Possibly dumb question about draining coolant

[Gareth Randall]

This is going to sound really dumb, but if I start my Jeep Liberty from cold and drive it for about a minute in order to move it into the right place for me to work on it (it needs a new water pump), will the coolant reach a temp/pressure in that time that could cause injury when I pull the rad hose to drain it? Should I remove the cap from the coolant bottle before I drive it, just to be sure it can’t pressurise?

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[college man]

You should be ok.

[Austin]

remove the cap if you want, all that will happen is that it will boil when it reaches operating temperature and puke out of the rad. neck, which can also be dangerous. I never say always, but 99.99999% there is no way you’re going to have any issues from running it for only a min. when i do overheat conditions and im done and its time for me to bleed it, it takes a bout 15 solid mins. for it to start boiling over. If you’re that worried, then drive it in and let it sit for a bit for it to cool down.

[Trent “Teddy” Martin]

You should be fine but if you’re ever doing any work on the cooling system first thing you should do is slowly remove the radiator cap with a rag. Not only will it let you know the temperature it also removes pressure from the system and allows the cooling system to drain faster

[EricTheCarGuy]

By the sound of it I think you should be fine. Doesn’t hurt to be cautious. Especially when doing auto repair.

[Author]

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