Coolant Flush on a 99 miata

Well I'm finally here... doing my absolute first mechanical thing to a car... other than changing a tire.

I noticed the coolant I had was very dirty... I pointed it out to my father... and he said I should flush it and put new coolant in. So I gave it a shot.


Here's where I'm at.... lol.... I found the lowest point I could get to (side of the engine, couldn't get to the one on the underside of the car through that little "door") I pulled the clamp off... and for about 30 minutes... I tried to get that hose off. It refuses to move. I've twisted, pulled, yanked, tried to jimmy it out with pliers... and risked breaking it... What should I do? Is there a method to get these off that doesnt involve me buying a new hose for 50 bucks or whatever they cost? Is there another method to flushing?

There is a drain plug in the bottom of the radiator.

Go buy a service manual it will defiantly help.

You need to take a pick and work it around the hose to break it loose.

http://mercedessource.com/files/imag...tsmay08_01.jpg

You probably should buy all new hoses, just FYI. How many miles on the car? If the hoses are original, it's probably about time to replace them all, regardless of mileage.

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Originally Posted by Titus

You need to take a pick and work it around the hose to break it loose.

http://mercedessource.com/files/imag...tsmay08_01.jpg

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But be careful you can inflict damage if you don't know what your doing. Especially if it is still the original 12 year old plastic radiator.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

There is a drain plug in the bottom of the radiator.

Go buy a service manual it will defiantly help.

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You help me in every thread! Thanks lol.

I will be searching for this drain plug.

That manual thing is $300!!! Crazy!

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Originally Posted by Rob®

You probably should buy all new hoses, just FYI. How many miles on the car? If the hoses are original, it's probably about time to replace them all, regardless of mileage.

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80k miles... but I'd rather not replace all the hoses. That's a bit pricey. I was told they are around $50 each.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

But be careful you can inflict damage if you don't know what your doing. Especially if it is still the original 12 year old plastic radiator.

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Yeah that tool looks like it's dying to destroy my hoses. Will the radiator plug do the same thing pulling this hose off will? It's a little hard to get under my car... though I've not tried to jack it up using the spare tire jack (I dont have any others) Also I'm a little worried about having the car slam down on my head and die.... lol.

You were told wrong on the prices. Who they hell is giving you all this misinformation? Is it your interweb friends?

Take a minute and review this please - http://www.techguys.ca/howto/coolant_flush.html

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

You were told wrong on the prices. Who they hell is giving you all this misinformation? Is it your interweb friends?

Take a minute and review this please - http://www.techguys.ca/howto/coolant_flush.html

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My dad. He hates Mazda though... so when he says things it's like this "Damn Mazda probably charged $50 a hose too." "A Mazda service manual? That's $300 for sure. Those cheap bastards." Perhaps I should stop listening to him..... he knows a lot though.... he could drain the coolant in 5 seconds but he wants me to learn.

This website is helpful though, I'm thinking of investing in those little rubber blocks.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

80k miles... but I'd rather not replace all the hoses. That's a bit pricey. I was told they are around $50 each.

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Preventative maintenance sucks like that. At 80k miles and 12 years old, you should start thinking about replacing those all. Get silicone ones though, not factory rubber. You're looking at about $115 for the two silicone hoses.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

Yeah that tool looks like it's dying to destroy my hoses. Will the radiator plug do the same thing pulling this hose off will? It's a little hard to get under my car... though I've not tried to jack it up using the spare tire jack (I dont have any others) Also I'm a little worried about having the car slam down on my head and die.... lol.

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Sounds like your dad isn't a fan of your new car.

You really need to stop this project now and review what you need to do before you screw up the car and/or yourself.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Sounds like your dad isn't a fan of your new car.

You really need to stop this project now and review what you need to do before you screw up the car and/or yourself.

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No he is not. Not at all. My car is unsafe, built by morons, doesn't last long, is expensive to repair, and I'm going to burn out 800 clutches in the next month. That is according to my father....

I think the car is unsafe, built like any other car, lasts incredibly long, is CHEAP to repair, and I'm hoping not to burn any clutches out anytime soon.

But yeah... I feel pretty lame not being able to do a simple coolant flush. I'm going to head down to Auto Zone and browse for things that might help me. Those little rubber car lift things look like a good idea, and probably not too expensive. I really just need 2 inches to fit under the car completely, I'm a small guy.

