Time to flush and replace the coolant in my 2007 LR3 with a rear heater/AC

A brief history: The service manual of my 2009 Volvo C30 with the Turbo 5 cylinder engine requires a vacuum be pulled on the coolant reservoir to get all of the coolant out since the turbo is behind the engine and the cooling lines run up over the head and valve cover. (not the best design)

I found a young genius who did not have a vacuum pump recommend a different approach from….. wait for it…… the internet. (no surprise there, I am sure)

Basic concept is:
Drain radiator, fill with distilled water;
Open coolant reservoir;
Start engine;
Turn on heater and fans to full heat, high fan setting;
Open drain petcock at the bottom of the radiator and let it run out at a moderate rate;
As the engine circulates the coolant, keep reservoir at proper level until clean distilled water runs out of drain petcock;
Change to 50/50 blend of coolant and water and keep adding until the color draining out is the same as what is going in (he recommended ½ gallon more than the listed capacity);
Close drain petcock;
Close reservoir cap and let the car come up to operating temp;
Let cool, then top off as needed.

It worked for the Volvo and did not need topping off afterward.

Now my question is this.….Will the coolant plumbing of the 4.4 V8 allow me to substitute a valve and hose from the infamous t connector over the intake manifold for the drain petcock on the radiator and follow the same basic concept?

As we all know the normal drain / fill / drive / drain / fill / drive, top off method as described in the service manual is not very efficient and may not guarantee a complete flush

Jeff

 

I don't see why you couldn't. I built my own t out of brass fittings. It does care if there is a cap or a valve as long as it seals.

 

 

I did say valve and hose. I intent to run it into the catch bucket by the front wheel as it leaves the system. I think the idea is let the engine circulate the coolant and draw it off at a rate I can control until I have replaced all of the coolant with distilled water, then replace that with 50/50 coolant distilled water mix.

My thought is it will need to to come up to operating temp to get everything out of the radiator as well, I will make sure the IIDTool is in place for an accurate temp reading while I do this.

I will try this this weekend and report back on my success/failure.

Jeff

 

You wont replace the coolant, all you'll do is dilute it to a point that you wont see the colour of it.

 

Well, as they say the best laid plans of mice and men……..

I had to drive the rover up to get a sheet of plywood for a home project and noticed a pulsing noise coming from under the hood. Since the alternator, belts, idler wheel fan holder bearing thing and tensioners were all new, I guessed it was either the coolant pump or air conditioner compressor.

The air conditioner would be a project for the local shop; the pump, I could fix.

And so, I started to tear into……

Long story short, I had to follow the manual to drain and fill the coolant as I installed a new coolant pump, new thermostat housing and made a good cleaning of the MAP and throttle body, which made for good wholesome Sunday afternoon family entertainment.

Sometimes a good idea is just that… an idea. I may re-address this later, but thanks for the input and suggestions, I will use it to further study the routing of the coolant lines and find a good place to tap into it for flushing.

Jeff