Rookie needs some advice ..

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Leamington, ON, CA - between Detroit and Cleveland
Anyone changed coolant in a '98 Corolla and a '93 Accord ?? They both need it and service in the past has been done by the dealer. I'd like to try it myself but I'm not sure where block drain plugs are located. I am planning on a simple drain and fill with a long life coolant. Any hints anyone has would be greatly appreciated
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I have lurked around BITOG for a while now and just recently joined. I think I'm a sick as the rest of you guys !!

P.B. from the Great White North
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'93 Accord '98 Corolla
 
Well, I'm sure we could have made it more complex, but that's show I do it on all my cars. Others may have other methods, but this seems to work for me. I now use the "safe" coolants on the ones I change, just because it is so easy to get rid of.
 
I use the same in both, but neither ever had the longlife sooper-dooper long-life toyota red stuff, so any intermixing was ok.

by safe, i mean environmentally safe and non-poisonous, just to clarify.
 
Do you give them a "rinse stage" with distilled water before adding the new stuff ? Does most of the coolant drain from the block when you only remove the lower rad hose ? Will these 2 cars "burp" themselves alright, will the trapped air work itself out easily ?
Aren't I full of questions, maybe you could come up here and show me, it would take less time
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" Do you give them a "rinse stage" with distilled water before adding the new stuff ?

yes


"Does most of the coolant drain from the block when you only remove the lower rad hose ?

it seems to, but the "rinse" gets the rest anyway.


"Will these 2 cars "burp" themselves alright, will the trapped air work itself out easily ?

yes, but I help them a bit by keeping the rad cap open until the tstat opens and squeezing the upper hose often, and then check the bottle daily for a few days.


"Aren't I full of questions, maybe you could come up here and show me, it would take less time
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hey, that's what we're here for. i'll bet it's cooler there.....
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Thanks kenw: This has been one of the hottest summers on record, about 40 days over 90F with high humidity. It's 10:50pm here and it's about 75F right now. The Great White North hasn't been white at all for a while
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Thanks for your response to my questions. I feel a lot more confident about tackling the cooling systems in the cars. I'm 61 yrs old and just did my first disc brake job on the Corolla last week and I changed the motor oil, filters and auto trans fluid in both cars today. The BITOG forums have me motivated to try new things. Love to see the pics of the "oil stashes" in the photo forum. Wife thinks I'm nuts !! You guys know what I mean.
P.B.
 
Look for a small screw-in plug on top of the thermostat housing of your fides - my '96 Accord had one. It's the "burp" screw if present. The idea is to loosen it (do NOT remove it!) once you have the fresh coolant in with the engine idling and at normal operating temp until only non-bubbly liquid burbles out, then snug it down. If there's no screw, then your car will self-burp as you drive it. DO make sure you have the heater temperature control knob or lever ALL the way to the hottest setting - that insures that the heater core will get flushed along with the rest of the cooling system. After you've refilled your cars with fresh coolant, periodically slide the lever or turn the knob to the highest heat setting a few seconds for several days to purge any remaining air that might've remained trapped despite your best initial efforts. The "big three" Japanese automakers all use essentially the same antifreeze philosophy regardless of marker dye color. If you want to stay with a Japanese OEM antifreeze, shop for the best price from a Honda, Nissan, or Toyota dealer - they're all close enough chemically to be interchangeable regardless of Japanese engine design and make. Conversely, if you want to save some $$$, buy a jug or two of Zerex G-05. While G-05 isn't identical with the Japanese flavors, it will do nicely. (The Japanese philosophy is to replace unstable high silicate levels with phosphates for quick corrosion protection. G-05 uses stabilized reduced levels of silicates to achieve essentially the same quick protection. Both G-05 and the Japnanese flavors additionally use "OAT" (organic acid technology) for main, long term corrosion protection. G-05, under other names in Europe, has been in use for over two decades, so it does have a track record. (The Mercedes-Benz equivalent is factory and service fill in Mercedes-Benz automobiles.)

