Today I finished changing the upper radiator hose, getting it out was to say it mildly a ride thru the gates of hell during the summer. Those clamps and the hose were fused to the firewall in ways I can not explain (I think it was the original hose) anyway, when this hose started to spray coolant all over the engine(because it did) I was under the impression that my car didnt have any coolant left, so I used water to get the car home(because it happened while i was away) anytime i added water, the water would turn green after a while, and when i finally disconnected the hose at one end, more green liquid came pouring down, which I replaced with water. THe point is that I have been using water to drive my car for about a week, thinking I could just drain the radiator later to adjust the levels of water and coolant. when I finally replaced the hose, I found that the plug to drain the radiator will not come off, I tried ecerything, to the point of almost breaking that sucker and was NOT able to get it off, so I just added a bit of coolant to a bunch of water that was already circulating but i'm now worried that I have too much water vs coolant in the system and I'm afraid the car will overheat again. I guess my question is: Do I have more coolant in there than I think? In other words, coolant sits lower than the hose I disconnected and therefore tho lots of coolant were lost when i disconnected the hose, was most of it saved because it sits down on the bottom of the system where it would only drain tru the plug? any info would help out, also how much coolnat and water does my car take?

 

If I were you, I grab a pliers and twist the stop **** on the bottom of the radiator off and drain the coolant. The stopcock is plastic and so is the bottom of the radiator, so they couldn't have bonded together.

There is a drain plug on the engine block you can drain fluid with too, but I don't know the exact location, I believe it's directly left of the oil filter.

Once the coolant is drained, reinstall all the drain plugs and fill the system through the radiator cap with a funnel. Use a coolant mixture of 50/50 (you can get it premixed) and then bleed the coolant system. To bleed - run the engine and loosen the 10mm bleeder screw on the thermostat housing. When the engine is warm, the thermostat will open and push the air out of the bleeder screw, close it when a steady stream of fluid comes out.

Top off the radiator and then top off the coolant reservoir to the middle of the two lines.

 

regarding the drain plug for the engine. i searched all around the oil filter and in the location that the haynes manual says it was located but i was unable to find it. i even loosened a few bolts before giving up when i saw engine oil on the inside. i had already drained the oil so i wouldn't try just going after bolts unless you know which one it is or if you also drain your oil.

ill post a picture tomorrow of the radiator drain for ya if you still can't locate it. it will help to take off the cap on the top of the radiator(wait for car to cool down first) before trying to drain it due to pressure.

 

To bleed the system, can I just run the engine with the radiator cap off and wait for the bubbles?

 

Yes, but I'm not sure if it bleeds it 100%

 

To clarify though, the plug to drain the radiator sits at the bottom of the radiator, I know where it is, I just for my life can not get it to turn.

 

It can be very tight, I bet you can loosen it with a pliers before it breaks.

 

yessir some good pliers are your best bet but if for some reason you are having trouble keeping the pliers on it and turning then try a pair of vise grips(lock down on it just a little). you don't wanna break the plug as its made of plastic