I disagree with removing the whole plate below car front. I just removed 2 screws and got access to put hose on and open valve to drain. It was easy for me.
Not sure if you're still answering questions, but I can't find a clear answer online. When filling back up, do you measure to the fill line when it is hot or cold? Do you want the coolant in reservoir to be at the fill line where the arrow points when coolant is hot or cold. Thanks!
Why did you add 2.5 quarts of full-strength coolant when you said the system holds 6 quarts? Shouldn’t you have added 3 quarts of coolant then 3 quarts of distilled water to make 6?
That would be true if there weren't any coolant left after you drain it, but there is still about 2 quarts you can't get out. I drained it, added distilled water, and drained it again. Adding all distilled water reduced the 50/50 mix to a 1 part coolant and 5 parts water. After the second drain, that left about 1/2 quart equivalent of full strength coolant in the remaining 2 quarts in the engine. I added the 2.5 quarts to bring the total back up to 3 quarts and then filled it with distilled water to maintain the 50/50 mix. I would have needed 2 quarts of coolant and 2 quarts of distilled water had I only drained it once.
Thanks man that make total sense. 1 more question: at 3:10 when you say watch the coolant level and top it off anytime that you need to, I am guessing you were adding more distilled water and not actual coolant, right?
Right. Add distilled water if the level drops over the next few trips since you know you have 3 quarts of coolant in the system. I added about a cup of distilled water a week later after driving got more air out. If the level drops continues to drop after the first week or so, consider that you might have a leak and add a 50/50 mix.
I thought about your calculations, and after the first drain, yes, you would have a 1:1 ratio and a 1:5 ratio after the refill. However, once you drain it again, since you are reducing the amount of liquid in the system by one third, your new ratio would be 0.33/1.67. Therefore, you'd need to add 2.67 quarts of coolant to get it back to 3 rather than 2.5.
I appreciate you thinking about that and you are right. It doesn't make it better, but the coolant capacity is 5.8 quarts and I rounded to make the math easier. The difference between 2.5 and 2.67 is about a half a cup. You likely won't be more accurate than that in your pouring unless you measure everything that goes in and out of the cooling system at every step. You can run up to 70% coolant, but that is only recommended for extremely cold places. If you are concerned you can go a little over the 50% mark and be fine.
0:09 Jack up front driver wheel - Use jack stands 0:20 Open the hood 0:30 Remove plugs - First the pins 0:40 Remove 4 plugs - Then the big ones 0:55 Remove 8 Torx screws 1:12 Remove panel & reveal Petcock valve at passenger side 1:24 Put a 5/16 hose (2ft in length) directed to a bucket 1:37 Open coolant reservoir cap 1:43 Open Petcock valve to Release Coolant 1:59 Drain in and close Valve 2:14 Lower the car 2:17 Lose Bleeder Valve to let in air 2:25 Add distiller water until it comes out of Bleeder Valve 2:44 Seal Bleeder valve again 2:49 Get in car and show Coolant Temperature in Display 3:02 Turn heater into high and low speed 3:09 Watch coolant level and top it off when needed 3:15 Coolant Temperature should reach around 198F (92 celsius) 3:23 Put the cap on and take it for a short drive to mix coolant 3:29 Let it cool for 1 hour, then drain coolant again 1:24 RATIOS TO BE DEFINED
LOL. Yeah . . . The water pumps, the oil coolers, and some of the plastic bits are known to spring a leak. I've been lucky and only lost the water pump.
Just replace the 221 degree thermostat with a 176 degree thermostat from a Chevy volt which uses the same 1.4 liter engine, but no turbo. The colder thermostat will keep all the plastic parts from breaking so fast from the heat and the colder thermostat will also make your turbo run colder and increase its life! Will also make the oil cooler run colder.
@@_Brohan I've had zero coolant leaks ever since I've been running the 176 degree thermostat and I found out 2016-2019 cruzes use 176-180 degree thermostats, so Holden/Chevy/GM messed up on 2011-2015 models!
@@_Brohan I also changed my 20 psi coolant reservoir cap to a 15 psi cap so the cooling system is under less pressure. I have a video explaining the swap on my youtube channel.
Ugh I thought it’d be easier I don’t wanna pay even more money to get my coolant changed I’ve already spent hundreds getting a new gas pump, coil something and blah blah I thought I could do it myself I wish my dad was with me so he could help me🥺
after loosing up the bleeder valve, you mention skipping and doing the 50/50. Do I fill until it drips out the bleeder valve? when i start the car and see the reservoir start to empty through the day do I top it off with more 50/50?
Right, you fill up the reservoir with 50/50 until it starts coming out of the bleeder valve. That should let enough air out that you'll be able to fill it. Close the bleeder valve, add more coolant until the reservoir stays at the FULL level, then start the car with the cap off and let it run for a few minutes before turning it off, topping off the reservoir, and putting the cap back on. You might have to add more coolant one or two times after driving it normally.
Thanks 👍 I watched other videos. And I didn't think anybody mentioned that bleeder valve! I did it your way makes sense. I'll start the car now and update in a minute
So once you’ve drained the old coolant, you seal the petcock, add the 50/50 coolant, wait until it comes out of of the bleeder valve, close the valve, then warm the car until 198 F then drain it again and repeat the process with the non 50/50 coolant right?
However you do it, you need a 50/50 ratio of coolant and water in the car when you are done. I used distilled water on the first fill because I was going to drain it again right after. If you are OK with only getting two thirds of the coolant out, you could drain it once and use the 50/50 coolant.
When you run the car with distilled for the 2nd flush, do you leave the draincock open with hose hanging out of the bottom of car? Or remove and close every first?
