Coolant System Help PLEEEASE!!!

[Surfin' Canada]

OK so I decided to replace the coolant in my new 1990 2.4ltd Surf. I know they usually take about 9.5 litres so I made sure I had enough coolant and I began my journey. I opened the rad drain plug and when it stopped draining I filled it with water and a bottle of rad cleaner and ran it for about 10 minutes. Then I re-opened the rad drain plug and flushed it with a hose through the rad cap opening. Once that was finished I began to fill with coolant and water but it only took about 5.5 litres!!! Not the end of the world I thought, I'll just have to purge the air out of the system, but when I checked the color of the coolant through the rad drain, just as I suspected it is a mix of the old red coolant and the new green. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO GET [B]ALL[B] THE COOLANT OUT? IS THERE A DRAIN PLUG ON THE BLOCK THAT I COULDN'T SEE?

Please help me out as I am beginning to get frustrated by my lack of mechanical ability!

[Sancho]

This might help.

http://www.showmesome.info/hilux/workshop/coolant.htm

[MattF]

Did you also have the front and rear heaters on full,
(open), when you drained and flushed?

[Surfin' Canada]

Thats what I followed when I did it!!!

does anyone know if the 2.4's have a drain plug on the block and if so where it is??? There must be a way to get that coolant out!

Please help I'm loosing my mind! And I'm afraid to drive it A) with the mix of the 2 coolants and B) if there is air in the system, I don't want to kill the engine head because of this!

[Surfin' Canada]

Did you also have the front and rear heaters on full,
(open), when you drained and flushed?

Should the engine be running and the heaters on while the coolant is being drained and refilled? Once filled I ran it for quite a while with the heaters on and the rear had heat right away but the front took probably 15minutes and a few real good revs!

[MattF]

Should the engine be running and the heaters on while the coolant is being drained and refilled? Once filled I ran it for quite a while with the heaters on and the rear had heat right away but the front took probably 15minutes and a few real good revs!

No, nope, definitely not. If your rear heater was upto temp
straightaway after flushing and refilling, that would suggest
where some of your old coolant was lurking.

[Sancho]

Thats what I followed when I did it!!!

does anyone know if the 2.4's have a drain plug on the block and if so where it is??? There must be a way to get that coolant out!

Please help I'm loosing my mind! And I'm afraid to drive it A) with the mix of the 2 coolants and B) if there is air in the system, I don't want to kill the engine head because of this!

Yeah , I though that after I stuck it up there. All sounded a bit familiar.

Call me naive, but I would've thought draining your coolant with the engine running would result in lots of hot water going everywhere and your engine being generally unhappy about the whole state of affairs.

[TonyN]

I just drain it, fill it with water, run it up to temp, then drain again and repeat, this will leave you with nearly clear water. Then you can just put the right amount of coolant in, to mix with the water already in there. (about 4-5 liters needed normally) then you can top it off with water again.

Also to save time you can pull the hose of the heater valve, stick a hosepipe in the hose and open the heater valve, then turn the hose on and flush the system this way till clear water comes out the valve. This is a good way of cleaning the heater matrix as well, as your flushing it backwards from the normal direction.

[Surfin' Canada]

Thanks for all the help, I got it all sorted out.
Now I just need to track down the correct oil filter so I can change the oil!!! Its hard to find parts for these trucks here but Toyota should be able to give me a NorthAmerican part number.

[MattF]

Thanks for all the help, I got it all sorted out.
Now I just need to track down the correct oil filter so I can change the oil!!! Its hard to find parts for these trucks here but Toyota should be able to give me a NorthAmerican part number.

If it's an LN130, the following may be helpful:

http://www.sogefifiltration.com/sear...ram&rev=ph5123

That's the list of vehicles for the compatible Fram filter.

[Gazbo]

So are these 2.4's a swine to work on? I found them ok. I have never came across a vehicle, except a BMW & Rover, that has coolant problems? I always get the engines hot on any car before i drop the water, make sure the thermostat is open, this helps! Also, wait until it cools a bit before adding water ect, as heads can worp when cold water is added to a hot engine.