How To Flush And Refill Coolant on a MR2 Mk1

Today we look at the full procedure involved in draining, flushing and refilling the coolant on your mk1 mr2. In our next video we will be going for our first drive on the roads in 12 years and going for our first mot!
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#toyotamr2mk1 #restoration #resto_nation

[@feral4mr2]

Been a aw11 owner and enthusiast for 25 years. Best way to drain, flush and refill the coolant on a aw11 is have the ass end up higher than the front. Works everytime.

[@seancurtin5131]

Terrific and I'm ever so glad you put this up because WAY to many people think you can just fill it up and the system will sort itself out. IT DOESN'T and the procedure is also detailed in the Toyota service manual as well. Extremely important and many MR2 motors have been cooked due to people not following the correct procedure. Another point would be to use the RED genuine Toyota coolant only. Don't just put any old coolant in there, it's often the reason why you get yucky coolant systems in a lot of MR2 MK1 examples. In fact I'd go so far as to say if the previous owner didn't use the proper genuine Toyota coolant then you may want to walk away. It really doesn't cost much more than the generic stuff and hey it's there till the next major service. Also don't let a mechanic that argues with you about this procedure touch your MR2. Drive on fellow MR2 enthusiasts.

[@Resto.Nation]

Cheers 👍🏻. I used vw grade long life coolant that was the same spec as the manual stated. Not that it mattered in the end... but more on that in another video 😉

[@TheBilliardCorner]

Thanks for the video :) Very helpful for fellow mk1 owners!

[@AngelofZul]

Very helpful! Damn, I didn’t know about the hard lines underneath.

[@ploprod2632]

Im thinkin of buying an mr2 mk1, but am on a budget. Cant find any without rust 😂. These videos have given me a bit of ownership insight on this car. Thanks!

[@Resto.Nation]

If your in the U.K. then you have to spend big money to avoid rot... unless you live in the us in a dry state??

[@connormorgan3191]

They all have rust lol. But they are great cars

[@ploprod2632]

@@connormorgan3191 i bought an mr2 with almost no rust. Clean example with only interior peices missing as it was a parts car. Originally a barn find. Smells a little 😂. 141k miles on the clock. Bought for only £1600. Previous Owner probably didnt know its worth.

[@d1user]

@@ploprod2632 what reg is it?

[@ploprod2632]

@@d1user if u r referring to the numbers in on the plate, it's 287

[@jumuworks]

Thanks man! I bought my first AW11 two weeks ago and have to do the same. Your work helps a lot of people. I got 9l out right now, but read about 12,5l in total.

[@Resto.Nation]

Thanks mate. That’s why I enjoy making content 😎. I think that’s a great effort. I know the book quotes a lot but just open all the drain points and get everything out that you can and you won’t go far wrong 👍🏻

[@jumuworks]

@@Resto.Nation thanks a lot, then i can move forward :)

[@Resto.Nation]

@@jumuworks good luck 😎

[@markblades4536]

Cracking video mate, came up on my feed , currently working on a 1978 Fairlady Z out of Japan in New Zealand, but I’ve a 1986-7? Aw11 SC manual which is next, it was over heating prior to putting in the garage. I’m hoping just needing a dam good flushing, can’t wait to start going through your videos, thanks for your efforts 👏

[@Resto.Nation]

Thanks Mark. I lost count of the amount of flushes I did before it went clear! Worth the effort tho (especially if it’s an SC) I think you can get a full hose kit online for not too much money too that does heater, radiator and engine bay hoses etc. Might be worth doing that at the same time if she’s a keeper. Good luck with it.

[@markblades4536]

Thanks I’ll look into that, I’m over soon to Newcastle see my folks so I’ll hit Neil up for some parts I’ll need save on postage

[@warrenpeas]

just disconnect the rubber hose in front of the rear wheel and blow it out with a shop vac. works for my sw20

[@randomtoyotadude8952]

Thx, will share this

[@Resto.Nation]

Appreciated ❤️

[@gurdeep187]

Brilliant video. What do you use to screw into the radiator for the hose to go onto to see the water level? Mine just has a wing nut that unscrews and water gushes out when filling.

