Draining coolant system in a 98 Cherokee

[jrmac67]

I've read several threads in here dealing with this issue. The petcock that drains the radiator is accessable only via taking out the passenger headlight.....unless I wanted to remove the entire front, and this doesn't drain the whole system. I've read several folks discuss draining the system from a plug in the engine block, and my owners manual recommends this method. However, I can't seem to find the plug. I'm not an automotive expert, so more detail would be better than not enough.

I know what the plug will look like.....does anyone have experience with this on a '98 engine (straight 6) and can help me find it?

Thanks in advance.

[Po Pilot]

Easiest way to do it is just take out the lower radiator hose. Drains quickly and without all the fuss of getting to the petcock.

[jrmac67]

Actually, that is how I ended up draining the radiator do to my lack of kid size hands. However, I need to drain the rest out of the block, and thus need to find the plug to do so...

[Po Pilot]

The other plugs are on the drivers side on the lower end of the block. Freeze plugs they are. If you truly want to drain the block that way go for it - but its a pain to reinstall them with the engine on the vehicle.

I used a wet/dry vac when my waterpump was off to suck my block semi dry.

If need be - flush the whole thing to remove any coolant.

[cmlind]

There is a plug on the drivers side about half way back. Don't take a freeze plug out! It needs a square 5/16 pipe plug wrench to take off. The plug is a recessed female type. The wrenches are hard to find. It can be seen from the top, but remove it from underneath. Check out this thread or search for 'radiator drain plug' if it doesn't work. Good luck.
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbul...=radiator+plug