Easy antifreeze refill ?

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

Hello guys, need to add about 3 quarts of antifreeze to the cooling system for the winter as presently the antifreeze concentration in very low. I guess I need to remove the bottom water hose to remove the coolant from the engine but what next:

a) do I need to remove the expansion tank with the thermostat to refill the engine?
b) what it takes to make sure that the coolant is properly mixed in the engine and more importantly in the radiator?

Thanks a lot.

[jopizz]

The radiator has a drain fitting. You don't have to remove the hose. You don't need to remove the expansion tank either to refill. Remove the cap from the expansion tank. Open the radiator drain fitting and drain out all the coolant. Close the drain fitting. Then refill with a 50/50 mix of coolant and water until the level is at the bottom of the expansion tank. Start the engine with the cap off and run it until you see the coolant start to flow through the thermostat. You can also move the heater control over to hot so it flows through the heater core.

John

[bird 60]

John, Just a curious question for myself & others.

Is it best to drain the old fluid when the water is hot, or it doesn't matter. After switching the engine off of course.

Chris.....From OZ.

[jopizz]

That's a good question. Oil should be drained when it's hot but I don't know if that applies to coolant. For safety I've always waited until it cools down.

John

[simplyconnected]

We change oil when it's hot because the viscosity is thinner and hopefully some contaminants are suspended in it rather than settled to the bottom. Antifreeze doesn't matter because it's always thin.

[Rock&Roll Firebird]

This sounds lot easier than I originally thought. Thanks guys!