Does b18a1 DA9 have radiator drain plug

[Chriskoss]

Hello fine ladies + gents

On the da9 owners manual it says you have to drain coolant via a bolt on the block..

but is there a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator i can drain the coolant from?

I just want to add newer coolant without having to do a whole coolant system flush

I tried looking but to no avail..

Thankyou

[tayl51601]

Normally you have to drain the coolant from that drain bolt on the block.
Other wise you wont get the old coolant out from around the cylinders, wouldnt know how it works on a B18A1 but the b16a and b18c's drain bolt is easy to get to, i would have thought yours would be similar.

[string]

It's a little plastic guy with a wing-nut head and it's in the bottom corner of the radiator coming out of the side.

Good luck getting the front bolt off, it's tight as hell.

[Chriskoss]

Normally you have to drain the coolant from that drain bolt on the block.
Other wise you wont get the old coolant out from around the cylinders, wouldnt know how it works on a B18A1 but the b16a and b18c's drain bolt is easy to get to, i would have thought yours would be similar.

Thanks for that dude..

Do you know how to do a flush of all the old coolant then, more than just the old coolant from the radiator. Can I stick in a hose somewhere and flush it all out?

[FR33K]

its on the driver side.. and yeah can be an absolute bitch to get off sometimes
make sure you get a new o-ring too so it doesnt leak when you put it back on..

otherwise you could try taking off the bottom coolant pipe and you'll flsuh some old coolant out of it

[Chriskoss]

Oh yeah never thought taking off the bottom hose.. might try that actually.

Cheers!

[CRXer]

bottom hose still wont drain the water jackets,thermostat is still higher up.
if u dont want to jack the passenger side of your car up 90deg,u gotta remove the drain bolt(just next to the engine number btw) & has crush washer not an o-ring,use some sealant on the thread as well.

strings right its a bitch to get loose,u need like a lever socket arrangement that u can hammer on.

i think u'll find most people dont even bother draining the block,even the shops,the shops prob just flush new coolant thru the block,if at all....

[Chriskoss]

So what should I do..

my coolant is old.. my car overheated on the f3 to newcastle had to get nrma guy out. he said head gasket is ok.. and just put water to fill it up. I dont want to be driving on water in the radiator for too long or it will rust.. so what should I do ??

[tayl51601]

The drain bolt is not that hard to get off, if you have a hex set of sockets it should come off alright with a bit of muscle behind the bar without stripping the head. I wouldnt suggest trying to take it off with out hex sockets, trust me i have f**ked up a few bolts with the wrong tools lol

Thats the proper way to do it, i also didnt bother with the drain bolt when i first flushed my coolant but it doesnt do a proper job. There is about 1 or 2 litres of coolant in the block and unless you get it all out its just going to mix with the new stuff........

If you cant find the bolt post a pic of the front area of the block and someone if not me can point out the right bolt to take off.

[Chriskoss]

I know where the drain bolt on the block is but I wanted to just empty the radiator.. hose it out and add new coolant.. but is it dumb to do this as theres old coolant in the block itself.. so how do I get the old coolant out? is it safe to try hose out as much as I can?

Excuse my noobness I've never done this on a honda engine before only an old holden 6cylinder carby lol which is alot easier

[CRXer]

prob with the bolt is it has such a shallow head & u need to impact it most of the time to break the sealant.
just take it down a local shop & get them to break it loose for u,if u are that concerned & cant get it loose yourself.

[Chriskoss]

Yeah but my question is how do i correctly flush all the old coolant out of the engine + radiator so I can add in ready-mixed new coolant..

thanks