How big of a job to drain the cooling system?

[JaggedLP95]

My 2020 Chevrolet Trax seems to need a heater core swap but before I jump in, I want to know if I have to drain everything or if I can just unhook it and install the new one. Trying to avoid an expensive trip to the shop and do it myself. If anyone has done this, how much time and headache am I looking at?

 

[Traxtothemax1]

On most cars, including the Trax the coolant needs to be drained, so don try some cheap hacks to try and free yourself from that. The heater core is behind the dashboard, so expect it to be not so easy job involving a lot of cursing and maybe some broken plastics if you're not careful. You can avoid the shop which wil probably cost you a pretty penny, but don't expect to be done in an hour or two. Unless you've done it one before, I think you should plan this as a weekend project. Don't rush, don't skip steps and you'll be good to go. Also, make sure you have all the tools you'll need for this job.

 

[JaggedLP95]

I wanted to give an update on this and say thanks for the great advice @Traxtothemax1 . I finally bit the bullet and did the heater core replacement this weekend. You were not kidding about the difficulty but that "forewarned is forearmed" mindset made all the difference. It was a marathon not a sprint but the job's done and everything went smoothly.