Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior Engine coolant.

Yea, my celica isn't under warranty anymore so they said that it will be 109 dollars to flush out the coolant from the engine and the radiator. And I don't have that money right now so I was wondering if there was an easy way for me to do it?Has anyone on here done it before?

Yeah, it's not hard. To drain the radiator, just reach your hand down on the right side (standing at the front bumper facing your car) of the radiator and loosen the petcock. (Make sure you have a drain pan there first.)

I couldn't find the engine drain plug, but I'm pretty sure no mechanic, including the dealer, actually uses the engine drain. They just drain the radiator. If you want to flush it, fill it back up with just water, run it for a while, then let it cool and drain it again. You can do that a couple of times until the water comes out fairly clear. If you flush it, you'll need to add mostly coolant to get the right mix, since there will already be quite a bit of water in the engine.

I changed my radiator fluid after 3 years, and the stuff I drained looked just like what I put in, so I don't think it needed it very badly.

This maybe an incredible stupid question but it won't hydrolock if I put water in the radiator, right?

No, the water just circulates through the engine block, it doesn't go into the cylinders. The reason you don't use water as the only coolant for normal operation is that it freezes at too high a temperature and boils at too low a temperature.