Cooling System Draining, Filling and Bleeding
Cooling System Draining, Filling and Bleeding
Draining
1. With the vehicle in NEUTRAL, position it on a hoist. For additional information, refer to Jacking and Lifting Service and Repair.
2. WARNING: Always allow the engine to cool before opening the cooling system. Do not unscrew the coolant pressure relief cap when the engine is operating or the cooling system is hot. The cooling system is under pressure; steam and hot liquid can come out forcefully when the cap is loosened slightly. Failure to follow these instructions may result in serious personal injury.
NOTICE: The coolant must be recovered in a suitable, clean container for reuse. If the coolant is contaminated it must be recycled or disposed of correctly. Using contaminated coolant may damage the engine or cooling system components.
NOTICE: Genuine Mazda(R) Extended Life Coolant and Motorcraft(R) Specialty Green Engine Coolant are very sensitive to light. Do NOT allow these products to be exposed to ANY LIGHT for more than a day or two. Extended light exposure causes these products to degrade.
NOTICE: Stop-leak style pellets/products must not be used as an additive in this engine cooling system. The addition of stop-leak style pellets/products may clog or damage the cooling system, resulting in degraded cooling system performance and/or failure.
NOTE: Less than 80% of coolant capacity can be recovered with the engine in the vehicle. Dirty, rusty or contaminated coolant requires replacement.
Release the pressure in the cooling system by slowly turning the pressure relief cap one-half to one turn counterclockwise to the first stop on the filler neck. When the pressure has been released, remove the pressure relief cap.
3. Remove the 5 bolts, 7 pin-type retainers and the front splash shield.
4. Place a suitable container below the radiator draincock. Open the radiator draincock and drain the coolant.
5. Close the radiator draincock.
6. Install the front splash shield, 7 pin-type retainers and the 5 bolts when the cooling system or engine service is finished.
Filling and Bleeding
1. NOTICE: Use the vacuum cooling system filler to fill the cooling system, then carry out the remaining steps to bleed all the air from the cooling system. Failure to follow these instructions can leave air in the cooling system which may damage the engine or cooling system.
NOTICE: Always fill the cooling system with the manufacturer's specified coolant. If a non-specified coolant has been used the cooling system must be chemically flushed. Refer to Cooling System Flushing. Failure to follow these instructions may damage the engine or cooling system Cooling System Flushing.
NOTICE: Genuine Mazda(R) Extended Life Coolant and Motorcraft(R) Specialty Green Engine Coolant are very sensitive to light. Do NOT allow these products to be exposed to ANY LIGHT for more than a day or two. Extended light exposure causes these products to degrade.
NOTICE: Engine coolant provides boil protection, corrosion protection, freeze protection, and cooling efficiency to the engine and cooling components. In order to obtain these protections, maintain the engine coolant at the correct concentration and fluid level in the degas bottle.
To maintain the integrity of the coolant and the cooling system:
- Add Motorcraft(R) Specialty Green Engine Coolant or equivalent meeting Ford specification WSS-M97B55-A (dark green color).
- Do not add or mix with any other type of engine coolant. Mixing coolants may degrade the coolant's corrosion protection.
- Do not add alcohol, methanol, or brine, or any engine coolants mixed with alcohol or methanol antifreeze. These can cause engine damage from overheating or freezing.
- Ford Motor Company does NOT recommend the use of recycled engine coolant in vehicles originally equipped with Motorcraft(R) Specialty Green Engine Coolant since a Ford-approved recycling process is not yet available.
NOTICE: Stop-leak style pellets/products must not be used as an additive in this engine cooling system. The addition of stop-leak style pellets/products can clog or damage the cooling system resulting in degraded cooling system performance and/or failure.
Install the vacuum cooling system filler and follow the manufacturer's instructions to fill and bleed the cooling system.
- Recommended coolant concentration is 50/50 ethylene glycol to distilled water.
- For extremely cold climates (less than -37°C [-34°F]):
- It may be necessary to increase the coolant concentration above 50%.
- NEVER increase the coolant concentration above 60%.
- Maximum coolant concentration is 60/40 for cold weather areas.
- A coolant concentration of 60% will provide freeze point protection down to -50°C (-58°F).
- Engine coolant concentration above 60% will decrease the overheat protection characteristics of the engine coolant and may damage the engine.
- For extremely hot climates:
- It is still necessary to maintain the coolant concentration above 40%.
- NEVER decrease the coolant concentration below 40%.
- Minimum coolant concentration is 40/60 for warm weather areas.
- A coolant concentration of 40% will provide freeze point protection down to -26°C (-15°F).
- Engine coolant concentration below 40% will decrease the corrosion and freeze protection characteristics of the engine coolant and may damage the engine.
- Vehicles driven year-round in non-extreme climates should use a 50/50 mixture of engine coolant and distilled water for optimum cooling system and engine protection.
2. Fill the degas bottle to 25 mm (0.984 in) above the COLD FILL line.
3. Install the degas bottle cap until at least 1 audible click is heard.
4. Turn the climate control system off.
5. Start the engine and increase the engine speed to 3,500 rpm and hold for 30 seconds.
6. Turn the engine off and wait for 1 minute to purge any large air pockets from the cooling system.
7. WARNING: Always allow the engine to cool before opening the cooling system. Do not unscrew the coolant pressure relief cap when the engine is operating or the cooling system is hot. The cooling system is under pressure; steam and hot liquid can come out forcefully when the cap is loosened slightly. Failure to follow these instructions may result in serious personal injury.
Check the engine coolant level in degas bottle and if necessary fill to 25 mm (0.984 in) above the top of the COLD FILL LEVEL on the degas bottle if the engine is warm or to the top of the COLD FILL LEVEL if the engine is cold.
8. Start the engine and let it idle until the engine reaches normal operating temperature and the thermostat is fully open. A fully open thermostat is verified by the cooling fan cycling on at least once.
9. Increase the engine speed to 3,500 rpm and hold for 30 seconds.
10. Allow the engine to idle for 30 seconds.
11. Turn the engine off for 1 minute.
12. Repeat steps 9 through 11 a total of 5 times to remove any remaining air trapped in the system.
13. WARNING: Always allow the engine to cool before opening the cooling system. Do not unscrew the coolant pressure relief cap when the engine is operating or the cooling system is hot. The cooling system is under pressure; steam and hot liquid can come out forcefully when the cap is loosened slightly. Failure to follow these instructions may result in serious personal injury.
Check the engine coolant level in degas bottle and if necessary fill to 25 mm (0.984 in) above the top of the COLD FILL LEVEL on the degas bottle if the engine is warm or to the top of the COLD FILL LEVEL if the engine is cold.
14. Install the degas bottle cap until at least 1 audible click is heard.