How to drain your coolant! My 300ZX Z31

[@thecarman3693]

0:20 There are actually two spigots that allow draining the coolant from the engine block ... one on either side. I simply run a piece of clear plastic tubing from each into a drain pan, usually the one that was used for the radiator.

[@retrowolfe9972]

Good quality video we need more z31 videos. Thanks dude.

[@fan7asy]

you're a godsend for these videos, also my z looks almost exactly like yours lol

[@TrafVal]

Helpful video, thanks! I need to jack mine up before attempting, but I can see mine has a big catch pan (belly pan? splash pan? not sure about terminology) underneath the engine. I don't know if I can get to it without removing it or not. I'll end up removing it anyway because i need the room and access, but thought I'd mention for others.

[@TheZGarage]

Ah yes. All the Z31's came with an under-tray but almost all of them were removed and never put back on so its a very rare occurrence to have one on your car. Pretty cool in my opinion!

[@ninjameep8616]

Can you do a video on how to replace the power steering fluid? Your videos are very very well done

[@TheZGarage]

I don't think i would make a video because I don't know what the official method is but I just loosened the lowest possible hard line on the rack I could find and then turned the steering wheel back and forth until only a little fluid was coming out. I would recommend having the car up on jacks to make it easier. Then just tighten the line again and refill. Move the wheel from side to side again and fill the reservoir as needed. That should get most of the old fluid out. You could repeat it a few times if you were really committed.

[@thecarman3693]

1:51 Thanks ... now I gotta pee.

[@theangrygamer5125]

Do you put the coolant in the top part where the cap is next to the header?

[@blackpsalmmusic9180]

I fill the engine to full through the radiator cap, and up to the full line in the reservoir, run it for 20 minutes or so, let it sit, then check levels again

[@cvptvinwavy69]

Do you know what color coolant goes in a 300zx? I just bought a 300 zx and it currently has orange coolant in the system

[@TheZGarage]

Sounds like someone put dexcool in yours. I usually use generic green coolant. I prefer the prestone coolant with corrosion prevention additives

[@Beb1to6969]

How much coolant does the z31 take ?

[@88HELLJUMPER88]

I know this video was posted a few years ago, but I gotta give it a try. My radiator drain plug busted out when I was trying to take it out, taking the whole bolt fitting with it. So my radiator is busted. Where can I reliably find a new or refurbished radiator to replace it?

[@TheZGarage]

Rockauto should have some. If not check on ebay. They tend to be pretty good quality

[@88HELLJUMPER88]

@@TheZGarage damn man, a speedy reply on a 3 year old video. You may have just become my #1 Z KZbinr.

[@TheZGarage]

I've just got notifications on my phone and too much free time haha

[@88HELLJUMPER88]

@@TheZGarage fair enough man, I know the feeling haha. Anyways, much appreciated. I checked out your other videos and it seems you've done a lot of the same things I wanna do with my Z. So I'll be watching quite a bit more of your videos for sure!

[@devynlonardo9252]

When you drain the radiator does it also drain the coolant in reservoir?

[@TheZGarage]

No. The coolant reservoir only fills the coolant system when it is under vacuum. So if you had a small leak the coolant system would pressurize as it gets hot, leak a bit, and then when it cooled down again it would actually have a vacuum because of the lost fluid. That is what sucks in new coolant from the reservoir

[@devynlonardo9252]

@@TheZGarage thanks a lot man your videos help a lot

[@TheZGarage]

No problem! Glad I could help!

[@mo.ali7]

Is necessary to drain the engine block too ? Because I just drained the radiator and flushed it sufficiently. But the warning lamp appears again sometime. What do you suggest to diagnose?

[@mo.ali7]

Thanks a lot. You are absolutely right. I just filled that tank with water and the warning lamp got cleared.

[@samzortman8682]

What type of coolant did you use

[@TheZGarage]

Standard green coolant should be fine for these engines

[@samzortman8682]

@@TheZGarage that's what I was thinking it was going to be

[@XxskillfullxX]

Where did you get that radiator cap?

[@TheZGarage]

I got it and the oil cap on ebay quite a while back. I think I just searched up Z billet oil cap and it popped up. Not sure if it's still available

[@APieceOfJustice]

I unbolted the engine block drain bolt and nothing came out. I already flushed the radiator just now but shouldn’t there be anything coming out?

[@TheZGarage]

Has your car been sitting for a while? There's a chance it's got a lot of sludge or corrosion in it which is blocking it. If that's the case you may want to run a cooling system cleaner like the royal purple "purple ice" (I think that's the name) to clean everything out and then drain it again

[@APieceOfJustice]

The Z Garage thanks for taking the time! Yes I’ll do that right now :) and let you know :)

[@APieceOfJustice]

The Z Garage looked up that stuff and it says don’t use with any blockage or corrosion, is “Royal purple, purple ice super coolant”the one you’re referring to?

[@TheZGarage]

@@APieceOfJustice yeah but I might be thinking of the wrong thing. Just look up cooling system flush and get one of those. I think the royal purple one is called royal flush. But anything should work

[@APieceOfJustice]

The Z Garage going to pick some up right now. Thanks for taking the time 👍

[@ant1965gaming]

Hi have bought one of these last October and i am currently replacing the water pump, my car turns on so my question is do i have to drain the engine block to or if I turn it on will the coolant make its way to the radiator?

[@TheZGarage]

You would want to drain the block to get all of the residual coolant out of the engine so you have as much good coolant in the system. When filling it back up, you will want to put the car up on ramps or something to make the front of the car higher up in the air to help air bleed out of the system. Then you fill it, and turn the car on letting it warm up to temp so the thermostat opens and allows any trapped air out. Then you put the rad cap on, and turn the car off, allowing it to suck any extra coolant it needs from the expansion tank. You may need to do this process a few times to fully bleed the system

[@ant1965gaming]

OK thank you very much for the tips ill let you know how it goes