Trying to do a coolant change on my 03 Santa Fe 2.7L. The owner's manual says remove the radiator and engine drain plug. Does anyone know where/how to access the engine drain plug? I'm assuming you need to remove this to completely drain the system. Thanks.

 

Remove the radiator??? No don't do that. I don't see a coolant drain plug, which is not unusual. Just pull off the lower radiator hose to drain the system. Open the cabin heater on full heat. Flush out the radiator with a garden hose. Use 50/50 mix to replace. Use the green ethyl glycol stuff.

 

OK, I made a typo. I meant remove the radiator drain plug, not the radiator. I removed the radiator drain plug, but it only allows about half the coolant out of the system (basically, the coolant in the rad). There must be a way to get the rest out of the engine block so the system is completely drained, otherwise you'd be adding new coolant to an old coolant mix.

I did check for the radiator hose to remove as you suggested but it must be completely buried or not exist (rigid piping?).

 

Draining the radiator will also drain the block. Remove the top radiator hose and spray the garden hose into the radiator to flush it out. Spray until you get nice clean water coming out. Don't forget to turn on the heater so you can flush the heater core too.