coolant draining? (1 Viewer)

[ivanhoe]

hi,
i have to drain my 78fj45 2f coolant and not trying to make a mess. there's no drain cock on the rad, ?!?!?!?! any inside trick on doing so without flipping the truck upside down? maybe squish the bottom hose and remove from the rad would probably help somewhat on the mess issue!

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

Loosen the lower radiator hose and drain it into a bucket. If you don't plan on keeping the lower hose, cut a hole in it so you can drain it a little slower.

 

[bsevans]

hi,
i have to drain my 78fj45 2f coolant and not trying to make a mess. there's no drain cock on the rad, ?!?!?!?! any inside trick on doing so without flipping the truck upside down? maybe squish the bottom hose and remove from the rad would probably help somewhat on the mess issue!

That's strange. I do not know why Toyota would put a drain cock on the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side on my '78 FJ40 and not put one on a '78 FJ45. You're absolutely sure there is not one that drains next to the cross member?

 

[r80ranger]

Promise there is a drain plug. Unless the radiator had a problem and someone welded the opening. I've seen stranger things than that. Pull the bottom hose. Good Luck.

 

[FF LC FREAK]

That's strange. I do not know why Toyota would put a drain cock on the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side on my '78 FJ40 and not put one on a '78 FJ45. You're absolutely sure there is not one that drains next to the cross member?

Maybe its not the stock radiator?

X2 on a big bucket and removing the lower radiator hose.

Good luck!

 

[vtcruiser60]

There is a drain cock on the side of the 2F engine, below the exhaust manifold and close to the firewall. Using it will relieve most of the coolant in the water jacket, but not touch the stuff in the radiator.

 

[vtcruiser60]

Oh...drain it over grass if you can and keep the pets inside. You'll spill...for sure.

 

[IDave]

Maybe its not the stock radiator?

X2 on a big bucket and removing the lower radiator hose.

Good luck!

The currently available replacement radiators seem to have draincocks flush with the bottom of the radiator. They can be reached through the radiator support with long skinny-nosed pliers, but they ain't easy to get at like the stockers with that long drain.

 

[crazylandcruiser]

yea my 75 radiator had one on the pasenger side bottom part of the radiator. mine was so rusted and crapped up i did the hose trick but double check under there. GL

 

[Adolf]

Need to do the same on my FJ40! Now, with what to fill again is the question. Some recommend distilled water only and others recommend distilled water with antifreeze! Surely distilled water is the best to go, but why antifreeze if it never gets cold! I know that a bit of antifreeze also helps in hot climate!

What would you guys recommend?

 

[Colorado Boy-74-FJ40]

Anti freeze not only helps combat freezing temperatures, it also lubricates the water pump and keeps the gaskets and seals from hardening. In a warm climate you still want to run at lease 30 - 40 % antifreeze mixture (30% antifreeze- 70% distilled water). In cold climates you want to run 50 - 60 % antifreeze. Never straight antifreeze. Too thick and will not dissipate heat very well. Distilled water is a good idea, there will be much less minerals that will build up in the radiator. I don't use it. I flush the radiator every two to three years or so and don't have much build up.

 

[dfmorse]

Remove the splash guard (6 bolts) and look at the bottom of radiator; should be a drain cock on the PS ... Get a long neck funnel ( auto parts store) and a few empty, clean plastic milk gal containers. That should get u started.

...

 

[theo]

I bought my '76 from the second owner's son. It had 112,000 miles on it and the radiator had no drain petcock. (Yes, I'm sure of it and no it wasn't flush or on the other side or whatever.) I assumed it was stock but probably not now I think about it. That was one of the most spaz things I've seen and it was a mess every time I pulled the hose to change coolant.

When I had the radiator reconditioned I had them weld a petcock into it and I'm good to go now.

So Ivanhoe, after you drain yours (and make a huge mess because the biggest bucket in the world isn't going to catch it all) you could get a radiator shop to install a drain. Just a thought.

 

[chajazz]

hey did yall replace your with toyota red??

 

[Blue77FJ40]

On the stock radiator, there will be a brass drain plug on the passenger side at the end of a ~3 inch tube. On aftermarket rads, there will be no tube, only a petcock that's a bit hard to reach. I cut up a long socket just for that sucker until I had a stock rad rebuilt.

As VTcruiser says, there is also a drain on the drivers side of the block. I put a bucket under each as I'm draining. Our municipality has recycle containers for the coolant. Any splllage should be hosed thoroughly to avoid accidental poisoning of pets.

 

[JB740i]

Remove the splash guard (6 bolts) and look at the bottom of radiator; should be a drain cock on the PS ... Get a long neck funnel ( auto parts store) and a few empty, clean plastic milk gal containers. That should get u started.

...

If you use milk jugs, make sure you go dump it out soon afterwards. Last time I drained my BMW into milk jugs the container broke down within a few weeks. Would of leaked all over my workbench if it hadn't been in a drain pan.

 

[ivanhoe]

i wouldn't of ask a stupid question after looking at my other trucks, 73 & 76 fj40's. they don't have it either????!! a closer look is in the works tomorrow.
thank fellas!