I know on my NA 1.6, there are about eight hoses to replace. If you replace your hoses, then make sure you get all of them.

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Originally Posted by jrj512

I know on my NA 1.6, there are about eight hoses to replace. If you replace your hoses, then make sure you get all of them.

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Yeah I was going to say that. Looked like a lot more than 2 hoses.

Yes, there are more than two hoses. I was talking about the two main radiator hoses - the ones you are trying to remove. Instead of trying not to damage the 12 year old rubber factory lower hose, you should replace it. There is no point to replace the bottom radiator hose and not the top one, hence suggesting replacing both. If you can't figure out how to remove the lower hose, suggesting all the other little hoses is futile (which I actually did in my original reply).

All the other little hoses should be replaced as well, yes, but so should a lot of other things that I'm sure are still original on that car.

Well here's what my plan is.

Go to Autozone, buy 2 of those black rubber slanted things to drive the car up on, find this drain plug on the bottom of the radiator. Open it, open the top part so the coolant flows faster. Put the drain plug back in, fill it full of water, turn the car on for 5 minutes, turn it off, wait an hour, drain it again, fill it full of antifreeze + distilled water in a 50/50 mixture ratio, run it for 5 minutes see if it works, then job complete.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

Yeah that tool looks like it's dying to destroy my hoses. Will the radiator plug do the same thing pulling this hose off will? It's a little hard to get under my car... though I've not tried to jack it up using the spare tire jack (I dont have any others) Also I'm a little worried about having the car slam down on my head and die.... lol.

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First thing I would do is get a set of Jack stands or ramps. They're a lot cheaper than the emergency room. If you're broke I have an extra set of jack stands you could borrow, but please for the love of God dont crawl under there with just the scissor jack supporting the car.

Oh and it's been said already, but be VERY careful getting the hose off. The outlet on the OEM radiator is plastic and after a few years gets more brittle than you would think.

Edit: my post seems a little late. I refreshed and there were half a page of responses I didn't see. Oh well.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

Well here's what my plan is.

Go to Autozone, buy 2 of those black rubber slanted things to drive the car up on,

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:dumbass:


;)

Make sure that when you're running it during the final fill, that you turn the *heat* on full blast while it's running so you burp everything, including the heater core. You'll be there with jug in hand for more than 5 minutes, just FYI.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

:dumbass:


;)

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Don't buy the rubber slanted things they show in the picture you showed me?


They look like they are more safe than the jack stands.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

Don't buy the rubber slanted things they show in the picture you showed me?

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Wow....

Read the words on that link that I sent you for how to do the radiator flush. It spells out all the items you need, like your rubber slanted things. :facepalm:

Here is the link again - http://www.techguys.ca/howto/coolant_flush.html

Let's review some of those pesky words

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While it is certainly not required, placing the vehicle on ramps may aid in the flush + fill process. If you are inclined to raise the vehicle for ease of access, be sure to keep the vehicle level.

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Reading this post I'm thinking you are in way over your head on this project. Best of luck!

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Wow....

Read the words on that link that I sent you for how to do the radiator flush. It spells out all the items you need, like your rubber slanted things. :facepalm:

Here is the link again - http://www.techguys.ca/howto/coolant_flush.html

Let's review some of those pesky words

Reading this post I'm thinking you are in way over your head on this project. Best of luck!

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Well you responded with a picture of trains crashing into each other. So I thought you meant the ramps were bad and the jack stands were better. I just have a hard time accepting that something like that wont fall over if the car is bumped into. Though they probably are safe.

Haha! That's the first time I remember you coming across cranky, POS.

Well here goes nothing. Let's see how I do. (2 hours later posting about broken radiator plug)

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

I just have a hard time accepting that something like that wont fall over if the car is bumped into. Though they probably are safe.

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Jackstands will fall over?? I'm in Haslet. My car is on jackstands (has been for over a year now...again). You are more than welcome to stop by and shake the living crap out of my car and see how stable jackstands are. Obviously their stability depends on how the user sets them up, but when done correctly, the car won't go anywhere.

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Originally Posted by Rob®

Jackstands will fall over?? I'm in Haslet. My car is on jackstands (has been for over a year now...again). You are more than welcome to stop by and shake the living crap out of my car and see how stable jackstands are. Obviously their stability depends on how the user sets them up, but when done correctly, the car won't go anywhere.

