where is the cooling drain plug on MPI block?
OK,
so after cooking the crap out of my motor coming home in grid locked peak with a dodgy radiator cap I found a pinhole in my radiator - looks like one of the cable-ties that holds the harness together under the radiator support pannel had roteted forward and wiggled between the cores.
Getting a new radiator was easy - went an ADRAD 26mm auto radiator (manual was 16mm core) and all of my manual radiator fans attached without issue - a good heavy-duty upgrade.
only problem was I couldn't find the drain plug on the block to dump the coolant and rad flush solution.
see below the crap pic from the manuals, only specifies GDI but the MPI and GDI shar common block liniage - the Nm is the giveaway.
The only bolts I could find without dropping the AC mount off the block were the ones that hold the thermostat on - all 25Nm bolts.
In the end I gave up - will run the coolant for a few months and dump/dilute a new batch in.
New coolant
Most of the time, no one bother with the plug, 2 or 3 flush, till the water is clean does the job (if done regularly)....I will add one thing to Fordem "how to" . Always put the inside heater fully "on" for clean water to go through it and air to get out of it, on some car it is vital.... For the concentration of the product, check the manual to find the quantity of water. You can buy a cheap coolant hydrometer if you want to make sure about the proper concentration, like this one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ANTI-FREEZE-TESTER-TOOL-460MM-RADIATOR-FLUID-COOLANT-HYDROMETER-CAR-AUTOMOTIVE-/190814587432?pt=UK_Cars_Parts_Vehicles_Other_Vehicle_Parts_Accessories_ET&hash=item2c6d6f8a28
Happy io
Syndicate
First - I've never looked for the block drain.
Not all vehicles have block drains, and none of the Suzukis I've had, have had them, how I do a coolant flush is like this.
You need to know the capacity of the cooling system and to purchase the undiluted or concentrated coolant, not the "pre-mix"
Drain the radiator, and refill with plain water, start the engine & allow to idle until the thermostat opens and coolant circulates, repeat this drain/refill cycle until the coolant coming out of the radiator is clear (shows no trace of the coolant color).
After the last drain, measure the required amount of undiluted coolant and pour into the radiator and then top up with plain water, start the engine & allow to idle to mix the coolant - you can then "burp" any trapped air and top up - at this point I prepare my own 50% coolant mix for topping up.
Using this method you can get pretty close to the recommended 50% coolant mix without knowing how much water was left in the block - simply because you know how much the entire cooling system holds.