Coolant/antifreeze change
 

Hey guys, id like to do a minor tune up and change my plugs as well as the coolant/anti-freeze. I have never changed the coolant on this vehicle. IS there a small drain plug on the rad? if so what side. Where is the block plug located?

I just did my ford f150 for the first time last week, wasnt too bad. couldnt believe how nasty and dirty the old coolant was.

If anyone has a post or link with steps and pictures for the Alero, that would be great.

Or when i do mine, i will take pictures of the steps to make things easier for everyone.

Thanks

I don't know where (or if) there is a freeze plug on the radiator. I just removed the lower radiator hose, and the thermostat housing (installed a new t-stat at the same time). It was very easy, the hardest part was getting the t-stat housing off.

When you have everything reinstalled, the bleed valve on this engine is just above the water pump. I could have sworn there were actually 2 valves, but I just went and checked, and I can't find the other one! I may be thinking of a different engine, though. Maybe someone else knows?

This is if he has the 3400. The 2.2l and the 2.4l didn't have a bleed valve.

The drain on the radiator is on the front drivers side. Its kind of a dumb design, it turns and pulls out a little but not all the way out.

You should need to pull the plug out of the block to flush the system. I would, I have the 3400 V6, pull the upper radiator hose off the t stat housing, pull the t stat out and put the housing back on. Take a garden hose and put it in the housing where the radiator hose went. Turn that f'er on high and start the engine. MAKE SURE THE HOSE DOESN'T COME OUT. Keep it running till the water coming out the radiator is clear. Shut the motor off, turn hose off, drain radiator, put t stat and hose back on, and fill up with a 50/50 mix. Run the engine and open bleed screw till no more air comes out.

Don't do it unless you feel comfortable doing.

I just did it on my F150 pick up a couple of weeks ago. Basically you attach a 3/8 tube to the rad's drain tube then the rad also has a small plug that you unscrew part way and pull out, that way the coolant runs out of the tube you attached into a bucket, to avoid spillage. Once the rad is empty, then go to the block drain plug, undo that and a whole lot of fluid came out of there also. Took the garden hose and flushed it through the coolant resovoir and let it drain through the engine block plug until clear water came out. put the block drain plug back on, re opened the Rad's plug again to let the remaining hose water out. Then refilled with 50/50.

Where is the drain plug on the block for this car? I have the v6 3.4L