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Haha, I believe I'll buy them then.

Harbor Freight is your friend.

Update: Bought 4 jack stands and a jack and the guy said there was a special on the jack stands so I also got this little skateboard type of device to lay on and go under the car for free. The best part? Spent 49.99!

little skateboard device = creeper

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Originally Posted by Rob®

little skateboard device = creeper

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Thanks :)

This Creeper is worth $50 by itself. Not to mention they sale the jack stands for $50 a pair... and I got 4! I think I got an amazing deal. Returns + Jack stand specials = Good

Now I just have to wait for my car to cool off. Past a new NC model on the way home, we drove together for a while, but I got bored as she was doing 55 mph down the 65 mph highway.

How close to the base (Carswell or NAS Fort Worth) are you? I'm tempted to stop by and give you some pointers so you don't hurt yourself or your car, I should be off work in a few hours.

so how did this turn out?

I hope he's not still under the car.

Apologize for keeping everyone wondering if I made it. I managed it just fine and drove around for a few hours testing it! Bubbling noise gone! Temperature perfectly in between half and 3/4!

I had the car running with water running through the radiator and pumping out of the hose from the engine block until the water was crystal clear, then I put the hoses and cap back on, filled it with half a bottle of non diluted antifreeze (half gallon, maybe a little more than half) and then added water until at the correct spot in the overflow tank.

While I had the air tunnel thing that goes to the engine pulled off to get access to the hoses.... I tightened a nut to make the belt on the A/C compressor very tight, I drove it around a bit and the squeaking noise was even worse, so I turned it the opposite way until it was pretty decently loose... and the noise is now gone. I am however worried that I have it too loose. It doesn't seem loose enough to come off, and the noise is gone, so I will take this as a two birds one stone.

Very happy with my work today.

EDIT: I also had the heater on full blast as was suggested!


Thanks everyone for your help and for your consideration of my well being. The jack stands were very stable, and I managed not to have a pressurized radiator cap blow into my face, or break a hose, or a fragile plastic piece!

There's an actuall measurement on how tight the belts should be. From the Factory Service Mnaual for a 1.6L I assume the 1.8L is very similar in this area but you need to apply 22 lbs of force to the belt (a fish scale from Walmart works great for this), deflection of the belt should be 8 to 9mm for a new belt and 9 to 10mm for a used belt. I like to keep mine towards the loose end of the spec but still within spec to help preserve bearing life in the accessories.

If you run them real tight you will burn up bearings quickly if you run them too loose the belt slips and you get squealing.

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Originally Posted by jeepinbanditrider

There's an actuall measurement on how tight the belts should be. From the Factory Service Mnaual for a 1.6L I assume the 1.8L is very similar in this area but you need to apply 22 lbs of force to the belt (a fish scale from Walmart works great for this), deflection of the belt should be 8 to 9mm for a new belt and 9 to 10mm for a used belt. I like to keep mine towards the loose end of the spec but still within spec to help preserve bearing life in the accessories.

If you run them real tight you will burn up bearings quickly if you run them too loose the belt slips and you get squealing.

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Seems like something I'm not intelligent enough to do. I'm considering taking it to my mechanic and having all the belts replaced. Though it's not making any squealing sounds....

Also... theres 2 other belts (i believe)... and the one on the left side of the motor... is obscenely tight. Where as the A/C one has an inch of slack. Should this one be that tight? I never messed with it.

If you have AC and Power Steering you should have two belts. A "V-Belt" for powering the Alternator and Water pump and a "serpentine" belt for powering the AC compressor and Power Steering. The only other belt you have on the car is the Timing belt which you should be able to see.Checking the deflection is easy. Get the fish scale and tape measure. You can do it on your own but having an extra set of hands helps. You might have to get creative with some twine depending on clearance around the belt but it's not hard and you know that it's adjusted correctly.

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Originally Posted by MiataProtege

Seems like something I'm not intelligent enough to do. I'm considering taking it to my mechanic and having all the belts replaced.

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That would be a smart move.

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Originally Posted by Rob®

little skateboard device = creeper

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:snack:lol! This is a hilarious thread. Reuse the springy do-hickeys holding the hoses on. They work better than the screwy type ones.