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All this talk of old coollant/head gaskets is making me nervous and since my coolant was changed nearly 3 years ago I thought I would give it a pop (and I've already got 5 litros of Comma long life in the garage).

The drain off tap looks like it will snap off if I even show it a pair of grips and I don't fancy messing with the bottom hose in case it falls apart on me?

Any tips on how to do this? and have I got to remove the thermostat to flush the block? que: new housing gasket etc etc

What's the coolant capacity? will 5 litros be enough for me in the mix? what are this week's winning lotto numbers?

Thanks

Welly

Pair of pliers and a new jubilee clip?

Remove the hose from a union and retreat. Once its done bleeding.... jubilee clip it back on.

On the tubby at least there's a drain plug at the bottom of the radiator. Turn 90 degrees anti-clockwise and pull (it doesn't come out).

The way I flush is to fill up with water, run until the thermostat opens, fill up some more, kill the engine, drain. Then fill up with a new coolant mix

Might have a go then! don't really fancy touching the thermostat for some reason just have to be carefull not to slosh in any cold water into hot engine so might take a few hours.

If my head gasket goes I could wave goodbye to all my recent expensive repairs

mjb wrote:Turn 90 degrees anti-clockwise and pull (it doesn't come out).

Oh yes it does, my arm got soaked!

Hey Welly, don't forget to crack open the pressure cap when you're draining to prevent an airlock.

teamster1975 wrote:

mjb wrote:Turn 90 degrees anti-clockwise and pull (it doesn't come out).

Oh yes it does, my arm got soaked!

Hey Welly, don't forget to crack open the pressure cap when you're draining to prevent an airlock.

If you'd have kept the cap on you wouldn't have gotten so wet!

Hi Welly
Just check you got the correct antifreeze/inhibitor since they are now not all etheline glycol - Comma make three different varieties for different engines - you would not want your head eaten away would you. The stupid spring type clips should be changed for stainless steel jubilee clips. To change the thermostat looks daunting and is if the studs shear, however, you really should fit a new one if your motor has seen some years. First warm up the engine to temperature, then take a good fitting ring key and turn the nut slowly both ways just a pinch look closely at the stud to see if the nut actually turns or does the stud turn with it.
Once it does turn squirt some WD40 on and just keep working the nut back and forth until it is loose. If the stud turns with the nut stop. Get a pair of big grips and clamp onto the nut as tight as you can from the top - don't turn it yet. keep working it on all the flats. What you are doing is spreading the nut to release the grip on the threads. You will be relieved when it turns off and it will. If that doesn't work a more brutal way is to hit down on the end of the nut with a pin punch just enough to work the threads. On bigger nuts another way is to use a fine chisel and spread the nut on the flat in the same way a bespoke nut splitter does. It could be that the stud is just unscrewing out of the head but you can't take that chance. Now for christmas I like Walkers Black Label.

You've put me off somewhat now longy

I only have basic tools The thermostat was replaced by my friendly dealer in Feb 2006 but it would be nice to whip it out and give the block a good run through with water

Might ask my mechanic to do it when it goes BACK in on Monday for the IC hose, throttle pot, anti roll bar mounts, oh dear.....

Is there a drain plug on the rear of the engine block?

Sure the haynes book of lies say there is, when i did mine it dint take the full amount of coolant the haynes book said, but i didn't remove a plug from the block.

No problems changing the thermostat thou. pretty straight forward.

Hi
I did not mean to put you off welly - just make sure you don't learn from bitter experience as I've done in my early years. More often the nuts will just unscrew ok and you will gain more confidence from here on with other jobs. Things that are most risky are where jacking up and safety mean you don't get a second chance to learn. If I do anything I always say what would happen "IF" and then apply belt and braces - best practice is always the way. I've had studs break in cylinder blocks and I tell you that can be a headache to get them out - that's another story.

mbell666 wrote:Is there a drain plug on the rear of the engine block?

Sure the haynes book of lies say there is...

It does, there isn't (at least I couldn't find one). Sharp chisel and big hammer. Oops, sorry I mean if your rad drain plug doesn't exist either you'll have to undo the bayonet fixing on the bottom hose and... Fuggit, get your mechanic to do it

easiest way i know to drain coolant

buy car
wait for rad to fail on motor-way
pull to side of motor-way in cloud of steam
hey presto coolant drained all over fast lane





scrap car cuz it got hit by sleepy polish truck driver who wandered out of slow lane and used your car as a wake up tool

ianst28 wrote:easiest way i know to drain coolant

buy car
wait for rad to fail on motor-way
pull to side of motor-way in cloud of steam
hey presto coolant drained all over fast lane





scrap car cuz it got hit by sleepy polish truck driver who wandered out of slow lane and used your car as a wake up tool

the way i do mine is to undo the drain screw at the bottom ( when the engine is cold of course ) and then take the thermostat out and put a hose pipe in the expansion tank and leave the clean water to run thro the system and out the thermostat housing for 10 mins . then refit , refill and enjoy driving

Hi Welly
Just to clarify - bringing the temp up to remove the thermostat is so that the nuts/bolts on the cover will free off easier. However, before you start taking the cap off you should let it cool off so that you don't scald yourself and you make sure the pressure has been released. I notice on my HDI they are bolts so the issue with nuts does not apply but the same approach to slackening them off does since they can still snap off in the head. Another small point is that the heater hoses have a bleed screw to let air out when refilling and also one on the Thermostat cap.