Engine coolant I am wanting to change the engine coolant in my 2003 Mazda6. I checked the specifications in my owners manual which said this should only be done by authorized Mazda dealer and that it takes 7.5 litres. I decided that it could not be to hard so bought 2.5 litres of coolant which makes up 7.5 litres and got to it. I have removed the bung to drain out the old stuff but am only getting a couple of litres at most. I can see that there is still coolant in the plastic resevoir. How do I drain out the old coolant. Please help. Fran

You need maybe 1+1/2 gallon of distilled water;NOT TAP WATER and 1 gallon of Mazda Coolant; NOT 50/50 mix..

((WHEN THE ENGINE/COOLANT IS COOL>>VERY IMPORTANT!!!))

1.from the radiator, remove the drain plug, let it drain. for faster drain, also remove the resevoir cap.

2.when empty, put drain plug back on refill the resevior with the distilled water until full.

3.with the resevior cap off start engine with heat settings on Hi, until the coolant temp guage begin to rise or when thermostat opens. turn off engine.

4. repeat steps 1-3 until only clear water drains.

5.make sure drain plug is in, refill resevior with Mazda coolant til about half way (in case there's any expansion), do not put cap on yet, let the air bleed. start engine, let it run for 5 min.

6. accelerate in park/neutral to 2500RPM's (DO NOT drive yet) to help bleed the air keep an eye on coolant level because you will have to top it off.

7.check level as temp reaches normal; half point as usual. put resevior cap on drive around the block and check level again. make sure coolant is on the proper level; "F" or "MAX"...of course when the engine cools it will be below, but while the temp is normal it should be on the proper level.

You wil need to syphon the coolant out of the resivoir, or another option, if my memory is correct you will need to remove the fans (because the resivoir and fans are 1 unit), and tip upside down to empty. this may be a bit hard considering the room between the radiator and engine.

is the coolant dirty? I.E rusty? if it isnt i would suggest replacing the bung and filling with coolant, running untill engine is hot and radiator fans start up, and air con blows hot air. if it is dirty, you will have to remove the top and bottom radiator hose and squirt water into the top hose untill the water coming out of the bottom hose is only water, then replace every thing, top up with anti-freeze ONLY, and run engine untill hot, fans kick in and air con blows hot.

hope this helps.

Take the cap off of the radiator

The reason they say it should be done by dealer is that they run it through a machine that actually pumps out the old fluid while putting in fresh fluid while the car is running. Your only option would be to start it and run all the old fluid out (via a hose) and then put in fresh fluid