Coolant Drain & Refill Questions

[Zonso]

I am going to do a coolant drain and refill on my 2011 Mazda 3, 100K. It is a straightforward procedure; however I am wondering about the section in the service manual that states:


Bleed the air from the cooling system by using the procedures below. At this time, monitor the coolant temp to prevent overheating.
• Run the engine at 2500rpm for 2-3 minutes, 2 times.
• Run the engine at 3000rpm for 5 seconds, then idle.
• Repeat steps above twice.
Stop engine and inspect coolant level after the coolant cools down.


It seems excessive for one. Also pardon the silly question, but if the reservoir cap is on, how is doing the above going to bled the air from the system? Is there a bleed valve on our cars? I don't think air will get into the system simply doing a drain/refill but if it did wouldn't having the reservoir cap on loosely allow air to escape? I recall that is how I did it previously with other vehicles but don't know about a pressurized system. Curious.

[loki]

maybe through the reservoir, the coolant isn't filled right to the top therefore air could escape into the reservoir

[Booter22]

first issue.. make sure you don't have long life coolant, because in my 2010 I do and it doesn't need a coolant flush until almost 200 000km. Zonso so check the manual. you may not need it yet.

[MAZDArati]

I was going to do one on my Mazda and then ironically my thermostat went .

[Jackal]

I was going to do one on my Mazda and then ironically my thermostat went .

The perfect time to do it, especially because you have no choice. ;)

[Zonso]

first issue.. make sure you don't have long life coolant, because in my 2010 I do and it doesn't need a coolant flush until almost 200 000km. @Zonso (http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/member.php?u=16485) so check the manual. you may not need it yet.


Yes it is FL22 and not due until 196K or 10 years; however I think $20 and a bit of my time is cheap insurance.

[Ps3alltheway]

Yes it is FL22 and not due until 196K or 10 years; however I think $20 and a bit of my time is cheap insurance.

not really It's more a waste of time and money.
If they say it's due at 10 years or 196 k that means you are probably good to go for more than that

[Milan96]

not really It's more a waste of time and money.
If they say it's due at 10 years or 196 k that means you are probably good to go for more than that

+1

I've tested my coolant each spring and summer and its consistently protected up to -45 ish. 2010 with 164K so I'm planning on changing it next year. It's good stuff

[Zonso]

not really It's more a waste of time and money.
If they say it's due at 10 years or 196 k that means you are probably good to go for more than that

Lol, just checked and no I wasn't looking for opinions on how I spend my time and money. Nice try though :rolleyes

Continuing your train of thought, I wonder what 'they' say about changing the transmission and brake fluids???

[Cjcoolen]

Lol, just checked and no I wasn't looking for opinions on how I spend my time and money. Nice try though :rolleyes

Continuing your train of thought, I wonder what 'they' say about changing the transmission and brake fluids???
2 dealerships told me to change every 50k with my auto tranny.

When i got stick, 2 dealerships wasnt able to give me a legit answer. "90k is what we recommend", "60 ehh 70 .."

To be on the safe side, I will stick to the every 50k on my stick.

[Flagrum_3]

+1

I've tested my coolant each spring and summer and its consistently protected up to -45 ish. 2010 with 164K so I'm planning on changing it next year. It's good stuff

You are only doing one test and there are three that must be done to actually test the coolant properly. The temp test is the least important of the three, so you have no clue if the coolant is causing damage or not internally.. There's the electrolysis and ph. tests also...The ph.. level test being especially important. You can purchase ph. strips or a reader which are both inexpensive and all you need is a digital multimeter for the electrolysis test.



2 dealerships told me to change every 50k with my auto tranny.

When i got stick, 2 dealerships wasnt able to give me a legit answer. "90k is what we recommend", "60 ehh 70 .."

To be on the safe side, I will stick to the every 50k on my stick.

Manual transmissions are sealed units which oils do not get contaminated, nor is the oil under high pressure, so no worries about shear. Change it out once with a quality Synthetic oil and be done with it. Any more is a waste of money.


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[sarujo]

+1


Y

Manual transmissions are sealed units which oils do not get contaminated, nor is the oil under high pressure, so no worries about shear. Change it out once with a quality Synthetic oil and be done with it. Any more is a waste of money.


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