Howdy folks.

I'm doing my heater core (so much fun, let me tell you :P It's actually not that bad).

In the process, since I have stop-leak in my old coolant and it's a few years old, I want to switch to Zerez G-05. I've got a couple questions.

1) What's the actual coolant capacity of the system? Is it really 10 quarts? I think it was more like 7-8 from past work on the car.

2) Do I really need to run prestone coolant flush and do a full heat/cool cycle before draining it? Can I just pull out the thermostat and run the engine on tap water for 5 minutes to clean it out? Then do another rinse (once it's cool) and run and finally install the new coolant and distilled water.

3) I'm in an apartment complex. Does anybody have recommendations on keeping coolant spillage to a minimum? I know about the block drain, but the lower rad hose makes a mess. I looked into ethylene glycol degradation, and what I found said in 1-3 days most is broken down in the dirt. The actual coolant I'm going to capture and drain. What do I need to do with regards to the flush-water?

Cheers!