Thread: V8 D2 won't take 12.5L of coolant

So did I. That's why I checked the colour of the coolant at the LPG condenser and why I'll raise the rear end of the beast tomorrow in a vainglorious attempt to drain the bastard. Will report back with findings and sanity levels.

Lets look at it from an alternative way to do it.

You can flush it as many times as you like just to make sure you have nice clean water.

Drain out as much clean water as you can. According to previous experiences should be 4-6L.

Start filling with concentrate coolant, not premixed, and you should get most of it in. 5l of coolant is all I buy.

If you get the 4-6 l's in, your coolant mix will be approximately at the required %. I believe you would struggle to get 5l's in.

Start engine, get the coolant to circulate/mix, make sure you have removed all air blockages, let it cool down, overnight preferably, top up in the morning.

Yeah, problem is that you end up with tap water in there.

Just stuck my head under the bonnet and it's dawned on me how much coolant might sit below thermostat-height, so trying to drain it from the water pump-to-thermostat hose is probably not going to work too well.

Not keen on mangling the drain plugs so might try hitting it with air through the return hose (top hose from block to thermostat/radiator).

Righto, pulled thermostat again and allowed gravity to do its thing. Then used lung power to blow through return hose and top radiator hose. That produced another couple of litres. Then did some hillbilly engineering - stuffed a compressor fitting into a garden hose, zip tied it off, used a regular garden hose fitting on the other end which happens to fit nicely into the return and top radiator hose. Blew another litre or two out. Could still hear a little fluid sloshing around but satisfied the bulk of it was out. Managed to get about 10L into it now. I'll let her sit, top her up then take her for a run.

Never a dull moment with a Disco.

Is it ok to use compressed air like that? I mean, is there a risk that you could damage the radiator or hoses with too much pressure?

Originally Posted by Trippy

Is it ok to use compressed air like that? I mean, is there a risk that you could damage the radiator or hoses with too much pressure?

So long as there's an outlet, you're not going to be building up pressure. Besides, the system is designed to be pressurised, to a point.

Had a look at RAVE, hope this helps. Bob DRAIN & REFILL:
Observe all normal safety precautions, only drain coolant when cold

DRAIN;
Remove expansion tank filler cap

Remove drain plugs from LH & RH sides of cylinder block & allow cooling system to drain.

Disconnect bottom hose from radiator & allow cooling system to drain


Disconnect top hose from thermostat & position open end of hose below level of coolant pump inlet, to allow coolant to drain from the system.

REFILL

Flush system with water under LOW pressure, do not use water under HIGH pressure as it could damage the radiator.

There is more, if you don't have a RAVE DVD, you should consider buying one.