J
J Moore
Guest
I replaced the coolant in my 1.6 SX Bravo (1998). It was a classic case of an easy job which should take about 2 hours, taking 4 hours.
The radiator hoses on my car were held with clips which couldn't be re-used. So first task when you buy some antifreeze is also to buy some jubilee clips. I removed the plastic air intake cover on top of the radiator for easier access. This was a pain. The three bolts holding the cover on, screw into brass inserts in the cover. The bolts had corroded very badly, and the inserts didn't unscrew. They just came out of the cover ! I pulled the cover off after this, but was left with three bolts and inserts still attached to the car. I used mole grips to hold the insert, while turning the bolt with a spanner. In the end they came apart because the inserts broke up around the bolt as I was turning ! You can probably do the coolant change without taking the cover off, but hose access is restricted. If you do take the cover off, you'll more than likely need 3 bolts (M6 size) to replace the inserts. The cover mounts are drilled all the way through, so passing a bolt through is OK.
Getting the radiator hoses off was easy. Just use a screw driver to lift off the crimp on the original hose clamp, and pull the clip loose and off. Have a bowl ready underneath.
The 1.6 engine has an engine block drain plug near the starter motor. This seemed tight when I unscrewed it, but it came off OK.
After flushing the radiator through with a hose pipe, I connected the hoses back up. After initially filling the radiator by filling the expansion tank, after starting the enging I had an air lock in the radiator which I got rid of by filling the radiator using the air bleed screw hole.
I noticed that the system took approx 5.5 litres of coolant.
My car is now 4 years old and has been dealer serviced every year. I can only assume because of the state of the cover mounting bolts, and the old single use hose clamps, that they had never bothered doing this.
The radiator hoses on my car were held with clips which couldn't be re-used. So first task when you buy some antifreeze is also to buy some jubilee clips. I removed the plastic air intake cover on top of the radiator for easier access. This was a pain. The three bolts holding the cover on, screw into brass inserts in the cover. The bolts had corroded very badly, and the inserts didn't unscrew. They just came out of the cover ! I pulled the cover off after this, but was left with three bolts and inserts still attached to the car. I used mole grips to hold the insert, while turning the bolt with a spanner. In the end they came apart because the inserts broke up around the bolt as I was turning ! You can probably do the coolant change without taking the cover off, but hose access is restricted. If you do take the cover off, you'll more than likely need 3 bolts (M6 size) to replace the inserts. The cover mounts are drilled all the way through, so passing a bolt through is OK.
Getting the radiator hoses off was easy. Just use a screw driver to lift off the crimp on the original hose clamp, and pull the clip loose and off. Have a bowl ready underneath.
The 1.6 engine has an engine block drain plug near the starter motor. This seemed tight when I unscrewed it, but it came off OK.
After flushing the radiator through with a hose pipe, I connected the hoses back up. After initially filling the radiator by filling the expansion tank, after starting the enging I had an air lock in the radiator which I got rid of by filling the radiator using the air bleed screw hole.
I noticed that the system took approx 5.5 litres of coolant.
My car is now 4 years old and has been dealer serviced every year. I can only assume because of the state of the cover mounting bolts, and the old single use hose clamps, that they had never bothered doing this.