I'm preparing to flush the cooling system and replace the thermostat on my 2005. I've read up on the procedure, and feel comfortable with it; but I am curious as to whether I can minimize the mess by first draining the coolant via the drain bolts in the block (with radiator cap removed of course), instead of removing the water pump inlet hose first. I'm assuming that either an air lock or the cooling system design prevents the majority of the coolant from draining from the drain bolts, otherwise someone would have mentioned it before. But, if these factors don't hinder coolant drainage, it makes sense to me to drain from the block first, so that when the hoses are removed there is less spillage.
Any comments?
Any comments?