Re:the Colour Of Coolant & Thank Heaven Its Mild!

[Little&Large]

Hi all
As always I write this post with trepidation. I would really like to flush my cooling system out as the water in mine is definetly a reddish brown colour!! I had a quick look in my Haynes manual and it doesn't seem as simple as undoing the bottom hose and attaching your hose!(My manual told me to remove the front bumper to replace the front indicator bulb!).Could anyone give me some good advice on how to do this-refilling and getting the air out in particular.I have no idea where the thermostat is on mine and don't know if it is practical to get to this and remove it to clean the whole thing out properly. ....or I might just leave well alone
Also my heater control has been by-passed to just a straight on(full blast)or off switch.It has worked 90% of the time but has now decided not to at all,luckily it is mild this week.Is it likely to be the switch or is it going to be something far more complicated? All advice gratefully received.
Regards Rob
PS.The water loss has not got any worse and the light buzzer is STILL working!

[Peter.N.]

Hi Rob

One of the great innovations of the 2.1 td is the fact that the thermostat is in the return side of the system, located at the o/s rear of the engine. The reason I say 'innovation' is because this means that there is no obstruction of the coolant flow from the top of the engine to the radiator which considerably aids the flow and stops airlocks, the most likely cause of head/gasket failure, you cant get air trapped in it. You can just keep topping up the header tank until it stops going down, but the quickest way to refill is to remove the top heater hose, as this will allow the system to fill very quickly and bleed the heater at the same time.

The best way to drain the system is just to pull the bottom hose of the radiator, I say 'just' it could be tight. If you also remove the heater hose as above, you can put the hose in the heater hose and flush all the rust through.

Peter.N.