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Use your best judgement on this. This plug is plastic on a plastic end tank, and lives in a recessed area a bit hard to reach. Nobody has reported a way to drain the car without making a mess. Coolant seem to get on horizontal surfaces and travel. Have a big catch container available (and no pets around). There are other options, like the lower radiator hose, or even the engine drain. What procedure are you performing? If the work is high enough, you can get away with draining the expansion tank with a turkey baster type tool and deal with a bit of overflow. Your call of course.
^^ What he said. I would not attempt to unscrew that aging plastic drain plug. It may crack and break. Far less risky to pull a lower radiator hose and drain the system that way....
You can drain without a BIG mess but there will be 'splashing' and drops in a wide pattern.
I lift the car and place a plastic dealer tag (license plate insert) into the front suspension crossmember.
The stream of coolant hits the plastic plate and it drains into a LARGE transmission funnel on a transmission jack.
Just the way I do it, but I have car lifts. It is a little more difficult on jackstands. Not as much 'maneuvering-room'.
You will need a LARGE, long screwdriver to turn the plug.
Gentleman thank you for sharing your experience and insight on this issue. This all started because I smelled a faint whiff of coolant from time to time and finally located a leak where the metal thermostat housing mates withe the hose manifold piece. Mine has a gasket and I think the PO added. The rubber seal is supposed to be the only sealing method so I’m going to correct it. My thinking is since I bought this car a few months ago now would be a good opportunity to change the coolant. I have a V12 XJS that I just drill a hole in the lower hose drain the fluid then replace the hose. Minimal cost and less mess. It would appear this maybe the same here. I have the hoses in stock so that will be the best option.
I would like to explore removing the plug and installing a quick drain that I could attach a hose to for future consideration.
