Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting How to fush and fill coolant?

Hello all, and It's great to be back. I have a 2000 Mercury Stique with V6 and MTX. Just want to know how to drain coolant from radiator. I don't see the drain cock? How much coolant does one of these bad boys hold?

Drain cock on lower pass side of rad, points toward rear. Large screwdriver req'd to remove. Lower air dam should be removed if equipped.

You can also separate a small hose just below the water pump, where a coupling is in place. Gives a good place to flush to and from. Also an easy place to catch the coolant when you open it. After flushing, put a gallon of antifreeze in, then fill the rest of the way with water.

Hi again: I have written before of not being able to get drain loose on the radiator on our 99 Zetec. I could see the drain plug but couldn't get a tool in place to turn it. Well, today I removed the right side, lower radiator support bracket (two, 8 mm fastners hold it in place.) With the extra room I was able to turn the drain plug with slip joint pliers. After 46,000 miles, the antifreeze no longer looked like fresh Prestone. I put silicon grease on the treads before tightening the drain plug.

This may be a longer process to get it totally clean, but you don't have to use the radiator plug... But you do have to have a way of disposing of multi-gallons af coolant water.... have lots of distilled water on hand... I used tap water for flush, then distilled for filling so I didn't need to buy so many gallons of H2O.
Just disconnect the top hose from the overflow bottle and put its end into whatever container you plan to trap the old water in (I used a 5 gallon bucket)... the hose should be able to reach out of the engine bay, over the grill. Have plenty of fresh water ready to fill into the overflow bottle as it starts to pump out the hose (take off cap and use a funnel, I cut the bottom from a 1 gal. water jug).... continue until only clear water exits hose (good time to add flushing detergent and replace hose to the bottle for 15-20 minutes, then re-flush)... whether you use detergent or not, once a couple of gallons of only clean water comes out, add 1/2 - 1 bottle of antifreeze, depending on how much you need in the winter... when water starts coming out green, put the hose back in place and fill to max with water... let it cycle through and adjust as needed... check the level the next day before you start it.
All told, I had about 5 gallons of dark waste water, about 5 more of medium colored until it started turning clear...

If you want to back-flush, this technique is not the way to go... this is an easy-way.

One more thing... I really suggest using only distilled water, or at least filter your tap water through something fine meshed... this way you can avoid any sandy sediment which could get into the coolant if your well water or city water is not perfect ...
As far as how much coolant these hold... lemme check the spec book...
2.5L ATX = 8.6L (9.1 qt.) = 2 Gallons + 1.1 quarts.
2.5L MTX = 8.4L (8.9 qt.) = 2 Gallons + .9 quart (~3.75 cups approx).
2.0L ATX = 7.1L (7.5 qt.) = 1 Gallon + 3.5 quarts
2.0L MTX = 6.6L (7.0 qt.) = 1 Gallon + 3 quarts
* to convert to imperial measure, multiply US quarts shown by 0.83

Originally posted by PranQster:

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This may be a longer process to get it totally clean, but you don't have to use the radiator plug... But you do have to have a way of disposing of multi-gallons af coolant water.... have lots of distilled water on hand... I used tap water for flush, then distilled for filling so I didn't need to buy so many gallons of H2O.
Just disconnect the top hose from the overflow bottle and put its end into whatever container you plan to trap the old water in (I used a 5 gallon bucket)... the hose should be able to reach out of the engine bay, over the grill. Have plenty of fresh water ready to fill into the overflow bottle as it starts to pump out the hose (take off cap and use a funnel, I cut the bottom from a 1 gal. water jug).... continue until only clear water exits hose (good time to add flushing detergent and replace hose to the bottle for 15-20 minutes, then re-flush)... whether you use detergent or not, once a couple of gallons of only clean water comes out, add 1/2 - 1 bottle of antifreeze, depending on how much you need in the winter... when water starts coming out green, put the hose back in place and fill to max with water... let it cycle through and adjust as needed... check the level the next day before you start it.
All told, I had about 5 gallons of dark waste water, about 5 more of medium colored until it started turning clear...

If you want to back-flush, this technique is not the way to go... this is an easy-way.

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I'm a bit unclear on this. Do you just disconnect the top hose, run it into a container, then run the motor to pump the coolant out while replacing through the reservior? If so, seems like a very easy way indeed. Of course, I need to replace my water pump and will try to back flush the system when I have it off.

Scott

Originally posted by PranQster:

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This may be a longer process to get it totally clean,

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Do you start with cold engine\coolant ? How about waiting for termostat to open ?

If you want a complete flush, get yourself some adapter and do it from the hoses next to the waterpump, or from the upper or lower radiator hose. You don't need to pull the peacock to drain the radiator, pulling the lower radiator hose will also drain the coolant from the radiator. Eitherway, you'll have to get the car warm enough to have to thermostat open up or it'll not really finish the flush.

Also use the same type of antifreeze that came with the car. If it is the Green stuff then stick with that. If it is Orange (Dexcool) then stick with that type. Never mix the two types, and it is difficult to switch over from 1 type to the next as you never really will get all of the old stuff out.