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