EyeMaster

Changed the coolant in the car (All Dexcool) and it was so easy, I thougth I did something wrong.

There's a little plastic **** on the radiator on the passenger side, that opens up the flow. It's kinda slow, I can pee faster than that, but I let it drain for an hour while I did the oil anyway. Overall, it drained about 2 gallons (7 liters) of coolant.

I had 2 jugs of 50/50 dexcool mix. I don't bother mixing anything, don't want to risk having the wrong mix. To fill the system quicker, I disconnected the hose under the throttle body and filled in there. Going through the overflow container took too long.

When I put in about 5 liters of coolant in the system, I turned on the engine, kept an eye on the opened overflow tank, and filled as needed. I also kept an eye on the water temps in the car. Eventually the car stabilized at 89C, which is normal for highway driving on a cool day. I used both my 50/50 bottles, so I bought another one to keep as spare and to top up since I'm a bit short of max.

I really was expecting problems burping the system, but it seems to be a self burp system. Very nice!

If I missed anything, let me know. Maybe I've done something wrong, now is the time to correct me since Autocross is another 3 weeks away!

C6ToGo

You can get rid of more old coolant by filling and draining with distilled water before new fill. Here is the procedure i borrowed from a member and used last time:

Buy 2 gals Prestone Dex Cool (Walmart) and 6 gals distilled water. I used 5 gals of distilled water this year
and flushed it twice. I think three flushes would have been better.

1) Drain coolant (drain plug is on passenger side). Approx. 8 qts out of 12.6 qts will actually drain.
2) Pull Surge Tank and clean out crud. Refill surge tank to the neck with distilled water.
3) Start engine, idle 4 min
4) Top off surge tank
5) Rev engine at 2000-2500 rpm for 2 more min. (temp should reach ~200 F)
6) Shutoff engine, cool for 20 minutes
7) Repeat steps 1-6 until fluid drains clear (2-4 flushes)
8) Refill with 6.3 qts Dex Cool (it's a slow process) and then top off with distilled water.
9) Repeat steps 3-5, take test drive, refill as necessary with distilled water.
10) Dispose of your old antifreeze at a recycling center.

Not So Fast

It took 4 flushes to get clear water from drain for me, and about 3+ hours
NSF

Seadawg

I have a 2011, so I'm due for this - did you guys above have to do any special "burping"?

Not So Fast

No, but it takes awhile to do it as the water/coolant goes in very slowly.
Everything seems fine so far.
Mine had never been done so even though a tester said it was fine I figured I'd listen to the recommendations of changing after 5 years
NSF

EyeMaster

Doing a distilled water flush seemed like a worthless task for me. The coolant was nice and pink/orange, and no debris or anything. Taking out 8 out of 12 liters is good enough, and Ill do the same in 2-3 years so that it's refreshed properly. Unless you have waited too many years or are having problems, there should be no need to perform a full flush.

Not So Fast

Its never been done and its 5 years so I did it the recommended way, might as well do it right IMO.
NSF

cmonkey713

Cooling system flush is a very easy DYI task to do. Follow the stated steps above and you will have no problems. When you drain the radiator you will loose some fluid on the floor, in fact sometimes a lot so have some old towels to soak it up.

dbielicke

Probably a stupid question...but when does this need to be done? I bought my car with 60,000 on it and I assume it has never been done before.

Thanks

Allen_B

The interval is 5 years/100k miles, whichever 1st.

I am overdue myself and need to head to Advance Auto!