DIY: Coolant change (EG/EK/DC2)

[vtecster]

the drain bolt on the block is not necessary to use as after it has been opened will need to be tighten n sealed back up its not recommended.. great diy btw

[wynode]

yes you can just leave the car running till the fans turn on

Or just put the cap on loosely (ie not all the way till it locks)

[mpk_3]

i have a dc2 and currently flushing the coolant. i have loosened the radiator drain plug and emptied the reservoir.
but i cant loosen the drain bolt at the block. the thing wont move! do i need to loosen it still? cheers

[wynode]

i have a dc2 and currently flushing the coolant. i have loosened the radiator drain plug and emptied the reservoir.
but i cant loosen the drain bolt at the block. the thing wont move! do i need to loosen it still? cheers

You don't HAVE to undo it so if it isn't coming off, don't worry too much about it (especially if you've been changing coolant reasonably regularly).

[mpk_3]

thanks for that. how much coolant will flow out of it say if i manage to undo the bolt? thanks

[grifty]

thanks for that. how much coolant will flow out of it say if i manage to undo the bolt? thanks

none because all of the coolant has already drained from the radiator drain bolt.

[mpk_3]

cool thanks!

[RtN]

thought some would still be in the block.

[grifty]

thought some would still be in the block.

i just usually jack the car up abit on the opposite side of the drain plug to make sure all of it comes out

[d1zzo]

this helpd alot

[crobaa]

Can anybody tell me where the bleed nipple for the cooling system is on dc2r?

[Integra-GSi]

the drain bolt on the block is not necessary to use as after it has been opened will need to be tighten n sealed back up its not recommended.. great diy btw

This, don't remove the bleed valve from the top of the block unless its already leaking. It's a bitch to get it to go back in and sealed properly... Just take the drain plug out of the bottom of the block and flush the rest of the system out with a hose once you've disconnected the top and bottom radiator pipes to remove any old coolant left in the system. Trust me, I rang my local Honda dealer service department, they said the same thing. Just take the cap off the radiator, after you've started the car once its full and make sure you don't have an airlock, there should be no bubbles under idle when you squeeze the radiator piping, just "burp" it the traditional way by squeezing any air out of the radiator pipe until you have no bubbles. As the Honda service department said it's more trouble than what its worth to do it the way it says in the manual.

Also because the top of your radiator is plastic, take caution and just remove the pipe from the head of your engine when you're flushing the radiator out and not the other end which is connected to the radiator itself, particularly if the plastic on your radiator top is looking discoloured otherwise you may just cost yourself a more expensive and time consuming job of finding and fitting a new radiator.

The manuals way of doing it is LE WRONG! don't follow it...

noob question but where is the heater temp control lever?

When it says make sure your heater temperature control lever is open it means the slider on the inside of your car. This is so the coolant drains out of your heater matrix and you don't contaminate your new coolant with old crap, or unnecessarily corrode your heater matrix any more than what it has already been with old coolant. Do remember to undertake this step BEFORE you go about disconnecting all of the hoses for your radiator.

hey guys i thought this would be an interesting read about tectaloy coolants,
http://www.subaclub.com/TechTalk/morethan.htm
and also theres someone bichin about the use of aftermarket coolants here:
http://www.subaclub.com/TechTalk/CoolantCaution.htm

" Good Coolants should have good anti foaming properties. When Coolants foam it affects the operation of the water pump, by creating air bubbles, this also affects the cooling system to dissipate heat and overheating is likely. Secondly foaming can cause more corrosion called cavitation corrosion or erosion, it forms in high turbulence areas, such as around the water pump. A quick test to check a products anti foaming properties is to shake the container, there should be almost nil, 5 seconds is the maximum limit for the foam to disappear."

Seriously, just go to your Honda dealer and buy the proper Type II coolant, it doesn't cost that much more and it does a better job than the green or red shit you get from Super Cheap, it doesn't need to be mixed and whats more it lasts longer at least than the green shit. Even then when Honda's coolant was green... It's now blue... It's not the same cheap and nasty stuff you get from Super Cheap or etc, it's rated for long service intervals as opposed to standard. It's also rated for the proper operating temperatures.

The other Nulon red stuff and the cheap and nasty green stuff you get is not properly rated for use in Hondas. From memory you can get the full 5 litres of Honda Type II coolant for something around the order of $50, it's really not that expensive. I don't understand people who skimp $20 on parts, or coolant that could cost them thousands if they break down. Cheap oil and coolant is cheap most of the time because its shit.