I did this today on my EP3 and thought ill post some tips.
1. There is a cut out section in the splash guard just to the right of the centre of the car. It is large enough for your hand to reach through where you will feel the radiator drain tap. The fluid drains from a hole within this tapered screw. It is a small trickle of water so no worries about getting hit in the face by a jet! My tap was quite stiff so you may need to jack up that side of the car to give you extra leverage.
2. To do a proper job and empty the expansion bottle you will either need to remove the splash guard OR pull the expansion bottle up and off the car. I chose to remove the bottle - it does pass the pulley belts with a bit of negotiation. I cleaned the bottle in the sink with water and a few dozen 5mm nuts put inside the bottle and shaken around to loosen and rinse the green residue out. Call me ocd. If you dont / cant remove the bottle then remove the splash guard and get underneath the car and drain the bottle using its drain nipple - pair of pliers needed. This method actually looked more messy as it looks lke the water would drain into the bumper area but judge for yourself.
3. After enquiring with Honda their Type 2 coolant is just silicate free OAT based coolant so you can buy this neat or premix from alternate sources a fair bit cheaper than they sell it. It can run with a 35/65 ratio with dionised water (down to -17) to further save cost. Full strength 50/50 gives protection to -37! I did mine 40/60 ish
4. Re-fit your clean bottle and fill the drained system with tapwater via the radiator (leave the expansion bottle empty) and then immediately drain the rad again to get out any last remaining old coolant. This isnt really needed if you're using the same type 2 again but as i was changing from green type 2 to pink type 2
i wanted the system as clean as possible to avoid colour blend.
5. Now slowly fill the radiator to the top with your new coolant mix and then loosely refit the radiator cap. The system will take about 4.5 litres initially. Also fill the expansion bottle to the max mark.
6. Start the engine and allow it to warmup until the fan comes on at least twice - this bit took 25 mins @ 10 deg outside temperature - not to self to do in summer next time!
7. Remove the radiator cap (using a cloth for hand protection just in case) and you will see the coolant level has now dropped.
8. Top the radiator back up and put the cap on tight
9. Check the level in the expansion bottle - shine a torch through the front bumper to see it properly
10. Done - go for a thrash
1. There is a cut out section in the splash guard just to the right of the centre of the car. It is large enough for your hand to reach through where you will feel the radiator drain tap. The fluid drains from a hole within this tapered screw. It is a small trickle of water so no worries about getting hit in the face by a jet! My tap was quite stiff so you may need to jack up that side of the car to give you extra leverage.
2. To do a proper job and empty the expansion bottle you will either need to remove the splash guard OR pull the expansion bottle up and off the car. I chose to remove the bottle - it does pass the pulley belts with a bit of negotiation. I cleaned the bottle in the sink with water and a few dozen 5mm nuts put inside the bottle and shaken around to loosen and rinse the green residue out. Call me ocd. If you dont / cant remove the bottle then remove the splash guard and get underneath the car and drain the bottle using its drain nipple - pair of pliers needed. This method actually looked more messy as it looks lke the water would drain into the bumper area but judge for yourself.
3. After enquiring with Honda their Type 2 coolant is just silicate free OAT based coolant so you can buy this neat or premix from alternate sources a fair bit cheaper than they sell it. It can run with a 35/65 ratio with dionised water (down to -17) to further save cost. Full strength 50/50 gives protection to -37! I did mine 40/60 ish
4. Re-fit your clean bottle and fill the drained system with tapwater via the radiator (leave the expansion bottle empty) and then immediately drain the rad again to get out any last remaining old coolant. This isnt really needed if you're using the same type 2 again but as i was changing from green type 2 to pink type 2
i wanted the system as clean as possible to avoid colour blend.5. Now slowly fill the radiator to the top with your new coolant mix and then loosely refit the radiator cap. The system will take about 4.5 litres initially. Also fill the expansion bottle to the max mark.
6. Start the engine and allow it to warmup until the fan comes on at least twice - this bit took 25 mins @ 10 deg outside temperature - not to self to do in summer next time!
7. Remove the radiator cap (using a cloth for hand protection just in case) and you will see the coolant level has now dropped.
8. Top the radiator back up and put the cap on tight
9. Check the level in the expansion bottle - shine a torch through the front bumper to see it properly
10. Done - go for a thrash
