Less than a gallon of coolant came out

So as the title implies, I was changing coolant on my 2010 Toyota Tacoma, according to the manual it takes just over 2 gallons, but only a little less than a gallon came out of the system. It’s been on lots of 800+ mile drives, and just finished one, so I know the cooling system works fine since it never overheats.

 

So you just drained the radiator - not the engine block.........?

 

yeah I guess I did, the video I watched only showed them opening up the drain cock and that was it. Thanks

 

You have to open the radiator drain and both block drains to get the full 2 gallons out.

 

What you did is all that's needed,even almost a gallon helps a LOT to keep your coolant freshened up.

 

Less than a gallon is all that will come out if you just drain the radiator.
When I drained mine, I got a little over 3/4 of a gallon out.

 

Drain the radiator and passenger side block drain. Dont bother with driver side drain as 1. its a bitch to get to, and 2. after draining from those other two locations you will get less than half a quart of coolant out.

 

Agreed, just drain from the passenger side drain valve. The one time I drained from the driver side, very little came out. And the valve on that side is a PITA.
After this initial drain, I refill the system with only distilled water. Run engine to operating temperature, then drain again. This gets out more old coolant. Then add the antifreeze and top off with distilled water, and purge the system.

 

I just did a coolant flush as well having the same issue. Except that when I tried to drain the coolant from the passenger side the entire valve wanted to come off instead of just the copper part. Should I be worried about taking out the whole drain valve instead of just loosening up the copper part ?

 

@Lavelasc I wouldn't think it would be an issue but I can’t say for sure as this has never happened to me. You could hold the base in place with a wrench. If it feels like the drain valve may not break free, you risk damaging it. At that point I would remove the whole thing if I could.

 

Where is the Passenger Side Drain?

I’ve only drained coolant out of the bottom of the radiator. It has a plastic plug/screw that you twist off.

 

Passenger side middle of the block about 3 inches below the cylinder head.
Looks like this.

 

Thanks, I’ll have a look for it.

 

Remove the rubber-feeling cover. If not lifted, raise the front about three inches. I have a lift and don't have to remove nor turn the tires any. It does help to have a long extension.