Need help ASAP....quick coolant question

[Chowder Head]

Hey guys, I'd like to get this done before it gets dark. I also have work in the morning so I hope someone can help me out really quickly.

So far I installed a new T-stat (leaking just a little bit though..I put a lot of RTV near the bottom, hopefully that stops it. Think will work?) and successfully flushed my coolant. I even put the radiator cleaner in, ran the car for 10 mins with heater on, and then dumped that.

Now my question is before I add just the water, run that, and then start to fill the coolant back up, is there a way to drain the plastic, overfill bottle? You know, the one that says FULL HOT and FULL COLD. I only see the pet-**** for the radiator and I'd like to be running just distilled water, not water from the garden hose.

Thank you!

 

[bill302]

pull the hose that connects the overfill bottle to the waterneck at the waterneck and let it fall between radiator and motor into a bucket the hose will have to be below the bottom of the overfill bottle to completely empty.....hope you can understand what im saying good luck.... also you can premix 50/50 or 70/30 before pouring into radiator and overflow...

 

[Chowder Head]

pull the hose that connects the overfill bottle to the waterneck at the waterneck and let it fall between radiator and motor into a bucket the hose will have to be below the bottom of the overfill bottle to completely empty.....hope you can understand what im saying

You lost me, lol.

I went a looking just now and it felt like it was just a plastic jug that's bolted in. I felt around the bottom of the plastic jug and it there was nothing I could see I could unplug. No wires, no bolts, nothing. Just the jug.

However, I kinda shook it and it felt like there was just a little amount at the bottom. I thought it would be all the way up at the full cold for a reason. Strange, lol.

I have just two more questions. This waterneck you speak of...where should I look to find it? Better yet, any pictures of it?

And lastely, the jug itself seemed a little brown in there. I think it something that would benefit a little cleaning out. How exactly would I go about doing that? Would I have to pull the plastic jug out?

Thanks again, and thank you Bill for the quick reply!

 

[Saleen0679]

You should have a hose going from the neck of the radiator to the bottom driver's side of the coolant reservoir.

If you want to thoroughly clean the reservoir it's easy enough to remove. I think there is only the one bolt and it slides off the bracket.

 

[bill302]

the hose at the waterneck you can remove to drain overflow bottle is just under the radiator cap you remove to add coolant, and to clean use the water hose as its draining.but it is easily removed as Saleen0679 stated....

 

[srothfuss]

Best way to get the overflow bottle clean:

You will need to fill up the over flow at least half way
Get some garden hose (or similar) and insert the tube all the way to the bottom
Hold the rest of the hose up (vertical almost) and fill the hose with water
Use your thumb to plug the hose and insert the "thumb" end into a dry bucket
If you do this, you will syphone out all of the water in the bottle w/o making a mess.

~good luck

 

[87'GTstang]

Or you can just unbolt the middle and top bolts and pull it out of the tab slots on the bottom by simply lifting up on the whole thing (disconnect the overflow feed line from the radiator also). Then just do what you want with it to get it all cleaned up......

Go easy on the silicone, a lot of inexperienced do-it-yourselfers tend to use a lot of RTV and the like because they think it seals better. What squeezes out also squeezes in when you bolt something up, and that stuff can cause some pretty decent damage in terms of what it can clog/stop up.

 

[HISSIN50]

I also remove it for cleaning.

 

[Chowder Head]

Or you can just unbolt the middle and top bolts and pull it out of the tab slots on the bottom by simply lifting up on the whole thing (disconnect the overflow feed line from the radiator also). Then just do what you want with it to get it all cleaned up......

Okay, I went out to the car tonight to see what you guys were talking about. I finally saw the overflow feed line...it it wasn't any closer to the radiator cap, it would of smacked me in the face, lol.

I tried to loosen the top bolt that is right by the plastic cap and it was loosened with no problems. Now the middle bolt you speak of, how do I access that? I'm guessing that holds up the black backet that surrounds the plastic jug? I hope so, because it seemed like the bracket had to be taken out for the jug to be removed.

Any help is again appreciated, thank you!

 

[onefstsnake]

Or you could just take off the entire shroud with the tank still on it...

Just have to unbolt the fan first...

 

[Saleen0679]

Okay, I went out to the car tonight to see what you guys were talking about. I finally saw the overflow feed line...it it wasn't any closer to the radiator cap, it would of smacked me in the face, lol.

I tried to loosen the top bolt that is right by the plastic cap and it was loosened with no problems. Now the middle bolt you speak of, how do I access that? I'm guessing that holds up the black backet that surrounds the plastic jug? I hope so, because it seemed like the bracket had to be taken out for the jug to be removed.

Any help is again appreciated, thank you!

The center bolt can be taken out with a ratchet, short extension and a socket. After that I think it just wiggles up and out. It's been a while since I've taken mine out, but it was basically a no brainer.