I was quoted almost $900 for a coolant flush on my 2001 Ferrari 360 Spider, so I decided to learn how to do it myself. The tool cost $90 and the coolant cost $44, and I likely enough coolant leftover to do a 2nd coolant in a few years. So this saved me over $750 for about 2 hours of work. Better than my hourly rate at work.

Parts/Specialized Tools Required

• Airvac Coolant Tool
• 2 gallons of G48 coolant (not premixed)
• 2 gallons of distilled water
• Clean 5 gallon bucket
• Air compressor

The process was not too difficult, and would be very easy if you had access to a 4 post lift.

First, get your front wheels raised so that the front undertray can be removed. I jacked up behind the wheel on each side and lowered the car onto some Rhino Ramps.

Then remove the front undertray. This involved removing 6x 8mm screws, then 10x 10mm bolts. Slide that out. Remember where each screw goes. The black ones go on the front, the smallest 2 ones attach to the middle undertray, the 4 with the multiple washer sit on the outside near the tires, and the final 4 are somewhere in the middle.

I also took my undertray outside and cleaned it with water to remove dirt and such.

Next step is to drain the radiators. There is a drain cap for each radiator, remove those and catch the old coolant. For my passenger side cap, I had to clip the wing on each side, since the radiator was sitting very close to a piece of the frame, but it’s still easy to get on and off. Watch the coolant to see if any oil is mixed in, if so, you likely need a heat exchanger replacement.

Remove the coolant cap on the overflow tank in the engine bay. Blow some compressor air down there using one of the attachments from the Airvac tool and your air compressor. This will clear out much more of the coolant lines.

Seal your radiators back up by re-installing the drain caps. Attach the Airvac tool to the coolant overflow tank. Tighten it in.

Attach your air compressor to the tool and draw a vacuum (instructions vary based on your tool). Let it hold a vacuum for a few minutes to confirm there is no leaks in your system.

Combine your distilled water and G48 coolant in the 5 gallon bucket.

Put the drawing hose from the Airvac into the bottom of the bucket. Open the valve to draw coolant in. This will completely fill your coolant system with mixed coolant and no air, but it will fill the the very top.

I used a turkey baster to remove a bit of the coolant, then re-installed the coolant cap. It is still filled very high, so it will overflow some as you break it in.

If your coolant cap is over a year old, you might consider replacing it now, they’re cheap and a consumable part on the Ferrari 360.

Finally, re-install the front undertray, lower your car off the ramps, and enjoy driving!

Here’s a good YouTube video covering the process.