2002 F150 V8 4.6L

I want to change the coolant. I can see the drain spigot on the radiator, but I can't find the two drain plugs that are near the oil pan. Where are they?
And if you want to be just divinely helpful, can you take a quick digital camera picture of under the truck that shows the big picture and just circle where they are?

Chilton's manual has a photo of a bolt that's taken from 2" away; that's not helpful under a truck!

 

I am not aware of any 'drain plug' in the blocks of our motors. There ARE freeze plugs which are designed to be pushed out of the block in the even that it freezz (the coolant) the block won't be split and thus ruined. To flush the block remove the upper and lower radiator hose, and thermostat, reinstall top hose w/ thermostat housing on the motor and run your garden hose through it for a while. Don't forget to put your thermostat back in and close the pet**** (drain thingy) on your radiator before refilling with coolant mixture. HTH

 

WTF bullsh-t are you telling me to do?

 

He's telling you how to do a home based coolant flush. If you don't understand it, then take it somewhere and pay $50 to get it done.

 

Disconnect radiator hoses? Both the Chilton's manual and the F150online manual tells to open the spigot in the botton corner of the radiator and then undo the bolts (plugs) by the engine block. They say nothing about removing the radiator hoses - wtf do I need to do that for?

 

Taking off the radiator hose allows you force clean water through the engine, thus flushing out the old coolant. If you want to do the job right, you need to do more than simply drain out the old and replace it, you need to get any sediment/crap out of the system also.

 

So I can't just pour water into the radiator after I drain everything while keeping the spigot open and the plugs open? That would flush it out. Do I need to remove the hoses to flush? Because won't the water flow out of the spigot where I'm draining the radiator from to begin with?

 

Hey corvus with a attitude like that It's hard to believe anybody replied to you!

If you seem to know it all just do whatever the hell you want....!!!

 

the block drain plugs are at the rear of the block. the right side is hard to get to so i didn't remove it when i flushed my truck (by the starter). the left side drain plug is toward the rear below the exhaust manifold, just beside the freeze plug/ block heater. lay under looking up above the front drive shaft and you'll see it. i used an allen wrench socket on a 18" extension. draining and flushing with this plug and the radiator drain will suffice.
Let me see if the camera batteries are charged.

 

here. behind the left front wheel look up at the side of the engine.

below the block heater ( a freeze plug on yours unless you have one) is the block drain.

 

Thank you -very- much for the pictures. They -are- really worth a thousand words.

 

I wouldn't go that route though. Its more effort to do it that way to achieve the same results the first way mentioned.

 

I just did this yesterday. I tried to find the right side block plug but it seems to be blocked by a bracket. I was thinking of just pulling the left side plug but that would only drain the left side leaving the right full.
What I did was....I pulled the thermostat, disconnected the upper radiator hose, drained the radiator, then forced water through the system through the coolant tank. Once it was clear I reconnected the upper hose and ran the engine for a few minutes to circulate the water and then flushed it again till the water ran clear then reinstalled the thermostat. I added a container of radiator flush to the water and will flush it again on Saturday.

Don't forget....do not use tap water when mixing it with anti-freeze. Use distilled water only. The minerals in tap water will cause corrosion and blockage.

 

Has anybody had problems removing the drain plug on the block? I am having one hell of a time getting it off... i'm about to the point of saying screw it and spending the 70 bucks and having it done? any easier ways? pics would be great!

 

An easy way to drain and flush the engine and radiator you say.

Well here is my oppinion on that issue. Go out to your local Walmart or Auto parts store and pick up a flushing kit. Prestone makes one and most auto parts stores sell it or an identical other brand. (usually for under $10)

Now after the engine is cool of course. Remove the radiator cap and disconnect the lower radiator hose and which ever end is easiest. (I've never found a drain on any radiator yet that was worth a darn, they all seem to drain on to a braket and the coolant goes everywhere anyway.)

Once it's drained, reconnect the hose and then refill and flush the coolant per the instructions that came with the kit I mentioned earlier.

As far as that plug that lees99f150 was so kind to take a picture of, I wouldn't pull it out unless I was installing a block heater. Which by the way should be replaced regularly. Biannually at the very latest.