I never open up the cooling system unless there's a problem (t'stat, waterpump, etc.). Too many other things to maintain/repair, lol...
Partial Coolant Drain Method For Yearly Maintenance ?
- Thread starter ChrisD46
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I’m thinking GM will be turning Dexcool into a 10 year coolant soon. I could be wrong, but if it happens, I’ll do a a drain and flush, then put in the 10 year version. And God willing I’ll just do a rad drain and 50/50 replenishment in 5 years. No more flushing for me. 
In theory if everyone knows what they are doing in math we do not need premixed coolant. Of course in real life we do not have this and people may drain coolant, didn't do the calculation correctly, and then mix in too much or too little concentrated coolant or water.
If you do annual drain and fill you do not need to use the peacock, you can just pump out the reservoir and fill it with fresh 50/50 mix every year. It will end up with the same result and it is likely much easier.
If you do annual drain and fill you do not need to use the peacock, you can just pump out the reservoir and fill it with fresh 50/50 mix every year. It will end up with the same result and it is likely much easier.
If they follow what Toyota does, it would be 10 year initial then 5 year for drain/refill (because you cannot pump out the whole cooling system, some will be in the block and heater core, and put fresh fluid in).I’m thinking GM will be turning Dexcool into a 10 year coolant soon. I could be wrong, but if it happens, I’ll do a a drain and flush, then put in the 10 year version. And God willing I’ll just do a rad drain and 50/50 replenishment in 5 years. No more flushing for me.
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Once I hit 100,000 miles on a long life coolant, I just do drain and fills every two years or so...which for equates to around 50,000 miles of driving.
And a drain and fill literally takes me 15 minutes (tops) and might cost me $24 bucks worth of Toyota Super Long Life coolant.
And a drain and fill literally takes me 15 minutes (tops) and might cost me $24 bucks worth of Toyota Super Long Life coolant.
On my car the total is 5L. a simple drain from the butterfly plug takes out nearly 2L. I just premix and add back fresh distilled water + coolant, usually at 60:40 ratio
For those thinking of doing annual, etc., coolant changes, disposal of used coolant can be a real problem. The locality where I live has a city dump, but that facility does not accept used antifreeze or other vehicle fluids. Other localities require you to be a resident of that city/county to dispose of anything. I can take used motor oil to an auto parts store for disposal, but not used coolant. No one will take that stuff.
You don't want to get caught dumping used antifreeze in storm drains or on the ground. You just don't.
So don't create problems for yourself by changing coolant more often than necessary.
You don't want to get caught dumping used antifreeze in storm drains or on the ground. You just don't.
So don't create problems for yourself by changing coolant more often than necessary.
I agree with you.
I keep a maintenance chart on all the vehicles I take care of. Most of them are old. It's really simple for me to
drain the radiators every October and replace with the proper coolant (Toyota Red, Pink or Honda Blue) My Toyota
Red cars are supposed to have coolant changed every 2 years/30K. That's why I do yearly. Overkill for the Toyota
Pink and Honda Blue but I get happy when doing maintenance on cars.
I keep a maintenance chart on all the vehicles I take care of. Most of them are old. It's really simple for me to
drain the radiators every October and replace with the proper coolant (Toyota Red, Pink or Honda Blue) My Toyota
Red cars are supposed to have coolant changed every 2 years/30K. That's why I do yearly. Overkill for the Toyota
Pink and Honda Blue but I get happy when doing maintenance on cars.
While I agree you don’t want to dump it into storm drains or the ground, I’m pretty sure it’s ok to just pour the used and old unused coolant down the sink or toilet drain.
That’s what some cities recommend if I recall correctly
Agreed, I've heard that ethylene glycol is completely harmless (beneficial even?) if the home's wastewater goes to a sewage-treatment plant.
However, it's not recommended for septic tanks.
One of the best replies on the thread! The number of people buying premixed coolant (or "Ready-to-use!" on the containers) is astounding. A jug of distilled water is under a buck. So...approximately $13.00 for two gallons or $10.00 for one. Math is hard, I guess.