Radiator/Coolant Question

[louis19]

Hey guys,

Tomorrow I'm swapping my thermostat and putting in new coolant while I'm at it. After I have drained the coolant, swapped my thermostat and got everything back together, what's the best way to flush it? From what I have read some say drain the old coolant, put the lower radiator hose back on and fill with water, turn on the heater full blast and run the car to temp and drain the water out, then fill with fresh coolant?

Also wanted to know, is the only way to feed the coolant in through the reserve tank while the engine is running to let it suck the coolant through? (I didn't see a spot to pour directly into the radiator) If so, is there a bleeder screw somewhere to release the air that I assume would be pulled through at the same time?

Thanks Fellas

[h100vw]

Hey guys,

Tomorrow I'm swapping my thermostat and putting in new coolant while I'm at it. After I have drained the coolant, swapped my thermostat and got everything back together, what's the best way to flush it? From what I have read some say drain the old coolant, put the lower radiator hose back on and fill with water, turn on the heater full blast and run the car to temp and drain the water out, then fill with fresh coolant?

Also wanted to know, is the only way to feed the coolant in through the reserve tank while the engine is running to let it suck the coolant through? (I didn't see a spot to pour directly into the radiator) If so, is there a bleeder screw somewhere to release the air that I assume would be pulled through at the same time?

Thanks Fellas

Yeah, just top it up and the light will go out. There's no where else to fill it and setting the heater to hot has no effect other than having air blow through the heater core.

Gavin

[louis19]

Thanks Gav, what's your thoughts on the flushing out the system?

Yeah, just top it up and the light will go out. There's no where else to fill it and setting the heater to hot has no effect other than having air blow through the heater core.

Gavin

[h100vw]

Thanks Gav, what's your thoughts on the flushing out the system?

Disposing of the old coolant is the hard part. I wouldn't bother.

Gavin

[Transporter]

There are special cooling system refill tools for that, so you don't introduce the air in the cooling system. Flushing the old coolant out is a good thing because it leaves little or no old coolant in the system. Always use deminerilised or filtered water, since the chlorine is a killer for the AL alloys.

[louis19]

I assumed there would be a bleeder screw for the refilling of the coolant but noticed that the coolant reserve tank is at the highest point and there's nothing around there. For now I'll just fill it as is and would assume majority of the air that needs to escape will do so through the reserve tank anyway. I think I will flush it too purely because I'm going too a different brand when refilling.

[Transporter]

If you're changing the brand, then watch out for any signs of corrosion. The VAG coolant is the best coolant for your cooling system. At least you do a right thing by completely removing the old one.