Coolant Flush Question

[rickp]

Hey guys,
I'm due to flush and replace the coolant on my 02 Tahoe LT 5.3L.

In the manual it says to remove the cylinder block plugs and drain the coolant. Here's my question, I've looked all over the bottom of that engine and I can't find any cylinder plug. Could it be possible that my truck doesn't have them. As per the book there's supposed to be 2 of them, one on each side.

If I dont' have them, what i was planning on doing to flush the system was to drain the radiator by the drain plug, then disconnect the main radiator hose, stick the water hose in the radiator turn the water and engine on, put the heater on high and let everything flush out. Am I on track here?

Thanks guys.
R.

 

[OmarR]

The plugs are up a little higher; The left rear is just ahead of the oil filter.

They are 17mm hex and the one near the oil filter is the only one I have been able to get to. The other ones have accessories in th way, such as the starter on the other side.

By draining the radiator (some report not having a petcock on their radiator), undoing the lower hose at the water pump/thermostat, and taking off the one hex plug, I emptied about 3.5 of 4 gallons.

That was close enough for me.

 

[rickp]

The plugs are up a little higher; The left rear is just ahead of the oil filter.

They are 17mm hex and the one near the oil filter is the only one I have been able to get to. The other ones have accessories in th way, such as the starter on the other side.

By draining the radiator (some report not having a petcock on their radiator), undoing the lower hose at the water pump/thermostat, and taking off the one hex plug, I emptied about 3.5 of 4 gallons.

That was close enough for me.

I looked in that area and i didn't see anything but I'll look again with what you said.
I do have a drain plug by the bottom of the raidiator. I wasn't aware of the water pump.

Thanks.

 

[TacHoe]

The plugs are up a little higher; The left rear is just ahead of the oil filter.

They are 17mm hex and the one near the oil filter is the only one I have been able to get to. The other ones have accessories in th way, such as the starter on the other side.

By draining the radiator (some report not having a petcock on their radiator), undoing the lower hose at the water pump/thermostat, and taking off the one hex plug, I emptied about 3.5 of 4 gallons.

That was close enough for me.

^^ This is how we did my flush, My girlfriends dad is a master mechanic and said this was the norm and a non-issue

 

[Paul_Kaos]

I remember reading about a thing you can get to with a long skinny 7-8mm on the passenger side. Presumably both sides do have the big 17mm drain but there's supposed to be a little one you can get on the passenger side.

Or is that only on 6.0 blocks and the 5.3 doesn't have it?

Am I chasing a ghost here?

Is it actually impossible to drain that passenger jacket without pulling the starter?