silly question
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 511
Likes: 17
From: Coralville Ia
silly question
I have to change my water pump, and will have to drain all the coolant. How much coolant/water will it take to refill? How much does the C5 hold? I plan on doing standard 50/50 mix. I just need to know how much Dex I need to get.
Thanks,
JesseJay
Thanks,
JesseJay
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,163
Likes: 4
From: Concord California
No, just drain enough so when you remove the water pump you're not pouring out on to the floor. Total volume of cooling system for a C5 is 11.4 qts. Most likely you will drain half so replace with new or drain all from the radiator, and re-fill. Be careful of air pockets after draining, those are nasty areas in the block when you drain that are filled with air and no movement of coolent, drain and fill following the procedures in the GM manual if possible, and use only Dex not the Green coolent. Remember, aluminum block and Dex are compatable.. Good luck.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 1999
Posts: 32,910
Likes: 2,402
From: Anthony TX
CI 6,7,8,9,11 Vet
St. Jude Donor '08
When ever I get a chance to open the coolant system for repairs, I always change out ALL of the coolant.
I use a wet and dry vac to SUCK as much of the old coolant out of the block as possible. The water pump ports make a very good entry point to suck a lot of the old coolant out.
Once the repairs are made, I fill it with the system with distilled water and then run that until the engine is at full operating temp. Let her cool completly and drain the radiator and then fill with DEX COOL. I have found that a complete gallon will get you right at the correct mixture.
After a couple of heating and cooling cycles, most all the air should be out of the system. Just keep an eye on the expansion tank levels and recheck the mixture with a coolant tester.
BC
I use a wet and dry vac to SUCK as much of the old coolant out of the block as possible. The water pump ports make a very good entry point to suck a lot of the old coolant out.
Once the repairs are made, I fill it with the system with distilled water and then run that until the engine is at full operating temp. Let her cool completly and drain the radiator and then fill with DEX COOL. I have found that a complete gallon will get you right at the correct mixture.
After a couple of heating and cooling cycles, most all the air should be out of the system. Just keep an eye on the expansion tank levels and recheck the mixture with a coolant tester.
BC
