ironhat

Wow, glad I found this forum, although most of you guys/ gals are way ahead of my expertise level so I don't feel very useful. Anyway, my daughter's Countour needs a coolant change out. I've never seen coolant look this bad! It's only barely green and mostly brown. But, where the heck is the petcock to drain this thing? There isn't much room down there and I just can't seem to find it. With a general idea I should be able to get this together. By the way, do you guys backflush? I'm afraid to because of the look of the present coolant. What if I dislodge some gunk and it plugs the heater core? Hey, thanks in advance for any help offered,
Later,
Chiz

LunaticSVT

The drain plug is in a right PITA place, at the bottom of the radiator, but you will have to remove the undertray under the bumper to get at it. Then reach around and through the lower arm to get to it with a screwdriver.

When you undo it, it will go all over the place and not in the container you put under it. This is because it runs off the subframe etc.

Since it is a 97 the coolant tank filler cap is probably overdue for replacement. If the pressure release valve inside it malfunctions, you can get all sorts of mysterious coolant system problems.

Flushing: I would run the garden hose through the various pipes to give it a quick flush. Refill the system with clean water,give it a run,then drain,refill with coolant & you should be good to go.

mycainsbroken

if you have it apart, its not a bad idea to change out the thermostat too. there only a couple bucks

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-98 Contour
-68 Cougar
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