Hi guys, im gonna change my coolant today and have been reading up in the service manual as well as on here and im still unsure the best procedure to replace the coolant. I know this is probably basic stuff but i havnt done it before and i dont wanna screw it up lol..Thanks...
easy as pie... warm up the engine (with heater on full) and when its warm... bottom of the radiator (pass side) pull that hose out... (dont forget to turn the engine off..keep it on ignition and keep heater on full) once its empty top it up with WARM WATER + concentrate/coolant premix (warm if possable) so u dont crack/warp things.. o yeh and try get the fornt of the car up higher then the rest of the car so u get all the air bubbles out.. thats how i did mine and i have no problems.... feel free to correct me
there's also a drain cock (yes all laugh ahahaha) at the bottom of the radiator, but the hose is a lot quicker yes. Also take the rad. cap off so it drains better. Good to give the system a flush with some clean water also if it hasn't been done in a while, but asides from that Aazn is pretty spot on
his mind is elsewhere lol also, after changing your coolant....every morning before you start the zed (best when its cold) open the cap on the rad and overflow to check levels. chances are air will get trapped in the system while changing over....if you part on a slight incline with nose up...then over night the air can slowely make its way up to the top.....if you see that the level is dropping, keep topping up as the air is coming up...do this for about 1-2 weeks
Just an additional note, if you can't be bothered lifting the front of the car when refilling, just get like a 1 litre bottle of coke or whatever (empty obviously) cut it in half, and stick it in the radiator and use as a funnel. -Kirill
Good tip, I do the same. You want to fill the cut bottle so that the coolant level is higher than the engine, as trapped air will work its way to the highest point
I'm doing mine this weekend I've decided to use demineralised water though. Apparently better than using tap water. Perhaps some one can elaborate further on why. I think less impurities means less chance of corosion and has better heat properties?
Yeah in bought 10L of demieralised water was only 5 bucks from supercrap so thought it couldn't hurt... Thanks everyone for all the help:thumbup:
Using demineralised water helps reduce electrolosis in the coolant which will corrode the aluminium parts of the system like your radiator and heads. Water in itself isn't a good conductor of electricity, but in tap water you have minerals and salts which *are* good conductors and so on and so forth. Seeing the cooling system inadvertantly becomes part of the circuit due to the chassis and block being grounded. It may be a mute point as the amount of iron molocules that get circulated through the cooling system from rusting hard pipes in our cars would be considerably more than what's present in tap water in the first place. But it gives a nice warm fuzzy feeling to use expensive water in our cars
premix ftw (or FTL (for the lazy)) Question.... how come, when DIYing this job, its best to check RAD levels for 2 weeks (which I 100% agree with as my 180sx looked empty after the first run after a coolent change) yet... when a garage does the job, the levels ever seem to drop (ie, no air trapped) ???
just a precaution....so you know allt he air has worked its way out of the system....when filling up you may have an air pocket at the bottom of the system and your coolant level is showing almost full.....once that air works its way out...you will look back in and the level would have dropped alot....so you just fill it up...its just so you know you have all the air out....the air should have worked its way up to the top within around two weeks
no yeah i understand that. Im saying when i check after I've DIYed a coolent change, chances are, its gonna need a topup When a garage does it, I've never needed to top up ANY car i've ever owned after its had coolent done by a garage....ever. Guess they just have the knack?
Mechanics know how to do a proper coolant bleed, while most home mechanics just throw some coolant into a cool engine and assume it's full. A proper bleed involves running the car with the cap off until the thermostat opens and circulates coolant through the entire engine. When that happens, you just top it up until full and seal it off.
aaahhhh so thats what i should do when i do the thermostat this weekend? (unless I just throw it at Tom with some money lol)
Rainwater is distilled water..... excellent for radiators and batteries because it is fairly pure. If you intend catching rainwater, don't use a metal bucket :bash: or use runoff from your roof. Also, let it rain for about half an hour before collecting any...... there is a ton of crap in the atmosphere that you don't want running through your radiator
