I need to drain the coolant on a 3800. How are these drill-powered pumps?

[slacktide_bitog]

I need to replace a water pump because it's weeping, and of course I will flush out the Dexcool/Deathcool and refill it with real coolant (Peak 10x).

On the 3800, the radiator hoses are mounted way too high on the engine, so draining the radiator only gets out a quart or 2 (total capacity is around 12 qt)

The official GM procedure is to remove the knock sensors, but they are prone to damage just by removing them, because GM is stupid and applied thread sealant on them. It's a tapered pipe thread, too.

I made a thread on vacuum fillers, but these all require an air compressor that I can't use because I don't have a garage or anything.

Looking on Amazon, I eventually came across these drill powered fluid transfer pumps. I have a drill, and you just connect hoses to each end. So I can disconnect the lower radiator hose on the block and just insert a hose in that hole and hope it can go in deep enough to get the coolant out.

Is this a good idea? Do these things actually work? Can I stick a hose in far enough to actually drain coolant without touching the knock sensors?

 

[ctechbob]

https://www.amazon.com/PLUMIA-Extractor-Upgraded-Scavenge-Motorcycle/dp/B08ZKQPW2Y

I've got one of these, would probably a little easier to wrangle than a drill powered one. Don''t see any reason you couldn't suck antifreze with it.

There's a ton of vendors selling a similar item. I'd look for the best price.

 

[Chris142]

stop overthinking this. Put a pan under it and take it apart

 

[eljefino]

Fix the water pump and refill with water. Drive for a day, dump that, refill with more water. After a week start mixing 100% antifreeze back in.

That car has an iron block and would love to see several flushes by now.

When you drain, measure. I bet you get 40-45% of capacity out.

 

[ripcord]

Way over thinking it. Drain the radiator, pull the bottom hose, aim into a bucket and start the engine for a few seconds. You'll get the majority of the coolant out.

 

[JGmazda]

Yeah, You're waaaaayyyy over-thinking this. Just take the drain plug out from the radiator... Flush the coolant. (Dispose properly).

Run straight Distilled water for awhile and do the same thing. Fill with Peak 10X (Great coolant choice) and drive normally. The small amount of Dex left over isn't going to hurt anything.

 

[atikovi]

Disconnect both hoses from radiator. Stick a garden hose in one and a drain pan to the other to flush with the thermostat removed and heater on hot. Finish with a few gallons of distilled water. Nothing wrong with Dexcool if it doesn't get mixed with other coolant.

 

[redhat]

I bought one of the ultra cheap Amazon drill pumps to pump water out of tires sitting outside.

Works well. Pushes water at a reasonable speed/amount.

Worst you can do is buy it… if it sucks return it.

 

[Dave9]

I have not tried *all* the drill powered pumps, but have tried a couple and they were terrible, because they needed a very high RPM drill to make enough suction even for short distances, even primed. That one linked on amazon reads "less than 2500 rpm will lower the performance" but from the ones I tried (forget the brands, it's been a while... one was whatever Harbor Freight sells), lower RPM meant they didn't pump.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Too much overthink. Drain your rad. Fill with distilled water. Run it until it’s at operating temp. Let cool. Drain your rad again. If you are planning on changing coolants, fill with distilled water one more time. Run it until up to operating temp. Drain your rad again. Fill with concentrated coolant and you are done. I don’t believe you only get a “ quart or two “ out of the rad. What vehicle and year is it? Certainly more fluid stays in block than the radiator, but the ratio is usually 1 to 2 or 1 to 3, not 1 to 6 or 1 to 12. Also, a small amount of diluted original coolant is not a problem. It’s more of a Bitog thing.

 

[Snagglefoot]

Since you are pulling the pump, more fluid will be lost. Once the new pump is buttoned up and the hoses are attached you can fill it with distilled water like the posting above and do the dilution procedure it describes. It will be fine. Is this the 4 th Gen Firebird?

 

[doitmyself]

Would a powerful wet/dry vac work to either suck or blow coolant out of an engine?? Just curious.

Or what about one of those Prestone radiator flush kits?

 

[Snagglefoot]

Even in the case of using a Prestone flush kit, the block and heads will be filled with fresh water. Most vehicles are designed that if you have the block and heads filled with fresh water, then drain the rad and fill it with concentrated coolant you will end up with at least 30 % coolant. If you need 50% coolant it’s better to do a dilution instead.

 

[atikovi]

Even in the case of using a Prestone flush kit, the block and heads will be filled with fresh water. Most vehicles are designed that if you have the block and heads filled with freshwater, then drain the rad and fill it with concentrated coolant you will end up with at least 30 % coolant. If you need 50% coolant it’s better to do a dilution instead.

If OP has a 12 quart system and just flushed and drained it, just add 6 quarts coolant and the rest water. If it won't take all 6 quarts coolant, he can let what does go in, circulate and then measure the concentration. If it's only 30%, drain off that mixture and add pure coolant. It might be wasteful, but for something you only do every 100,000-150,000 miles, not an issue.

 

[Snagglefoot]

If OP has a 12 quart system and just flushed and drained it, just add 6 quarts coolant and the rest water. If it won't take all 6 quarts coolant, he can let what does go in, circulate and then measure the concentration. If it's only 30%, drain off that mixture and add pure coolant. It might be wasteful, but for something you only do every 100,000-150,000 miles, not an issue.

Also, in the dilution technique I described, one can fill the radiator the first time with 50:50 water / coolant instead of distilled water, start the engine and circulate it and then drain the rad. Part of it will be sacrificed, but there is a better chance of hitting 50/50 when you add concentrated coolant at the end. The most important thing is to know the overall capacity from the owners manual and to measure what comes out of the radiator the first time it’s drained. Owners manuals typically do not have the radiator volume as a separate number. The second thing is to have a tool to measure the concentration.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Since you are pulling the pump, more fluid will be lost. Once the new pump is buttoned up and the hoses are attached you can fill it with distilled water like the posting above and do the dilution procedure it describes. It will be fine. Is this the 4 th Gen Firebird?

Yes, it's a 4th gen Firebird