Failure to perform regular preventive maintenance is the most common cause of trouble when attempting to drain the radiator of your Toyota Echo. Toyota recommends that you flush and fill your Echo’s cooling system once every 45,000 miles. This helps to prevents sediment build-up within the radiator that could potentially clog up the cooling system. With a few minor tools, you can save time and money by learning how to drain your Echo’s radiator right at home. The job should take less than 35 minutes to do.
Raise and support the hood of your Echo. Remove the radiator cap and set it to the side of your work area. If you have recently driven the car, wait two hours for the car to completely cool, since opening a hot radiator can cause personal injury.
Apply the emergency brake and raise the car with a car jack on the driver’s side just behind the front tire. Place a jack stand under the frame rail to help support the car.
Slide under the front of the car on the driver’s side below the radiator. Using a socket wrench, remove the five bolts holding the splash guard in place. Put the bolts in your pocket and set the plastic splash guard to the side.
Locate the radiator drain plug at the bottom corner of the radiator. While you’re observing the drain plug look beneath its mounting position and you should see a black drain tube.
Place the coolant drain pan directly under the drain tube. Rotate the drain plug counterclockwise until a steady flow of coolant is coming out of the drain tube. If no coolant comes out of the drain tube then it may be clogged with dirt.
Unbend and straighten the hook portion of a wire coat hanger. Slowly insert the hanger into the drain tube, no more than 3 inches. Wiggle the hanger around while it's in the tube and pull it out once the coolant starts to drain. Allow the coolant to drain for 10 to 15 minutes before you close the drain plug and refill the radiator.
