Greetings,
I am in the process of trying drain the coolant from my car. The problem I am having is it only partially drains. I get out a total of a little over a gallon, or nearly 4 litres. I think the total capacity is something like 7 litres. This is from draining the radiator and the back of the engine near the water pump. Now before anyone jumps in with a check list for me, here's my procedure.

Car is on jack stands and level. Engine is cold. Before shutting it down, the heat in the drivers compartment was turned all the way up. First I removed the top from the expansion tank. Then I opened the radiator drain on the driver's side of the radiator, let it drain until it stopped, and then opened the drain on the back of the engine. I've done it three times so far, filling it with distilled water in between iterations. Clear water goes in, green fluid comes out, not just a little green, it almost looks like 50/50 mixture.

Is there some other drain I need to open, or is my radiator likely to be blocked up?

Knowledgeable and helpful responses appreciated,

Many thanks,
-Greg
1998 V70 T5M
150,000 miles.

Greg,
Dunno if this fits your request for "Knowledgeable and helpful responses appreciated," but I'll share what I've done on Volvos for many years. It's only a bit different fron your approach and I've used it on 200s, an S70 and my current S80 T6. First, being able to drain only half the capacity is normal for Volvos so that's good news for you. Don't look for a problem. After the drain, I run tap water thru it until it's clear. I understand what you are trying to do with the distilled water but with my tap water, I don't do that. However, if I were trying to get the tap water out I would fill the other half with distilled, run the engine until the thermostat opens and drain again as many times as you wish (each time cutting the tap water content by 50%). BTW, the heater core is always on so no need to be concerned about having the heat on. After the last drain, I blow a little low pressure air into the overflow reservoir using my hand as a cap to get the remaining water down to 50% capacity for sure, and then, of course, refill with straight antifreeze to get to the 50/50 mix. The folks trying to do this by adding premixed are in trouble.

Well that's a relief. I guess I'll buy more distilled water and a new 5 gallon jug to store the old drainage. I guess it makes sense since there is simply no other place to drain this stuff.

Your most certainly qualifies as "Knowledgeable and helpful." I just wish either my Haynes or Chilton service books mentioned something about this. I thought I did my research, doh!

Many thanks and Best Regards,
-Greg

Greg,
Thinking about your situation a little more, I realized that (as you said) the bulk of the retained antifreeze is in the block. This makes the need to run the car until the thermostat opens less important. I'd run it for a few minutes to get the stuff in the block, heater core and water pump mixed before the next drain cycle.
Regards, Larry

I suggest lowering the rear of the car and then reopen the drain on the engine block. Being on an angle should help drain the block.

How do you dispose of your old anti-freeze? I've changed my V70's coolant twice and I've had to store the old coolant because I have no idea what to do with it.

Thanks for the suggestion. Actually I tried that at first, with the front of the car on jack stands and the rear on the ground. With both the block drain and the radiator drain opened I jacked up the rear of the car until it was level. Only a few drops more came out of each opening. Maybe I should try lowering the front and jacking up the rear ( just kidding ).

Regarding disposal of used fluid. I went online last time I changed my water pump. ( I had the same problem then, not able to completely drain the coolant. It didn't matter because it was only 20,000 miles on it then.) I think I checked the website of Waste Management, Inc. These guys do garbage collection and recycling in the San Francisco Bay Area. They had links to all sorts of places to dispose of hazardous waste. I found a service station close by that was willing to take the used fluid for around .50 per gallon.

Thanks again. You are right that the problem is in the block. Most of what I am able to drain is from the radiator. The block drain gives me only an inch deep in a bucket.

regards,
-Greg