Coolant change

[UltimaRich]

Dear all,

I've had a quick trawl through the archives but can't pick out anyhthing by means of do's and do not's when changing the coolant ...

I would be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction or pass on any thoughts.

Cheers

Rich

[steve_D]

Why do you want to change it?
Steve

[YIIHAA]

I changed mine by loosening both jubilee clips on the bottom radiator hose, then sliding the silicon tube off the radiator. Remove both the swirl pot and header tank caps. I also removed the pipe on the bottom of the header tank to drain that.

Then reach for your 9/16 spanner and undo/remove the two plugs in the middle of the block, one on each side. You'll obviously want to do all of this with the engine cold, as hot water and hot headers are condusive to burns!

I then squirted a hose in various orifices to flush the old coolant out of the block / radiator.

Then I refitted the block plugs and bottom hose. Then filled up at the swirl pot. Refitted both caps (making sure to get the right ones, plain cap on swirl pot, pressure cap on header tank). Ran engine, watch temperature gauge very carefully, hopefully wait till the thermostat opens, stop engine. Allow to cool. Recheck swirl pot, top up as necessary.

Someone else will hopefully give advice on the correct way to bleed the system, I have heard mention of jacking up the back of the car.

I'm not saying that is the right way to do it, and all instructions followed at your own risk. It seemed to work for me.

I was changing mine because I wanted to change to a slightly lower coolant concentration and add some water wetter in an attempt to lower the temperatures in traffic. But that's another, far more boring, story

[UltimaRich]

Cheers Paul,

Thanks for the advice!

Re: why the change, ... as with Paul I would like to add some Water Wetter but I also have a small water leak from somewhere around the water pumps (bolts possibly). To this end I have been topping up regularly and would now like to bleed the whole system and re-seal the bolts into the water pump. More for peace of mind I guess ...

Rich