feel any better...... I don't wanna buy heads just yet.

 

lets see, 20 quarts is 5 gallons. that seems high to me. awhile back, i drained both sides of the block, heater core, radiator and everything. as best that i can remember, it only took about 4 gallons to fill it all back up.

truegent - the block plugs hide behind the engine mounts. they're in more or less the same place on both sides.

on you slow drain problem - the radiator drain plug is sort of funky. it turns about a 1/4 or 1/2 turn (lets out a trickle), and then pulls straight backwards (which lets out a flood).

i use full strength + distilled water. its cheaper. pour in 1/2 gal of A/F first, then 1/2 gal of water, back and forth. if you miss it, you get a little extra A/F which doesn't hurt anything.

 

I forgot about the stock petcock. Had to buy a new radiator about a year ago and the petcock is the straight screw in/out type. I miss the directional tube that forces the coolant down. Used to leave tube connected to that that made draining much less sloppy.