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Changing the Coolant
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 5:54 pm
by sirbob
Its saturday and its rainy, so ive decided to go play cars.
Ive decided that i would like to change the engine coolant but have no idea on how to do it... Any hints here...
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 6:28 pm
by Spranga
I did it last weekend and also changed the thermostat. I had a problem with the f&*(%*#*&$*ing drain plug at the bottom of the radiator. It appears to be plastic and was not interested in being unscrewed. In the end I gave up and drained from the lower inlet pipe (accessible without removing the engine cover). I assume this is OK as I managed to get most of the coolant capacity out of the system.
I think it is best to use a radiator system flush and this time I opted for the pink 5 year 250,000km coolant. Does anyone else use this stuff and do they trust it for 5 years?
Dan
Posted: Sat Jul 15, 2006 9:32 pm
by JBT
I did mine this afternoon too. What a coincidence
Some tips.
Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 12:25 am
by sirbob
Thankyou!
I had issues trying to get the coolant out of the engine, i finally got 4L out of the system through opening the heater, etc as stated.
I'll get motovated again one weekend soon and do the full flush similar to what you described JBT.
Re:
Posted: Sun Jul 16, 2006 2:35 pm
by JBT
sirbob wrote:I had issues trying to get the coolant out of the engine, i finally got 4L out of the system through opening the heater, etc as stated.
The MX-5 heater is an "always on" type and is an integral part of the cooling system. When you select
'heat' on the heater panel you are just opening a door. There is no on/off tap as in some other types of car.