I'm looking at the book for a coolant replacement.

I found the radiator draincock easy enough, on the passenger side,
but there is also an engine block drain that looks harder to get to.

I don't have a jack anymore, and my buddy took his ramps back.

Do any of you do a drain from the radiator only,
or does everyone always drain from the rad and engine block?

 

Go to the parts store and buy some jack stands. Use your factory jack to lift the car and support it with jack stands and drain the block.

 

Got it. You're saying to take the time to follow the book [the car manual, in fact].

I have the stands. And found out my cordless drill cranks the jack up rather handily.

OK, another project.

The engine drain plug is on the back, next to an oil sensor, behind the axle?

 

its up between the exhaust and cv flange
ck on here or the book for bolt size
remove rf wheel for more room to work
some years have a simple butterfly valve on the block- bolt with drain hole in it
others must remove entire bolt

expect some mess!
leave rad cap ON until bolt removed

would you change 2 qts of oil and call it good?
the additives in coolant get old and turn acidic--in an aluminum home
7 years max on oe coolant `first time`, then 5 years max between change, even on oe coolant
3-4 years on aftermarket to be safe

 

Wow, who would have thought all you have to do is remove the right front wheel!
The 12mm plug is brass, in a steel bushing. It was not tight at all.
I got all the coolant out, flushed with tap water for five minutes, and
refilled with Genuine Honda Coolant. It took 1.5 gallons or maybe a little more.

 

or you could do like me and puncture a hole in the radiator bottom while trying to lower the car off of jack stands.
that was fun.

 

When you drained your system through the engine block and replaced the brass plug, did you just add water through the radiator..?

The reason I ask this is because I'm wondering about air pockets in the block and the potential for damage once you start the car. Does the water pump push the air out before engine heats up..?

 

I did not add water with the plug in place.

1] Pulled both the plastic radiator draincock and the brass plug and drained completely.

2] Started up the hose into the radiator. At first, tainted water was flowing from the drains. After water was flowing from both drains, I started up the car and ran it for a few minutes. After the water from the engine block began to feel a shade past warm, I shut off the car and the hose.

3] After waiting half an hour for complete draining, I put a tiny bit of grease on the radiator drain O-ring and reinstalled. A little anti-seize on the streads of the brass plug [90030-PH7-000 BREATHING BOLT ??], and set that in place.

4] Poured in a full gallon of Honda 50/50. Then a little over half a second bottle, which tells me most or all of the old coolant and flushing water had indeed drained out. I started the car, cranked up the heater, and after a bit, added a little more coolant.

5] Ran errands for an hour. Three stops. Let cool for an hour, and checked the levels. They are right where I left them. Perfect job thanks to all the help I received on this forum. The spec says the cooling system holds 1.48 US gal. While I didn't measure in ounces, there is no doubt in my mind that the car has gotten the best flush and fill since coming off the line.

 

Awesome job..!! I plan on doing my flush this weekend.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Sperry