Hi there.

I had the issue of the gurgling noise everytime on the morning when I turned on my HHR. The cause was low coolant level. I just added green coolant (In México the only place where you can buy DEX COOL Coolant is the dealer, and costs 45 USD per Gallon ) and follow the procedure to remove the air from the system. I traveled to the US border and bought two gallon jugs of prestone Dex cool (not dilluited). Then, considering that I added about 1 quart of green stuff and that my HHR has 5 years, it´s time to change the coolant. I saw that there is a petc**k near to the radiator and I assume that this is the draining hole. Now, I have these questions:

1. All the coolant will be drained from the system just opening the petc**k? I don´t know if it´s like when you replace the tranny fluid, that there´s is some stored that you can´t drain.

2. May I flush just with plain water, or I need to add any flush liquid?

I will apreciate your comments!

 

I've been away from car maintenance for a while, but back when I had my Achieva (late 90s), I learned that you can add green to orange, but never add orange to green.

Dexcool is a more efficient coolant, if what I learned long ago still applies, you probably want to get a complete flush and fill back up with dexcool just to be safe. Maybe someone can update me on this...

 

You won't be able to drain it all. The block/pump will retain some coolant, but it is less than a quart. I don't think you need to do a complete flush unless it will put your mind at ease.