Flushing coolant system of Fiesta - Alternator question.

[jimsayshi]

Am going to flush the coolant of a 51 plate Fiesta, and the Haynes manual says it's an easy enough job, agree that it does look pretty straight forward. But I have two questions. It says I have to remove the Thermostat and the Alternator first. I guess the Thermostat is so that when the system is hosed with the garden hose, the jet of water wont damage the Thermostat. But why do I have to remove the Alternator? It's a bit of a PITA of a job. Can I flush the system while leaving the alternator on?

And when bleeding the brake system, do you do Master Cylinder first or last? Looks like the brakes haven't been bleed in a long time.

Edited by jimsayshi on Sunday 20th March 12:06

[white90]

Zetec?
if so they can be awkward to bleed after you flush/refill
Does the coolant look awful? why are you flushing?
you will struggle to get the thermostat out without removing the alternator as it is underneath, plus take a pic of the belt routing as when you remove it
it isn't obvious how it goes back,also the tensioner is low down at the rear
15mm spanner takes care of it.
brakes wheel furthest from the master cylinder working back towards it.

Edited by white90 on Monday 21st March 11:38