Dodge Challenger Forum banner

2010 3.5L Coolant Flush

5K views 2 replies 2 participants last post by  Nuke 
#1 ·
The 60-month point has arrived for changing the coolant. I am concerned that simply draining the radiator leaves about half of the old coolant still in the engine block and heater core.

I cannot find the drain plugs on the engine block.

Can any of the good folks here offer help as to where the engine block drain plugs are located? Are there one or two plugs? Also, any advice on how to get the cooling system completely flushed?

Thanks!
 
#2 ·
I realize this reply is too late to be of any value to the OP, but my initial search on the topic found this thread, and so could others'. And now that I have the answer to this question, I reckon I should go ahead and document it here for posterity's sake, right?



The 3.5L that is found in our Challengers (and the same year modelled Chargers/300s/etc. I suspect) no longer utilizes drain plugs on the sides of the engine block from which you should be trying to drain the coolant. Well, that's my hypothesis anyway, but it's based on experience and knowledge, so you can count on it being as right as anyone else's guess.

And on the off-chance that these later-year 3.5L engines still do have drain plugs that are meant for drainage usage during coolant maintenance, then they are so improperly placed/designed so as to be practically invisible to the DIY'er. Further, if they did still exist on these engines, and they were supposed to be used during coolant maintenances, they have been rendered impotent by the designers of the exhaust manifolds on these cars because there is no way to get behind the exhaust hardware to get at any drain-plugs, real or imagined.

So, in a nutshell, don't worry about trying to find and use some drain plugs on the block of the 3.5L if you are doing a Flush and Fill for the coolant. Instead, key on the thermostat housing and oil cooler lines, as they can be removed/unhooked to drain the block pretty effectively from what I have seen/done.
 
#3 ·
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top