Best way to change coolant 2010 Escape

[dogememe]

Got me a case of 6 of Zerex G-05 50/50 and I'm not sure of the best way to change my coolant (which I'm pretty sure is original) in my 2010 Escape 2.5... Assuming the radiator has a drain plug should I just do two spill and fills back to back to get mostly fresh coolant in the system? Is there any special bleeding I need to do on this system/engine or other considerations? Or is there a better way? There is nothing wrong with the vehicle and the existing coolant doesn't look bad I just want fresh coolant because I don't want any issues down the road with leaks or corrosion... BTW I refuse to use any sort of coolant additive or flush chemical in my vehicle.

 

[WyrTwister]

I always buy 100% coolant , unless I mess up and grab the wrong container .

 

[dogememe]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I always buy 100% coolant , unless I mess up and grab the wrong container .


I could have saved some money but I like the convenience of just pouring it in. I appreciate your input but I am not asking for feedback on the coolant I chose... it's not like I'm putting Dex-cool or conventional green in there LOL.

 

[SnowDrifter]

What I did with my car:

Doesn't have a radiator drain.

I removed the lower rad hose, filled it with tap water, ran it until the t-stat opened, drained again. Did this 4 times. If you have a radiator drain, you can open it, leave the car running, and just keep the system full with a hose

Then I removed the heater core hoses, hooked the hose up to it, and flushed it back and forth in either direction until I was satisfied. Did the same with the rear heater core. Then I blew out any extra water I could, carefully, with compressed air.

Did the same flush procedure again but with distilled water. 4 times to clear out the tap water minerals. Then on the last time, I measured how much I was able to drain. Referenced that with the capacity of the system, and filled it with the appropriate amount of distilled water and 100% coolant to get myself to a 60/40 mixture. Ran the vehicle for a bit to get everything mixed, then confirmed the mix with a coolant test strip.

Didn't have to do much in the way of burping the system as my car has a pressurized coolant overflow and in general, bleeds quite easily. If you have a standard radiator cap and unpressurized overflow, it would be worth your time to invest in a coolant funnel

 

[earlyre]

um...i forget if that year is included, but alot of the smaller ford engines actually have a reverse flow coling system, that, from what i've read, is nearly impossible to NOT get air trapped unless you use a vacuum system...

but, ymmv, please feel free to do your own research...

 

[JustinH]

agreed, I had problems with a toyota matrix getting air trapped in the system.

I would have someone do it with a vacuum system. I just paid a shop to do my sonata and it was literally ten minutes to do the whole job with their system. After the job, I only had to top up maybe 4-6 ounces of coolant. There was no air trapped.

 

[CELICA_XX]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
I always buy 100% coolant , unless I mess up and grab the wrong container .

Agreed... if you are doing a thorough, comprehensive flush with distilled water, then you should use full strength coolant. Otherwise you can never get back to a 50/50 mixture in the system.

If dogememe is settled on using a 50/50 premix jug, then he's basically limited to a simple drain and fill. (where much of the old coolant will remain in the system)

 

[CharlieBauer]

Originally Posted by CELICA_XX
If dogememe is settled on using a 50/50 premix jug, then he's basically limited to a simple drain and fill. (where much of the old coolant will remain in the system)



He has 6 jugs of 50/50!

 

[sw99]

I would bet that your coolant look great under the cap still. At 8 years, I would just start a yearly drain and fill regiment and call it good. Cheap and easy to do for good insurance.

 

[Lubener]

I would pull the lower hose of the radiator to drain. It is faster and gets more old coolant out. There is also a good chance your radiator's petcock could break or not seal when tightened.

 

[dogememe]

Thanks all for your input! I'll just do a drain and fill with either the petcock or lower hose and see how much coolant I get out.