I did a bit of maintenance to my TD4 2010 Freelander this morning and was quite surprised how easy it was to change brake pads etc, but got stuck trying to drain the coolant.

There’s a plastic drain plug at the bottom of the radiator which the workshop manual says to turn 90 anti-clockwise and then the coolant should flow out of the side, but nothing happened when I tried.

Is it possible that a previous owner used some sort of stop-leak that’s blocked up the drain hole? If I can’t get it out of the drain, is there a hose that I can take of instead?

First question is why you wanted to drain the coolant ? That said:

Take off the bottom radiator hose where is seats. A mechanic on bonus would not wait years for a silly little drain plug to kick in due some sludge build up.

Once drained do a back-flush. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

Wanted to drain it because the expansion tank was full of nasty darkish brown liquid, and it needed topped up anyway so I thought I may as well buy a bit more coolant and replace it, ive got no idea when it was last replaced and the cars done 120k miles. Also I quite enjoy working on my own cars.

When you say the bottom radiator hose where it seats, is that this bit I’ve circled in red?

Perfect  FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

You may also find this thread useful: http://www.freel2.com/forum/topic21093.htm...ator+drain 2005 D3 2.7 Auto
Previously:
2010 MY FL2 TD4e GS - Now gone at 199,500 miles, about 135,000 of them mine.
‘93 Defender 110 200TDi CSW
‘87 Defender 90 4 cyl Petrol
‘83 110 CSW V8 - best ever!
Range Rover 2-door V8 (not sure of year - 4-speed box and vacuum diff switch)
Series III SWB Diesel

If your coolant is brown in colour it indicates there is a problem, probably head gasket related. Does it look like there is oil in the coolant? Is there any sign of 'mayonnaise' on the oil filler cap? How quickly does the coolant level drop after its topped up?

Whatever the outcome at 120,000 miles you may be best doing the cam belt and Water Pump to rule out coolant leaks from that area.

I am thinking one more year for cam belt (MY13 plate) on ours, currently at 61, 000 miles. FL2 MY10 TD4 GS traded in at 2 years
FL2 MY13 TD4 GS Current

I’d be tempted to see if the oil cooler is leaking into the water as that makes the water go mucky brown I’ve had a few do that. Not always a head gasket issue...