Center Radiator Replacement

[peterbrown77]

My center radiator has a small leak and I'm replacing it after work today. Got the part, have a pair of pliers for the spring clamps (hope it works!), the bumper cover is off the car....

My question is: do I really need to drain coolant from the plug at the engine? What about just pulling a hose at the radiator and then only having what needs to come out, come out? Catch it in a pan, put it back in when I'm done. I don't want to jack up the whole car for this little project, which I would have to do because I doubt the clearance under the car is sufficient for the pan/bucket while on the tires. In fact, putting the front on ramps will probably cause even less of the coolant to come out when I remove a hose.

TIA