I'm about to swap out the thermostat/housing on the right side of the motor..... I wanted to know if I had to actually drain the coolant from the radiator or if I could just swap the hose and thermostat quickly...

 

I guess if you're fast enough you won't lose too much, but you can avoid a mess by just taking a little extra time to drain the system.

 

yeah i'll just drain it, it probably needs to be anyway...now do i just drain the radiator or do i have to undo the bolts that drains the cylinders

 

Somebody else will have to answer this. I've never drained the cooling system of my Maxima, and my FSM is at home.

However, with every other car I've owned all you had to do was open the petcock at the bottom of the radiator.

 

Just drain the radiator... squeeze each of the lines a few times, that will get the majority of it out. You will be OK.

 

thanks delio

 

Yes you definitely have to drain the radiator fluid first. If you don't drain it, fluid will spill everywhere.