Mazda Repair: Antifreeze - Mazda B2500, antifreeze mixture, radiator cap

Question
My wife is leaving town today and taking my Mazda B2500.  I've been told by my mechanic it is in need of an antifreeze drain and fill (at a minimum).  I figured I can do this myself, but want to get it done before she takes off.  I am an idiot when it comes to cars, but I can do basic stuff.  I assume there is a drain coming out of the radiator, that I open up, let it drain, then fill it up with antifreeze.  My questions are these:  1.  Do I use straight antifreeze?  2. How much should I purchase/put in?  3.  I assume I am putting it in the resevoir?  4.  Anything else I need to know?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

Answer
Hi Jeff,
When changing the antifreeze you first need to drain the old antifreeze out of the radiator. This can be done by undoing the drain plug that is on the bottom reservior of the radiator. Before you do this you must make sure the car is on level ground and that the heater control inside the car on the dash board is pushed all the way to the maximum heat side. Once all the antifreeze has drained out it is a good idea to flush out the radiator by pouring straight water into the radiator while the drain plug is still open and letting it drain back out. After you have done this you need to refill the radiator with the antifreeze mixture after doing up the drain plug. Depending on what antifreeze you buy it will have instructions on the bottle as to how much antifreeze to mix with water. If you buy concentrated antifreeze you will need to mix it with water. But if you buy pre - mixed antifreeze you wont. If you look in your owners manual it should tell you the capacity of the cooling system which will tell you how much antifreeze you need to buy. A few other things to note are to make sure you dont open the radiator cap while the engine is hot and that you open the radiator cap before you drain the antifreeze and keep it open while it is draining.
hope this helps