[@Resto.Nation]

Mine was a bit leaky too. Just used some clear hose and cable tied it to the bonnet prop 😎

[@bloodnokgoon5020]

Really great to have found these videos - tons of useful tips and guidance that I've taken notes on for (hopefully) when I get to that stage with my shameful project (bought 4 years ago to save from the scrap heap & restore, zero progress to date [hangs head] !) Quick question is there anything that might be added to the water during these flush cycles that will help speed the process up / get more of the crud out? Just want to be as sure as poss that once I button the system up with new coolant in that it'll be good to go for a couple of years or more. Thanks again for recording these! :-)

[@Resto.Nation]

Thanks. Glad they have been helpful. I would say that a system cleaner will help a lot to free up blockages. Also, remove and check the aluminium castings that house the thermostat and also the heater take off into the block as mine we blocked and corroded. I think I flushed mine 7 times in the end. Also, make sure you remove and sort those 2 lower drain plugs in the hard lines to make sure you get it all out... good luck 😎

[@roranAW11]

@@Resto.Nation Thanks for the reply, i bled the coolant just like you did in the video, with the engine running and everything seems to be fine, *water gauge stays right up in the middle *hot air coming out of the heater *radiator fans turn on When cooled off, water stands in the fillerneck and overflow tank is at full mark. So i guess all the air should have gone out of the cooling system. And subscribed to your channel

[@Resto.Nation]

@@roranAW11 great news 😎

[@roranAW11]

Great video, so it is actually possible to bleed the cooling system while the car is not running?

[@Resto.Nation]

Not advisable because the water pump isn’t running.

[@sadagant5226]

howdy just bought a mr2, that havnt ran for 20 years...and thought abt changing the coolent and every fulid before trying to start her up?what would u recommed i do?

[@Resto.Nation]

Not a bad shout. That way you can get some oil pressure before you fire it up. The fuel tank and pump have a good chance of being a problem too if it’s been stood that long so worth looking into that too. You don’t want to turn the key and drag rubbish into fuel filters, injectors and rail etc. Any problems just shout on here and check the other videos on the other problems that I had with mine…

[@CaulayMaculkin]

Not sure if this is a difference between earlier and later models or something, but the engine bleed on mine already has a length of clear hose on it that runs to an inlet on the overflow tank.

[@Resto.Nation]

Pretty sure it’s standard but I deleted mine as I found it to be unnecessary

[@klauskarnath6816]

In Germany you found not so good Details for Maintenance....England make this much much Better👌

[@thelaw69]

I'm attempting to do a flush and refill on my AW11 right now. Would you know why I still have coolant coming out of the radiator bleed valve up top even through I've closed up everything? As soon as I start filling up with more water, coolant starts flowing out from the bleeder valve.

[@Resto.Nation]

Has the ‘o ring’ in the bleed screen failed? Or have you crack the housing it screws into?

[@thelaw69]

@@Resto.Nation Sorry for the late reply; life got in the way and I haven't had a chance to work on it since. Hoping to start work on it again soon as I just got new o-rings, but I also just noticed I have the front slightly lower than the back on the jackstands... wonder if that's also contributing to the issue?

[@Resto.Nation]

@@thelaw69 good stuff. Glad your back on track. Having it level is ideal for refilling but it won’t stop that drain off leaking. Let me know How you get on and if you get stuck just reply back on here 😎👍🏻

[@samuelj8173]

Do you think its better to use distled water for flushing the coolet?

[@Resto.Nation]

Not too critical for flushing but advisable for a final refill 👍🏻

[@samuelj8173]

@@Resto.Nation Cool, thanks for the info 👍

[@lydellsavage8600]

I know this video is a year old, but I hope someone can help me. Just bought a MK1 this past weekend. Good deal, but the guy I bought it off of said it needed new coolant (didn't really tell me how difficult it would be though). So here I am with my first project car and a question. I've been able to follow and find everything mentioned except one thing. At 7:20, the hose attaching to the engine bleed. I know I'm a rookie when it comes to working on cars, but could someone give me a description of where to attach that hose? The video is great and finding the engine bleed has been my only hiccup (as of now).

[@Resto.Nation]

Hi, glad you bagged yourself a Mk1! The engine bleed is located down by the battery and starter motor on an aluminium casting. From memory it should already have a hose attached to it that connects to the coolant over flow bottle. I’m assuming your U.K. based?

