Fitting A Radiator And Bleeding The System

[boz]

Hello

Another little guide on how to remove/re-fit a radiator and how to bleed the coolant system

Ok now

To do this, you will need the following:

Bucket
2ltr pop bottle
knife
Coolant
Garden hose, connected to the water mains
Allen keys
Pliers
Adjustable pipe wrench

lets get started
always work on a cold car, water expands when its hot and will give you a nasty burn

looking down at the radiator, you have a coolant pipe that goes to the bottom left hand corner of the radiator. this is jeld in place using a metal clip, to remove this you need to nip the 2 tags of the clip together and slide then back down the pipe when they are clamped together.

to do the above i use an adjustable pipe wrench, these open up far enough to close the 2 tags together and slide the clip back, this is quick and easy on the old fingers

now the clip is off you can pull the pipe of the radiator, make sure you have something to collect the cooland in, if you are going to let it fall onto the floor, you will need to stand with your feet out of the way. pull the pipe off and all the water will drain out of the system and radiator.

Remove the clip on the pipe thats at the top of the radiator at the right hand side using the same method as above.

remove the temp sensor that is at the top of the radiator right hand side again.

To flush the coolant system out, i always find this to be the best way. Place a garden hose into the coolant pipe that was connected to the left of the radiator. turn the hose on full. this will clean/free any crap that is in the block. carry this on until the water runs clean. repeat the same for the radiator, i normally do both sides

the radiator is held in place by 2 wire clips, these are just behind the front slam panel, just lift the clips on the left hand side on right hand side whilst pulling the radiator forward.

you can now lift the radiator out.

Re-fitting is the same as removing

Once the pipes and sensor is connected and the radiator held in place using the clips, you are ready to fill the system with coolant.

following the instruction of the coolant, mix the correct ratio into a bucket, then get the clean pop bottle and cut the base off, leaving the necka nd main part off the bottle you will see why in a mo lol

at the right hand/top side of the radiator there is a small plug that you need to turn and open, this allows the air to be pushedf out of the system when the water goes in, there are 3 air drain points in total. the 1 thats on the radiator, there is also a point on top of the thermostat, this needs to be removed with an allen key (looking at the engine, it is located to the bottom right hand side of the cam cover, it looks like a normal bolt, but has an allen key drive ) the 3rd one is to the top left hand corner of the cam cover, its on a black collant pipe and is a plastic valve cap, the same as whats on your tyres all of these need to be open.

now then,
remove the radiator cap and start to fill the system with coolant/water mix, you need to watch the sir drsin point on the radiator 1st, once water starts to come out of it, turn it to close it.

Now place the pop bottle into the neck of the radiator filling point. start to fill the bottle/radiator again. This time watching the 2nd air point, again once water comes out of here, tighten the bolt to close it.

Then watch the 3rd point, when water comes out, re-place the platic cap

The bottle is needed to push the water around the system, gravity and all that good stuff

You must make sure that water comes out of each drain point in turn, other wise you will create an air lock, this will lead to the car overheating really fast and can cause damage to the car, cylinder head warping etc (air heats up alot faster than water).

replace the radiator cap and start the car. allow to run until the fan kicks in, ensure that its the normal place on the water temp gauge in the car, normally 3/4.

allow it to do this a few times, then allow the engine to cool and check the level of cooland in the radiator, top up if need be.

thats it

[davew]

loving your new selection of guides mate

[Tobs]

guna drop my coolant today so good tips mate

how long it take u?

[boz]

dosnt take long at all mate
should be an hour to change the coolant, max

got a few more little guides in going to do lmbo, far to much time on my hands

[vincevtr]

Top guide - though make it sound a bit easier than it can be! I found the following link helpful:

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/po...htm?v=i&t=8539

I'd also suggest changing the standard hose clamps with mikalor ones whilst you have the chance - they're less hassle to take on and off. I bought mine from here:

http://www.stagonset.co.uk/

Can't remember the size needed, but you can just measure the diameter of the hoses with a tape measure (the soft type your ma has for measuring clothes).

[Joesnow]

Alright! I’ve fitted a radiator before… used exactly the same method as you with the pop bottle and it worked fine – just when I put a new engine in the other week I cant seem to bleed it properly… do you run the engine for a while with the bottle still on? I keep getting air into the coolant it seems to work alright for a bit then it starts to run warm! I tried running it with the bottle still on for a bit and there were really small bubbles coming up… do you keep running it until all these are gone? Or does this mean my head gaskets gone? My oil and coolant are alright though

[boz]

im sure the haynes manual says to run it with the bleed points shut and then with the radiator cap open?? but dont quote me on that lol

i never have a problem doing the above tbh.

try washing the system out with the garden hose, mite have some shit in the system that is causing a blocked or trapped air?

