I had some free time for the Corona break so I decided to change the "Y" fittings on my dual radiator setup.

I looked for posts on drain location for the dual radiator setup and found nothing that matched my truck.

Here is what I found on my truck (2014 Ram 2500) and it worked out well with little to no mess.

The drain for my truck was located near the passenger front tow hook.

A 3/8 allen fits in the center of the plug to unscrew, I used a cut off allen and a ratcheting wrench for the job. To tight for a ratchet and socket.

Below is a picture of the drain, the bolt on the left is the tow hook.

Other photo is the 3/8 allen piece used with wrench.

r drain.jpg


Allen.jpg


I used some tubing and a rubber 90 degree fitting I had from one of those cheap brake bleed kits.

Tubing.jpg


I pushed the rubber fitting onto the drain and ran the tubing out the front into a bucket.

Ran it through a paint filter since I was going to reuse it.

Tubing 2.jpg


Bucket.jpg


There is only one drain for both radiators. It took about 15 minutes to drain but there was no mess, just a few drips until I got the valve all the way open.

It drains the system completely with the exception of the water pump and common low areas.

I drained a little over 5 gallons so most came out.

After the work is done you need to use a vacuum kit to refill.

My truck does not have a radiator cap, only the reservoir.

I purchased the Airlift system which seals on the reservoir (or radiator cap if you have one) and creates a vacuum using shop air. Pull the system to 25 inches of vacuum and check for it to hold for 20-30 seconds.

The hoses collapse under vacuum.

If it holds you have no leaks.

During this process I have the ignition switch on with the heater on in case there are any dampers restricting flow into the heater core. It only takes 30-50 seconds to pull 25 inches of vacuum.

Shut the ball valve on the Airlift (or equivalent system), disconnect shop air and connect the filler hose with your bucket of coolant.

Open the ball valve and the vacuum sucks the coolant back into the system.

The vacuum opens the thermostat so there are no air pockets in the system.

This is the preferred method for filling this setup.

Well worth the investment.

Below is a picture showing the Airlift with the filler hose sucking in coolant.

Airlift.jpg


Hope this helps someone down the road.