- 1). Place a bucket with at least a 2-gallon capacity underneath the radiator drain plug. On the Subaru Outback, you'll find the plug on the passenger side bottom of the radiator.
- 2). Open the plug to allow the coolant to drain into bucket. After draining is complete, pour the coolant into a sealable container.
- 3). Use a socket wrench to remove the nuts from the bolts that hold the coolant recovery tank in position. Because one or more of these nuts may be in an awkward location, you may need to use a socket extension as well.
- 4). Use hose clamp pliers to loosen the hose clamps. Then, slide these clamps up the hoses and out of the way. Disconnect the coolant hoses from the recovery tank.
- 5). Pull out the old coolant recovery tank and put the new one into same position. The new tank connections should be able to slide down over the bolts that held the old tank. Should these connections not line up, you may have the wrong model recovery tank.
- 6). Tighten the nuts onto the bolts with the socket wrench. Be sure you apply enough pressure, so the tank can't move. A loose tank will eventually cause a coolant leak.
- 7). Reattach the coolant hoses to the recovery tank with the clamps. You'll need to slide them to the place where the hose meets the tank fittings. Use the hose clamp pliers to tighten them. Pull on each hose to make sure the union of each is secure.
- 8). Close the radiator drain plug and refill the radiator with fresh coolant. Then, turn on the engine, set the heater to high and let it run for about 15 minutes. Check for any coolant recovery tank leaks. Finally, close the hood and clean up any mess.
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