General Coolant change..what a faff!

[nikrox]

I have just spent a frustrating two hours trying to undo the plastic bleed screw in the top left hand corner (as you look at it) of the radiator.

I followed the guide(excellent btw) everything else went according to plan.

The screw broke in half,probably a combination of my hamfisted attempts and the plastic being cold and brittle.

I was able to get the screw mostly in before the head broke in half and have ended up using a two pack quick dry adhesive to seal it.

Not ideal BUT in the limited timeframe its the best I could do. Im optimistic it'll hold but am going to source a new screw,hopefully not a plastic one and will look at how to remove the radiator for better access.

I did think about using a dremmel to cut the rigid plastic surround (which blocks the access) to give better access...wish I had now...

 

[Peter Pick-Up]

Better take the lower coolant hose of.
Those plastic screws are notorious difficult to open (or close...).

 

[nikrox]

I followed the guide...the system emptied fine it was the air bleed screw I had the problem with,well to be more accurate it was access to it.

The 'fix' has worked so far 50 odd miles later and its held and the cars internal heaters working..fingers crossed.:slayer:

 

[Ben D]

If the screw is in and secure, leave it there and bleed by running up to temp from cold with the cap off the bottle and squeeze the hoses as it's warming up. Refit the cap before switching off engine (don't switch off before fitting cap), let it cool most of the way down and leave cap off overnight, check level and top up if required. That should have most of the air out.

Cheers

Ben