Next weekend, I'm going to attempt to drain, flush and refill the radiator with new fluid during my timing belt & water pump change. Now I've never really done this before so this is going to be my first time dealing with anti-freeze. I've searched and read write-ups and questions but still am a little fuzzy on things and hoping I can get some answers.

- How many gallons does my '99 d16y8 radiator take to fill up?
- Is the pre-mixed better or should I mix with distilled water?
- I've already bought the orange dextron prestone anti-freeze, is this okay or
should I consider getting just normal green prestone anti-freeze or simply what is
the best beside's OEM blue anti-freeze?
- Is it good to have the engine running when running water through it or should I
have it off when I do it?
- Last question, how do you recommend no air bubbles get in when I refill?

 

ok imo i like the premix stuff, i dont like reading instructions and i hate measuring. why not have them mix it for u. u just drain it all out, and then close it, im pretty sure the 1 gallon of premix will be more then enough since its a half radiator. then put the plug back on and fill it up all the way til full. the best way if u dont have the tool to remove air bubbles. i suggest just leaving it off and starting the car and letting the bubbles come out and continue to fill it until the bubbles stop. then after they stop (around 5-10 mins) cap it off and let the pressure build. let it warm up more and if u have a pressure release cap, losen it after it has cooled down a bit to let the excess air off. im not sure if the y8 has it but some motors have the air bubble valve on the coolant housing

 

I don't know about the amount, check your owner's manual or ownerlink or something like that. But it's more typical to need more like 2 gallons total.

Dexron is OK by itself, but it doesn't play nice with other types. That means you should rinse the system repeatedly with water so ALL the old stuff is gone. Same thing next time, unless you keep using the same stuff.

I don't like premix. On my Accords, it seems to take 4 or 5 times filling & draining before all the color is gone. (Even using the block drain) That tells me there's a good amount left in there when you drain. With the pre-mix, that extra quart of water will dilute it. I look at specs to see what total volume is supposed to be, and use 1/2 of that.

 

Thanks guys for your help

 

When I do a t-belt job, the thermostat gets replaced too. So after removing it and bolting just the housing back on (without the t-stat), go ahead and run water through the block till it's clean (using the upper hose). The motor is off at this point.

As for bleeding it, make sure to set the heater control to full hot but leave the fan off. You need to make sure coolant is allowed to circulate through the heater core. Then remove the radiator cap and fill it up. Start the car and top it off as needed. Wait 10-15 minutes or until the radiator fan kicks on once, turn the car off and tighten the radiator cap.

I use 2gal of the pre-mix stuff because Honda (or maybe just the one by me) stopped selling the non-diluted stuff (where'd I only buy 1gal instead).