whats the correct procedure for refilling and any special anti freeze?
also how much anti freeze do i put in
cant wait to do this as theres pleny of access NOT
refilling cooling system
refilling cooling system
got one of these fancy ptp remote thermostat kits to fit on my wifes s2 tomorrow
whats the correct procedure for refilling and any special anti freeze?
also how much anti freeze do i put in
cant wait to do this as theres pleny of access NOT
whats the correct procedure for refilling and any special anti freeze?
also how much anti freeze do i put in
cant wait to do this as theres pleny of access NOT
Re: refilling cooling system
S2 should be refilled with OAT (Organic Acid Technology) coolant. This has a five year corrosion inhibitor. You can also refill with the old school antifreeze, but people recommend not mixing the coolant types. Old school coolant is typically blue, OAT is typically pink/orange, but this is all just fashion - there is nothing inherently blue, green, pink or orange about any of these coolants - it's just a dye.
Your S2 would have been filled with OAT when new, so unless it's been drained for some reason already, chances are you want to replace it now anyway (must be more-or-less 5 years old?).
Draining is just a question of disconnecting the rubber hose where it enters the chassis on the driver's side in the engine bay (don't forget to tighten this clamp once drained).
If the car already has OAT in it, and assuming you do a good job draining, you can just refill; if it has non-OAT or you want to be sure it's flushed, you could flush it out with tap water from garden hose - but personally I wouldn't do that - that water will be full of stuff that you don't want in your coolant system.
With the normal stat in place you can fill by undoing the bleed nipple on the metal coolant pipe that runs across the top of the bell housing. With the non-pressure-related remote stat this is also possible. With the PRT I'm not 100% sure on best filling procedure. It will boil down (no pun intended) to undoing the bleed nipple, brimming the expansion tank until coolant comes out of the bleed nipple, close nipple, run car for a wee while and keep topping coolant up, opening the bleed nipple from time to time. You will almost certainly catch some air in the radiator - bleed out what you can at the rad exit pipe bleed nipple (pax side front wheel arch; remove the liner or struggle to do it through the various access grommets) - best if you can keep the front left of the car raised a bit whilst filling (no need to go mad - just a little to make sure the exit pipe is uphill from the rest of the rad).
Pour coolant slowly and smoothly - this will limit the amount of air bubbles you drag into the system. Don't run the engine hot until you're sure you've got most of the air out of it. You might need to pop a pipe off the heater matrix, but usually that stays full of coolant no matter what you do, and you won't get any air in it to bleed out. When you're confident you've got most of the air out (and without having run the engine enough to get anything hot), drain the expansion tank down to the min mark (using the bleed nipple or a syphon), refit the expansion tank cap.
Run it up, check the temperature gauge - it should rise quickly to around mid-80s, then level out as the stat opens swaps warm coolant for cold coolant from the rad, then eventually warm up further as all the coolant reaches temperature about the stat opening temp. Meanwhile the radiator should get warm, starting on drivers side and bleeding across to the passenger side. If the temperature rises straight through the 80s into the 90s without leveling out on the way, switch off - you have too much air in the radiator to get coolant flow through it. Let it cool down to a reasonable temperature, remove cap, brim tank, bleed radiator end again, then run it up again. When the dash temperature reaches high 90's the ECU should turn the fan on - check that the temperature does then drop - if there's an airlock in the rad, it might not.
When you're done, you can rebleed the radiator end from time to time over the coming weeks (do it when the car is warm, not hot, and park the front left a bit uphill as before) - you should get any remaining air out then.
You know the system is working well if as it heats up the coolant level in the expansion tank rises from min to max. If it stays level or goes down, you've got a load of air in the system still.
Provided you don't let temperature exceed 110C you won't break anything, so most important thing is to be patient and watch the gauge like a hawk! Also, remember that if you do need to crack the system open again, make sure it's sub-70C (no temperature displayed on dash) before you do else you risk coolant squirting out and burning you ...
Cheers,
Robin
Your S2 would have been filled with OAT when new, so unless it's been drained for some reason already, chances are you want to replace it now anyway (must be more-or-less 5 years old?).
Draining is just a question of disconnecting the rubber hose where it enters the chassis on the driver's side in the engine bay (don't forget to tighten this clamp once drained).
If the car already has OAT in it, and assuming you do a good job draining, you can just refill; if it has non-OAT or you want to be sure it's flushed, you could flush it out with tap water from garden hose - but personally I wouldn't do that - that water will be full of stuff that you don't want in your coolant system.
With the normal stat in place you can fill by undoing the bleed nipple on the metal coolant pipe that runs across the top of the bell housing. With the non-pressure-related remote stat this is also possible. With the PRT I'm not 100% sure on best filling procedure. It will boil down (no pun intended) to undoing the bleed nipple, brimming the expansion tank until coolant comes out of the bleed nipple, close nipple, run car for a wee while and keep topping coolant up, opening the bleed nipple from time to time. You will almost certainly catch some air in the radiator - bleed out what you can at the rad exit pipe bleed nipple (pax side front wheel arch; remove the liner or struggle to do it through the various access grommets) - best if you can keep the front left of the car raised a bit whilst filling (no need to go mad - just a little to make sure the exit pipe is uphill from the rest of the rad).
Pour coolant slowly and smoothly - this will limit the amount of air bubbles you drag into the system. Don't run the engine hot until you're sure you've got most of the air out of it. You might need to pop a pipe off the heater matrix, but usually that stays full of coolant no matter what you do, and you won't get any air in it to bleed out. When you're confident you've got most of the air out (and without having run the engine enough to get anything hot), drain the expansion tank down to the min mark (using the bleed nipple or a syphon), refit the expansion tank cap.
Run it up, check the temperature gauge - it should rise quickly to around mid-80s, then level out as the stat opens swaps warm coolant for cold coolant from the rad, then eventually warm up further as all the coolant reaches temperature about the stat opening temp. Meanwhile the radiator should get warm, starting on drivers side and bleeding across to the passenger side. If the temperature rises straight through the 80s into the 90s without leveling out on the way, switch off - you have too much air in the radiator to get coolant flow through it. Let it cool down to a reasonable temperature, remove cap, brim tank, bleed radiator end again, then run it up again. When the dash temperature reaches high 90's the ECU should turn the fan on - check that the temperature does then drop - if there's an airlock in the rad, it might not.
When you're done, you can rebleed the radiator end from time to time over the coming weeks (do it when the car is warm, not hot, and park the front left a bit uphill as before) - you should get any remaining air out then.
You know the system is working well if as it heats up the coolant level in the expansion tank rises from min to max. If it stays level or goes down, you've got a load of air in the system still.
Provided you don't let temperature exceed 110C you won't break anything, so most important thing is to be patient and watch the gauge like a hawk! Also, remember that if you do need to crack the system open again, make sure it's sub-70C (no temperature displayed on dash) before you do else you risk coolant squirting out and burning you ...
Cheers,
Robin
I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut
#bemoretut
Re: refilling cooling system
P.S. Get 10L of pre-mixed OAT coolant from motor factors or halfords type place. I would avoid the stuff you need to dilute - it means using water from the tap, and is generally a PITA.
P.P.S. Forgot to say, you want to drain it with the small hose (the one that feeds the heater matrix) not the big hose ... not sure why though, but that's always what I've done!
Cheers,
Robin
P.P.S. Forgot to say, you want to drain it with the small hose (the one that feeds the heater matrix) not the big hose ... not sure why though, but that's always what I've done!
Cheers,
Robin
I is in your loomz nibblin ur wirez
#bemoretut
#bemoretut