How to drain car engine coolant?

Your car engine coolant is the most important fluid to keep the engine cool to perform as designed. With age your car engine coolant need a replacement after 20,000 – 30,000 kms or after 2 years. You can test your coolant for remaining life and if require get it changed. For replacing it you need to drain the old coolant and then replace with recommended coolant as per your car’s owner manual. Follow below procedure to drain the old engine coolant:

1. Car should be cold at least for 6-12 hours.
2. Raise the front of the car and support with jack stand.
3. Place a large drain pan under the radiator. Use pliers to loosen the lower radiator hose clamp and remove the hose. Allow the radiator and water pump to drain completely and later, reattach the lower radiator hose and clamp. 
4. Refer to your repair manual, locate and remove the radiator drain plug. 
5. Now open the radiator pressure cap on top and fill the radiator with water. Keep the heater control on high and start the engine for about ten minutes. Do not overheat. Allow it to cool and once the temperature is ideal enough for you to touch, drain the water out of the system into the drain pan.
6. Close the drain plug and refill the system with water and coolant.
7. Another efficient approach is the true flushing/back-flushing method. This method needs two access points and uses a pump to force new fluid through the cooling system, which forces the removal of the old coolant. This method allows for a forward flush or back-flush, depending on the method of vehicle connection used.

Useful tips:

1. There are several products available for cleaning the cooling system during the flushing process. These products remove rust and sediment that flushing with plain water may not be able to. 
2. Used coolant is a toxic waste. Dispose it responsibly to save the environment.
3. Read the manufacturer’s warnings and buy coolant from the right dealer and with correct specification. 
4. When refilling, follow the coolant manufacturer's directions on diluting concentrated coolant. Mix the coolant and distilled water in right proportion and never use the tap water. Leave the car raised while you refill the radiator to reduce the possibility of air pockets forming in the engine.

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