[@lydellsavage8600]

@@Resto.Nation Oh my gosh, it's attached to the overflow bottle. I knew it had to be a rookie mistake. I don't know how I got it in my head that I needed to attach a separate hose like on the radiator. Thank you so much! I've been wanting to pull my hair out trying to find it. I'm actually in the U.S. According to the last owner, my Mk1 started off in California and has slowly changed hands until it ended up with me on the east coast. Again, thank you so much.

[@alejandrocuriel651]

My friend I’ve been fushing the coolant system of my mr2 for 4 days because I swapped the engine. There are no bubbles in the system anymore, after I turn the vehicle on, after a few minutes it overheats. The thermostat is out. I don’t know what to do. It’s frustrating?

[@Resto.Nation]

Have you tried removing the throttle body lines and checking the coolant has got to that point? Are you sure there isn’t a blockage? Heater on hot too?

[@feral4mr2]

Sounds like the whole cooling system needs a flush. Pull the radiator out a reverse flush it, wouldn't hurt to take it to a radiator shop and get them to remove a tank and clean the tubes. Heater core can be flushed both ways via the pipes in the frunk. Get a thermostat and run it.

[@d1user]

Thermostat needs to be in

[@stephenbello1081]

Available if you wait for the next batch. unicraftauto.com/products/c-pillar-trim

[@Resto.Nation]

Very trick 😎

[@A10WUK]

Question? 7.5 liters but Haynes say 12.8 liters ?

[@Resto.Nation]

Totally agree. Maybe a litre in the expansion bottle and a few in the heater matrix?

[@d1user]

Will the coolant lines drain if the cars jacked up from 1 end?

[@Resto.Nation]

Yes and no. Level would be best. If you can only jack one end then drain it all from the hard line drains and then put a smaller tray under the car and lower it back onto the floor to help the last bit drain out and then jack back up to fit the plug and refill 👍🏻.

[@feral4mr2]

Best way is to have the ass jacked up in the air.

[@d1user]

@@feral4mr2 tried that. Heaters get warm not hot. I'm not getting any water come out the rad and heater bleeders. But all pipes get hot. Do u know if the heaters should be hot or just warm?

[@feral4mr2]

@@d1user I'd recommend removing the radiator and getting it reverse flushed. Remove the hoses off the heater matrix and give it a good flush both ways with the garden hose. Same with all the hard lines running front to back. Remove thermostat housing and before replacing thermostat make sure it isn't clogged with gunk. When I was in the UK years ago on a holiday I helped a fellow aw11 owner there clean his system out and it was full of shit. ~30 years of different coolant and types of water used. I did all the above plus refilled the way I always have and it was all good again.

[@d1user]

@@feral4mr2 Thanks, il try this but I'm going to try without removing the rad or heater core. Which country are u in? Do u have a mr2 mk1?

[@draethwagner9768]

What size are all of your tubes that you use?

[@Resto.Nation]

The tubes for venting?

[@draethwagner9768]

@@Resto.Nation yes i believe you used 3 tubes in this video

[@Resto.Nation]

@@draethwagner9768 they were about 10mm I.d from memory. Just use ones that fit snugly over the vents 👍🏻

[@draethwagner9768]

@@Resto.Nation also where is the block drain plug i cant find it lol

[@Resto.Nation]

@@draethwagner9768 from memory there is footage of it in the video?

[@WarCry389]

Yeah don't forget don't touch the pillar trim 😂

[@d1user]

How much is a complete pillar trim worth?

[@WarCry389]

@@d1user a full set with no cracks goes around 500$ (if you can find it)

[@d1user]

@@WarCry389 how many pieces in a set? Are yours damaged?

[@WarCry389]

@@d1user after years hunting i found a set. The set has 3 pieces

[@raz380]

This would be a perfect guide if it weren't for the fact that you don't show where to connect engine bleed, you just showed the hose instead at 7:18

[@Resto.Nation]

Engine bleed as in the one by the stat housing?

[@raz380]

@@Resto.Nation Yes, in my mk1a its connected to the reservoir already

[@Resto.Nation]

@@raz380 I used it as a bleed point and then deleted the hose as it serves no purpose going to the over flow tank 👍🏻

[@Anadinolin]

I need to go to toilet now 🚽