Will draining the radiator also empty the engine block?

[bsutton]

Doing my first coolant flush on our 2010 Legacy 2.5i, learning a lot along the way. I'm following the steps in the Haynes manual, which basically boil down to the following:

1. Drain the old coolant out of the radiator
2. Run water from a garden hose through the radiator until the water is clear
3. Put the drain plug back in
4. Turn the temp control to max heat
5. Fill the radiator and reservoir with new coolant and close everything up
6. Run the engine until the thermostat opens
7. Let it cool down and top off with more coolant as needed

The manual lists a capacity of 6.8 quarts, but I was only able to drain and replace about 4 quarts. When I warmed up the engine it didn't make the level drop at all, and squeezing the radiator hoses didn't seem to get any air bubbles out. If I didn't run the engine during the flushing process does that mean there was still old coolant left in the block, and if so is that a problem?

We're the 3rd owners of this car, previous owners didn't have any records of coolant changes so I'm not sure if this is the first flush it's had done. The coolant I got out was green, so it may be the old Long Life Coolant but I'm not sure about that. I added blue Super Coolant from the dealership.

[Scubaboo]

The procedure you followed should be no problem, but I would have run the engine during the flush process just to remove the possibility you mentioned.

For all practical purposes, no, any old coolant shouldnt cause any problems.  It may if your old and new coolant are incompatible and react to form a sludge, but that does not happen much any more with most manufacturers making coolant compatible with each other.  Do check in the following days by taking a look in your expansion tank and radiator for any sludge, checking your heater works well and engine running temps are normal, and you should be gtg.

EDIT: oh, and as for the emptying the block, what I do on my own GT is remove the themostat housing/lower rad hose fitting at the front of the engine when I do coolant changes.  By it's position removing it releases most all the coolant in the block.

 

Edited May 17 by Scubaboo

[bsutton]

Good to know, thank you! I appreciate the help.

[Scubaboo]

Anytime!  

[silverton]

I take the thermostat out when I do coolant flushes.  But even on cars that I'm doing flushes on that have green but take blue, the blue coolant still ends up with a heavy green hue. So there is still a fair bit of coolant left over in the system.  If you're just doing it as a maintenance item, I wouldn't worry about the leftovers.