Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General coolant/antifreeze

What is the best way to change it and what type of coolant is the best to use?

The drain plug (as you may find out) is a biatch to get to.

You may want to just pull the lower radiator hose.

Just make sure you try not to get air bubbles in the system when you refill.

The rest of the details can be found in a Haines Manual (a must if you ask me) at most local auto parts stores...

TAKE IT TO A SHOP!

I just had mine changed last night for the first time - I don't envy anyone doing this themselves in their driveway! They basically had to pull the entire intake off, pull apart the lower rad hose (while the engine was HOT... ouch!) to attach the power flush nozzles, go underneath the car to actually secure them in place and take a coolant shower, do the flush & fill, then put everything back together again on a HOT (ouch!) engine. To sum it up, the shop probably won't be reccommending any coolant system flushes on a Duratec any time soon. Just the added bonus that there's NO room to work on anything in the engine bay = NASTY cuts and coolant baths... it's well worth it to pay someone to take this abuse for you!

Mr. Lube = CDN$69.99 + tax, and it took them over an hour to get everything connected!

Its not very difficult...just remove the shield beneath the radiator and loosen the drain plug with a screwdriver. Refill with water and cleaner if needed and drive for about 15 minutes. Repeat the process using only water several times to flush out all of the old coolant/cleaner, or until the drained stuff is clear.
Refill with about 1.5 gallons of any major brand coolant.
Also, you may want to use distilled water for that last flush since there is no hardness in the water.

I've done mine twice, both in under 2 hours. A good writeup was posted on the mailing list years back, I've included it on my site.