Coolant Drain???

[Speed Raycer]

Anyone added some sort of drain to their 1st Gen cooling system to make draining easier? Pulling the lower hose off of the bottom of the radiator is always such a pain with the rush of fluid and goofy lower hose fitment.

I'm getting ready for the seasonal changeover to water and figured if there is something that I can add (part off of another car or off the shelf) while I've got everything drained, that'd be 2 less headaches every year.
Anyone?

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Scott
It's not what you build...
it's how you build it

[C. Ludwig]

Does the 12A have the drain plug in the side of the center housing like the 13B?

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Chris Ludwig
08 ITS RX7 CenDiv

[bcarter]

I've always taken off the hose on my 12A, but somewhere I read that there was a plug directly beneath the dipstick, down at the bottom of the engine. Lo and behold, I looked and it was there...at least there is a plug there. I haven't got around to trying it yet so I don't know for sure what will drain out.

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G. Brooke Carter
Wheat Buckley Racing
# 10 Challenge Car
2003 Class Champion
Calgary, Alberta

[C. Ludwig]

It's for coolant. On the 13B it's mangled in with the left hand motor mount. I've never used it because it uses a crush washer and I have been too lazy to run out and find replacements. I always just roll the car out in the driveway and pull the lower hose.

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Chris Ludwig
08 ITS RX7 CenDiv

[ddewhurst]

I drain the radiator the hard way: I remove the drain plug at the bottom of the radiator. I also pull the plug Chris mentioned to speed up the process on the 12A.

Have Fun
David

[miketrier]

I have the drain plug in mine. Its just a standard autmotive radiator drain. Makes things easier and cleaner.

[Speed Raycer]

Thanks for the leads guys! The block drain is on the spark plug side, directly under the dipstick. Just be ready for a gush that will shoot all the way to the frame rail. I used a piece of cardboard to divert it into the catch pan.

I also pulled the heater line to drain the rest of the coolant. The lower radiator hose is such a pain to get on and off, I hate messing with it. As far as purging the system of air, I had some moderate sucess just squeezing the lower rad. hose a bunch of times. Could even hear the fluid moving around in the heater lines.

[moto62]

Pulling the bottom hose from the rad will only drain the water from the rad. Pull the plug in the housing to drain the water from the block. Just a note.
Ray

[rlekun]

Removing hoses?? There is a drain plug on the lower left hand side of the engine...just above the oil pan. I remove plug, let it drain and then apply air pressure to top of radiator and/or crank the engine a few times. The Radiator and the block drains this way.