You want the drain closed or it'll dump out about as fast as you can fill it. I left the hose attached, but tucked up so it wasn't dangling. In fact, it was still there when I had to drain it again later to replace the coolant outlet.
@Yeah Right Just a regular fork! You know how forks usually have 4 prongs? I bent the 2 inside prongs towards the outside so it looked like the Startrek hand sign. I also used it to remove the same tabs on the trunk liner when I was replacing the trunk switch. Also, about buying the tool.. I could’ve but my car barely had coolant since the coolant reservoir had a major leak so I had no choice but to improvise. I didn’t want to risk driving it and have it overheat on me.
The 50/50 mix is already diluted to 50% coolant and 50% water. You would not want to add distilled water to it or you'll end up with too much water and not enough coolant. That could result in overheating or it freezing in your engine. Either of those are bad! I used the full strength and diluted it to 50/50 with distilled water because it was cheaper than buying the 50/50 mix. It also allows you to do the drain, fill, drain, and fill method to get more of the coolant out and not waste coolant since I filled it with distilled water on the first fill. If you only want to drain and fill it once, the 50/50 mix would work fine and would be the cheaper option since you'd only need a gallon.
Don't use a screwdriver if it's damaging the plastic plug. You can use a socket instead and it will grab it on all six sides and you shouldn't damage it that way.
Hello sir i got a question! 1st you put a distilled water then you start the car right? For how long?2nd question is if i got the 50/50 coolant do i still add water?
After you add the coolant or the distilled water, you want to warm up the engine to about 200F. That allows the engine to warm up and get some of the air out of the system. The thermostat opens at ~215F, which is over the boiling point. You don't want to go over 200F. That took about 10 minutes when it was 50F outside. If you are using 50/50 coolant, you don't want to add distilled water. If you do, you'll have more distilled water than coolant and it will boil over at a lower temperature and freeze at higher temps. Both of those are bad. If I were using 50/50 coolant, I would probably just drain it once and fill it with the 50/50.
It's on the top corner of the radiator on the passenger side of a car made to drive on the right side if the road. You don't have to remove anything to see it. Find the top of the radiator fan and look left to right to find it.
If it's a little above, nothing will happen. If it's a lot above the coolant will expand as the engine warms up and the reservoir will overflow and dump the extra coolant on the ground as you drive. Burning coolant smells bad and it's poisonous. Overfilling should be avoided.
good procedure. several commnets. 1st, you should let the coolant to the full temperature, better to use a scanner to read the coolant temperature. there are two sensors, one for the engine, one for the coolant radiator. On the scanner, one is for engine temperature, one for the coolant. You should monitor the coolant temperature, initially it should be ambient temperature, then when the thermostat opens, the coolant temperature rises, at this point you know that your radiator coolant is mixing with the coolant in the engine. 2nd, you should have using distilled water, repeat at least 4 times, to get almost all the old coolant out. then adding the full strengh coolant. Since there are almost 3 quarters liquid left in the system, and the whole volume of the system is 5.8 quoarter, you are almost 50/50.
I dug around for a bit and couldn't find anything on the diesel version. I've changed the coolant out on several cars and the process is pretty close for all of them. Your would probably need more coolant since the capacity is likely higher. I'm not familiar with the diesel enough to definitively say. Your best bet would be to search around on Cruze Talk and post your own question if no one else ask asked.
That can be really frustrating. There is a pretty wide range of reason why that might be happening. If there is a leak in the system, it won't pressurize and that could be as simple as replacing the reservoir cap. These cars are known to crack the reservoir and leak in a few other places. It could also be the water pump, fans, or other things that might cause the engine to overheat. It's best to get it checked by a mechanic if you aren't sure.
@@auuurrrgh I think I got it figured out. It had to much air still in the system. I was thinking no way after I flushed it I would have a problem that would be severe. When it was running fine before just the coolant was old and nasty. Anyways I ran it up and down the road with the heat on and then the AC on for a good 20 minutes now it's not boiling anymore after getting air out. Temperature never went past half way mark was what got me
@@auuurrrgh Oh I flushed it all out. Ran through the reservoir and out the petcock valve of the bottom of the radiator and flushing it out with distilled water and then filling it up with premixed coolant and antifreeze
If your coolant is low, wait for the engine to cool and then add a 50/50 mix of coolant (DexCool for the Cruze). You should replace the coolant at least every 5 years or 150,000 miles that means draining the coolant and adding brand new coolant back in. Some mechanics would reuse coolant after draining for a repair, but coolant is cheap enough that it makes sense to only put new coolant back in the engine.
G Whatsup if it's before the maintenance window, go ahead and add more 50/50 coolant. It would have to be pretty low before you would have to pull the bleeder screw. Just add it to the reservoir. You shouldn't have to top off the coolant very often. If you do, You have a leak.
My Cruze doesn't show the coolant level on the display in the car. The best place to check is the coolant reservoir under the hood. It has two lines on it one for the level when it is cold and another when the engine is hot. You should be somewhere between the two.
Dominique Abram oops sorry. The turn signal stick has a menu button. It tickles between the trip and vehicle information menu. Coolant temp is under the vehicle information menu along with the battery voltage and tire pressure.
unless there is an overarching compelling reason, coolant need never be changed. it lasts nearly forever. reasons for change : oli or contaminants, overly fastidious owners, dealer instigated change to generate cash sales etc...
I'm going to disagree with you on that one. The anti-corrosion additives break down over time. Failing to replace your coolant increases the likelihood that you'll replace radiators and water pumps. $20 worth of coolant is worth the peace of mind.
