How easy FAO JAY172 ; )

[cliosportcraig]

How easy is it to flush a cooling system ? also can you recommend any good coolent for getting my heaters hot ?

Got any tips on how to flush ?

 

[JAY172]

pull off your radiator and heater matrix hoses and give everything a flush through with a hosepipe.the renault antifreeze(concentrate is called antigel) seems good enough.youll only need a couple of bottles of the concentrate stuff as well.you could run some coolant flush in the engine for 15mins before you drain it to dislodge any stubborn grime. let the engine cool before you flush it with a cold hosepipe though or you may crack something.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Which hoses ? Top or bottom radiator ? how do run the flush through the engine ? How much would renault charge for this service ?

 

[cliosportcraig]

BBperformance tuning do it all for £65 with coolant !! Worth it ? or do it myself ?

 

[JAY172]

both radiator and matrix hoses.you add the coolant flush to your old coolant,run the engine for 15mins then drain it by pulling off the hoses.when the engines cool just shove a hosepipe up the hoses etc until the water runs out clear.refit all your hoses and refill with antifreeze.run up the engine and make sure the cooling fan etc works.renault would probably charge you an hour labour then the price of the antifreeze on top.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Which is how much ? BB do it for £65 !!

 

[JAY172]

bb will probably be cheaper than renault but its pretty easy to do it yourself.

 

[cliosportcraig]

ok cheers mate ill give it a go !! This heater is doin my tits in !!

 

[1fast6]

remember to take the thermostat out of the head elbow connector if you are gonna flush the block.

did mine yesterday, gets a little messy but otherwise its ok. also remember to turn the bleed valve on the rad when refilling. plus you will probably need to top it up once you have run the car after refilling.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Do you need to turn the bleed valve when bleeding ?

 

[BenR]

yes, its part of the bleeding sequence.

 

[cliosportcraig]

haynes doesnt say much about the screw !! What do i need to do to it ? I thought i just took off the bottom rad hose ?

 

[JAY172]

there will be a bleed screw on the radiator and sometimes one on the matrix hose.open these when you refill it to allow air to escape and then tighten them back up when coolant comes out of them.

 

[BenR]

isnt part of the sequence to run it with it open?

 

[JAY172]

you bleed it up using the bleed screws.close the screws and then run it with the expansion bottle cap off until it starts getting hot to allow any air bubbles to escape.refit the cap and then run it until the fan cuts in.

 

[BenR]

right, thats it.

 

[cliosportcraig]

Yeah did all that !! And im the proud owner of a nice new clear expansion bottle !! With lovely PINK coolent !! cheers for the help all !! That hasnt helped any with the heater tho !! So my next port of call is the thermostat !!

 

[JAY172]

are the hoses to the matrix getting hot.if the matrix is partially blocked you will normally find one hoses is hot and the other is cold/luke warm.

 

[cliosportcraig]

ill check that tmrw !! Think i flushed the matrix tho !! although water flow wasnt as fast as it was through the rest of the system !! Whats the next option if the matrix is blocked ? new matrix or proper flushing ?

 

[JAY172]

if the matrix is blocked and youve tried flushing it out but its still cold you will need a new matrix.

 

[cliosportcraig]

crap !!

 

[cliosportcraig]

right ive checked pipes in and out of the matrix and both are about the same temp !! i also checked the radiator and that has hot water flowing through it at low temps !! Im thinking the thermostat is constantly open !! Any other ideas ?