Vincevtr: it is easy im not a car mechanic, im handy with the spanners tho, but i had never messed around with things like this. I had a bash, did it wrong 1st time, then right the second. and have done it loads since
best way to learn is have a bash at it

[boz]

i will add pics up from the track car when i get home from this trip. should be ready to fit the engine etc.

then it will be easier to understand how simple a job it is

[Joesnow]

Originally Posted by boz

im sure the haynes manual says to run it with the bleed points shut and then with the radiator cap open??

Yeah it does say that… just I’ve done it before without doing that and it worked fine.. .just this time I cant seem to get it to bleed properly! I think the head gaskets on its way out and the bubbles I’m seeing coming up are exhaust gas that’s getting through the head gasket? I don’t know how else air could get into the coolant? I was running it for a good 20mins and still getting little bubbles up?

Probably a helpful tip for anyone that’s having difficulty bleeding their system…

Its not a hard job to do – if you’re finding it hard to bleed the system, the head gaskets probably gone

You’re probably changing the radiator because it’s rotten and your cars overheating, in which case the head will have most likely already warped and head gasket failures going to happen

[boz]

i also pumped the coolant pipes to get most of the air out when the car was cold. just squeese the pipes and it will pump the water and air out, if there is any left in the system.

not too sure what those bubbles will be that your getting matey??

maybe keep a check of it over the next few hundred miles, check checking the filler cap for the radiator, if its the head gasket, you may get a creamy color substance on it, that will be the oil mixing with the water

hope its not your head gasket

[vincevtr]

Originally Posted by boz

im sure the haynes manual says to run it with the bleed points shut and then with the radiator cap open?? but dont quote me on that lol

Vincevtr: it is easy im not a car mechanic, im handy with the spanners tho, but i had never messed around with things like this. I had a bash, did it wrong 1st time, then right the second. and have done it loads since
best way to learn is have a bash at it

Cheers Boz - I'm no mech either. This is the one basic job I've not done on the saxo (though changed coolant in other cars). Paid a garage to change my coolant as it was January when I serviced it and it was too wet and cold for this task (also the water in my area is hard and clogs up your kettle so didn't like the idea of it in my car; the garage I went is in an area where it's soft - comes from Wales). Got it back with air in the system, wasn't impressed! Get impression as rad is lower than engine it can be tricky to get all air out (as the link I put in my other post explains). As garage was obviously keen to get rid of me when I went back they opened bleed nipples whilst engine was running - coolant shot up like a fountain! WTF! Got rid of air but I had to wash engine bay when home (and reckon mechanic burnt his fingers!).

I'll give it a bash myself next time after what you say - maybe even later in the summer just to have a go. Virtually every experience I have with a garage isn't good - if I can do something myself now I always will.

[boz]

never been to a garage for years mate lol

[sjsbale]

Excellent thread very useful Cheers

[mrgris]

does anyone know where i can buy the 2 wire clips that hold the radiator in place? the saxo i recently bought has a leaking radiator which is being held up by a peice bit of cable attached to the slam panel!!

[fastroadkid69]

good guide that, just what ive been looking for, done the misses car this morning but i didnt do it that way with the bottle i blew down the rad filler to blow it around the system, but ile do it that way when she gets back with the car, cheers buddy.

[steste9876]

Right, i sheared the 3rd bolt off, the one closest to the top of the radiator. If i drilled it out, would it make a difference as long as i washed the system out with a hose or something? Just that will the shrapnel damage anything? Cheers

[dianahepworth]

Absolutely brilliant guide! Thank you very much - you've made my life way easier!
Just finished installing my new rad (in the heavy snow!)
Everything went spot on, apart from breaking the middle bleed valve, but I got it out in the end and the top still seals the system.
Does anyone know where I can get a new bleed valve from?

[hapnin]

please help im trying to bleed the system on my 1.5 diesel 106 which is the same as the diesel saxo and i cant fine the bleed valve that needs to be opened with the allen key, it looks as though it just isnt there on the diesel.

anyone know where i might find it (any pics would be very helpful)

could it be possible that the diesel doesnt have this?

and is there a way i can do it without opening that valve and just open the one on the radiator and the 1 that looks like a tyre dust cap?

[dianahepworth]

Hapnin, I don't know if it's on the diesel but you can bleed it using just that bottom valve if need be, it will make things better though not as good as if you do the whole thing properly.
Have a look further up the engine to see if you can find the other bleed valve - it's also got a dust cap on and I think it's up towards the left.
If you do the bottom one first, then the top one, that should work out just as well cause the air still comes out the highest point

[liam_b]

ive done the above use a bottle and bleed all 3 nipples then put rad back cap on and turn engine on after 5 mins its pushes all the water out of the closed rad cap then fan comes on then the water level light.

ive tryed doing it with the coke bottle on top (as a header tank) and once it warms up it fills the bottle up and over flows it. i tryed turning the engine off just befor it over flows and it sucked all the water back in and toke loads more to fill the rad back up

any ideas what im doing wrong?