Flushing Fluids
Discussion
Hi,
I own 2012 MKIV Mondeo Facelift 2.0 Petrol.
Have it for a year now. Have no idea when coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid were changed, might still be factory fluids there, thought it might be a goods idea to change them. However never did any of these jobs.
Anybody did it and can offer some tips ?
Coolant:
Did a coolant test using hydrometer from expansion tank, coolant is clear, transparent, no particles noticed. However hydrometer shows between -18 and -20C freezing temp. Dont know how accurate 5eur hydrometer is but thought its better to replace it.
1) Flush the radiator.
2) Refill system with distillated water.
3) Sart the engine.
4) Turn the heat to the max reach operation temp.
5) Flush the radiator again.
6) Repeat the process until only water comes out of radiator.
7) Add 3.1l of concentrate and refil rest with water since system takes 6.2l.
Are these steps Correct ? Any problems that might occur ?
Brake fluid and power steering fluid
From what i managed to find on youtube these are pretty easy.
Any mistakes to avoid ? Is it worth it replacing the fluids ?
I own 2012 MKIV Mondeo Facelift 2.0 Petrol.
Have it for a year now. Have no idea when coolant, brake fluid, power steering fluid were changed, might still be factory fluids there, thought it might be a goods idea to change them. However never did any of these jobs.
Anybody did it and can offer some tips ?
Coolant:
Did a coolant test using hydrometer from expansion tank, coolant is clear, transparent, no particles noticed. However hydrometer shows between -18 and -20C freezing temp. Dont know how accurate 5eur hydrometer is but thought its better to replace it.
1) Flush the radiator.
2) Refill system with distillated water.
3) Sart the engine.
4) Turn the heat to the max reach operation temp.
5) Flush the radiator again.
6) Repeat the process until only water comes out of radiator.
7) Add 3.1l of concentrate and refil rest with water since system takes 6.2l.
Are these steps Correct ? Any problems that might occur ?
Brake fluid and power steering fluid
From what i managed to find on youtube these are pretty easy.
Any mistakes to avoid ? Is it worth it replacing the fluids ?
Edited by AigulBrinko on Tuesday 28th September 20:50
Well done for trying yourself, but beware of the following.
Coolant - sounds like a plan, but just remember that some cars can be very picky on how to bleed out air locks, so google around a bit first.
In general with the front of the car elevated, the heater on full, the expansion tank lid off that will do for most & many have bleed points in hoses etc. which helps.
Power steering fluid - generally very simple, a syringe will help to get rid of most of the fluid then refill, flush & refill again.
Flushing & bleeding is just a case of going lock-to-lock a few times.
Brake fluid - This is a lot more involved & may well be the job to do with a "mate who knows" but here goes.
Syringe the reservoir empty.
Refill with fresh fluid.
Starting at the brake caliper furthest from the reservoir bleed with either a "pressure bleeder" or the assistance of a mate to press the pedal while you open the caliper bleed nipple, closing again while the pedal goes back up, rinse repeat until fresh clean fluid comes through.
Repeat for all 4 corners.
Then the same with the clutch which uses the same fluid in the same reservoir but from a different part of the reservoir.
KEEP A GOOD EYE ON THE RESERVOIR LEVEL AT ALL TIMES AND NEVER LET IT GET LOW.
Coolant - sounds like a plan, but just remember that some cars can be very picky on how to bleed out air locks, so google around a bit first.
In general with the front of the car elevated, the heater on full, the expansion tank lid off that will do for most & many have bleed points in hoses etc. which helps.
Power steering fluid - generally very simple, a syringe will help to get rid of most of the fluid then refill, flush & refill again.
Flushing & bleeding is just a case of going lock-to-lock a few times.
Brake fluid - This is a lot more involved & may well be the job to do with a "mate who knows" but here goes.
Syringe the reservoir empty.
Refill with fresh fluid.
Starting at the brake caliper furthest from the reservoir bleed with either a "pressure bleeder" or the assistance of a mate to press the pedal while you open the caliper bleed nipple, closing again while the pedal goes back up, rinse repeat until fresh clean fluid comes through.
Repeat for all 4 corners.
Then the same with the clutch which uses the same fluid in the same reservoir but from a different part of the reservoir.
KEEP A GOOD EYE ON THE RESERVOIR LEVEL AT ALL TIMES AND NEVER LET IT GET LOW.
Replacing the brake fluid without also servicing the brakes makes no sense and would be easy to mess up..
Coolant only needs to be replaced extremely rarely and if you're replacing like with like then it is simply a matter of calculating how much concentrate you need to add and then drain off roughly that much coolant. You would almost never both fully drain and flushing the coolant unless you were changing to an incompatible coolant, which is something you should avoid.
These jobs are not difficult, but would be easy to mess up leaving yourself with cooling or braking problems.
There is far more to servicing a car than changing fluids, and none of what you're suggesting is a substitute for a service. I suggest you leave them until the car is serviced and mention to check these at the same time. Meanwhile make sure the brake fluid level doesn't drop below minimum and that the coolant hader tank is at the right level. You can usually check both of these without removing any caps. Don't be tempted to top of the brake fluid if it is not right up to the maximum level - it is normal for the level to drop as the pads wear and if you mistakenly top it up then the reservoir will overflow when the pistons are pushed back to replace the pads.
Coolant only needs to be replaced extremely rarely and if you're replacing like with like then it is simply a matter of calculating how much concentrate you need to add and then drain off roughly that much coolant. You would almost never both fully drain and flushing the coolant unless you were changing to an incompatible coolant, which is something you should avoid.
These jobs are not difficult, but would be easy to mess up leaving yourself with cooling or braking problems.
There is far more to servicing a car than changing fluids, and none of what you're suggesting is a substitute for a service. I suggest you leave them until the car is serviced and mention to check these at the same time. Meanwhile make sure the brake fluid level doesn't drop below minimum and that the coolant hader tank is at the right level. You can usually check both of these without removing any caps. Don't be tempted to top of the brake fluid if it is not right up to the maximum level - it is normal for the level to drop as the pads wear and if you mistakenly top it up then the reservoir will overflow when the pistons are pushed back to replace the pads.
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