ianaudia4 wrote:Dead easy job mate, undo the bottom hose and drain all the old fluid out into something like a washing up bowl (Asda smart price 78p!).
When all the coolant is out do up the jubilee clip on the bottom hose and refill with the recommended mix of anti freeze and water, run the engine until the fan comes into play then replace the cap.
This shouldn't take longer than half an hour. It might be worthwhile changing the header tank and cap at the same time, especially if the tank is brown in colour and you can't see the coolant level, they only cost about a tenner for both.
Don't forget that you have to dispose of the old coolant in the appropriate place, maybe your local council has a place within the local tip.
You will not drain all of the coolant if you only take off the bottom radiator hose. You also need to disconnect the horseshoe shaped hose (the expensive one !!!) that runs from the water pump to the metal pipe and the oil cooler, in order to drain the coolant from the block and heater matrix.
It is, however, much easier to undo the thermostat housing on the bottom of the water pump and remove the thermostat, than it is to get the hose off either the metal pipe or the water pump flange !!!
Assuming the system is full, you will need an ASDA bowl capable of holding at least 6 litres, as that is the capacity of the system.
As Alex says, the heater controls should be set to hot for both draining and filling the system.
To fill the system, after you have refitted the thermostat and housing - don't overtighten it, use the torque wrench settings in Haynes, and the bottom radiator hose, mix 3 litres of coolant with 3 litres of water and pour the mixture slowly into the header tank. If the header tank fills up to the level before you have used the full 6 litres, gently squeeze the top radiator hose a few times. If you fill the system slowly, you should not get any airlocks and you should use all, or allmost all of the 6 litre mixture.
Once full, refit the header tank cap, start the engine and let it run up to temperature until the radiator fan has kicked in twice. Check for leaks and you can gently squeeze the top radiator hose a few times as well while the engine is running. Stop the engine and check the level in the header tank.
If you need to top up the system, wait until it has cooled and the pressure has reduced before undoing the header tank cap. Trying to remove it while hot and under pressure will give you a nasty scald.