About loosening the drain plug(s) on the block . . . I've done it and gotten drenched. (Guess where you'll be in relationship to where the liquid falls if you're lying on the ground or pavement.) Some plugs are cleverly positioned to be behind the exhaust manifold - sometimes requiring that the exhaust manifold be loosened or even removed first. If a wrench can be fit to the plug's head despite close proximity to an exhaust manifold or other obstruction, keep in mind that you'll still need to restart the plug's threads after you drain the block.
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(I'm not saying all block plugs are this difficult - just reconnoiter and plan ahead before you commit yourself.)

If your rides are currently using standard antifreeze (vs. extended-life types), you really want to get as much of it out as possible before going to the expense of an extended-life type. While it's time consuming, multiple distilled water flushes until the effluent drains water-white clear is the best way to achieve that short of removing the block drain plug(s). Finally if either or both your cars have radiators with plastic top and bottom tanks, they're somewhat more vulnerable to cracking if you're clumsy trying to wrestle the bottom radiator hose off. These cars do have radiator drain plugs. They're not the brass valve-style petcocks once common on American cars, though. They're an actual plug (usually plastic with a finger tab and an o-ring sealing washer - which likes to pop free and roll to the most inconvenient location - dog poop, storm drains - you get the idea*). The plugs may face toward the engine or straight down. You may have to remove a plastic air-flow piece for access. They might be tight enough to require a small crescent wrench to loosen, but do not use mechanical leverage when re-installing - finger snug will be fine.

*If you do lose the o-ring, you shouldn't have much trouble locating the right size at a home improvement center's plumbing department.
 
Thanks, guys: I think I will go to the library and read their service manuals and try to find the drains and burp screws. I believe they will let me photocopy pages. This shouldn't go too bad, I'll try not to "break anything" when I go to drain the systems. Hopefully I will get at it this week and I'll let you know how it went
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P.B. (gettin' down & dirty)
 
quote:

Originally posted by Papa Bear:
One more question.... If I plan on doing regular drain and fills on the '93 Accord and '98 Corolla, can I rinse them real good and use conventional green A/F as a fill ??
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P.B.


Yes, that's a good way to go.
 
I would not use conventional high silicate content antifreeze in any all-aluminum engine cooling system. The Japanese specifically no longer recommend it because of the possibility of hard silicate precipitates wreaking havoc with waterpump seals. Besides, old style conventional antifreeze isn't only technically obsolete, it's becoming increasingly difficult to find. Peak still markets it for the time being, dunno about Zerex. Prestone ceased production of their namesake version over a year ago when they settled on their universal extended-life antifreeze, though they may still be blending for private label/store brand sales such as Pep Boys, Autozone, etc.
 
Wal-Mart here in Canada has their house brand called TECH 2000 (hope it's not 5 yrs. old) and they have a universal all-season coolant that is green in color. On the label it says:

"A superior ethylene glycol based product with low silicate corrosion inhibitors. Recommended for domestic and foreign cars and light duty trucks. Meets or exceeds all O.E.M. performance specifications."

Does this sound like a product that would work in the '93 Accord and '98 Corolla if their systems were rinsed thoroughly and drain/fills were done regularly ??

You guys don't need the French version on the label written out here, do ya ??!!
P.B.
 
good stuff, Ray, thanx for the info on types. And thanx for metioning the heater part, I had forgotten about that part of the process. Make sure the heater is on Hot during all steps (not the fan, just the temp setting).
 
Right!
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Final note: during your flushes (if you decide to do it that way), wait until the radiator fan(s) come on TWICE before shutting down and draining. The first time the radiator fan starts indicates the engine is up to normal operating temp, but not that the thermostat has opened and stayed open. The second time, the engine temp has stabilized, the thermostat is open and coolant is now consistently circulating through the radiator.
 
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