hey guys. this is a very newbie question i have just got my VL last week. i have done alot of searches and read all the coolant threads. just wanted a confirmation as there seems like alot of different ideas and its kinda confusing. any help would be greatly appreciated. i have a rb30e 1) disconect bottom thick hose and drain the radiator. 2) open 2x bleed valves 3) put bottom hose back on radiator 4) fill radiator from the cap until fluid gets to first bleed valve, close that valve then continue to fill till the fluid reaches the top bleed valve and close that, close cap. ------------ thats my basic understanding from reading the other threads. but im sure im missing out heaps of critical procedures. eg- to get air bubbles out. i read the u ment to turn your heater on? blow on sum pipe? argghh. not sure. alot of u guys could do this with your eyes closed but its my first time so i want to get it right. sum questions i have are - what coolant to buy? how much? how to mix it. - gota bit of that rusty coloured stuff in radiator bottle???

when i bleed mine i get a coke bottle, cut the bottem of and use it as as a funnel, with this funnel you can get the water level up enough to flow out the top bleeder on the plenum. if you get radiator coolant concentrate it will say what ratio to mix it at, if you get pre mixed stuff, well it's good to go. as for what's good and whats not, i'm not to sure.

hey thanks very much for the reply. ill do the coke bottle thing. good idea. so filling the radiator back up seems ok. just a little concerned wiv the air bubble thing?

its pritty easy, just keep filling till you have a stedy stream comming out of the bleeder, than tighten (firm not tight) coolent i go the holden stuff 50/50 mix, i dont worry about the 33% ready mix crap, you need twice as much to fill the whole system and yeah, or just get 5L of concentrate, thats what i do ohh and never mix 2 difrent brands of coolent. while you are there why not give it a flish, pull the thurmo stat out and run a hose through the bottom hose.

pretty much spot on.Just make sure your heater tap is on and remove all traces of the old coolant as different brands arent compatible.

hey. thanks for replies. this may sound stupid again. but to flush out the radiator (which i would like to do cause theres lots of rustyness) whats the deal with the thermostat? so i cant just put a hose in where the raditor cap goes and take off the think bottom hose and run water thru like that?

You can buy radiator cleaner from any auto shop. Once you've dumped the old coolant, fill it back up with water and the cleaner, then run it until the thermostat opens. Dump the radiator again and flush it a few times with clean water then re-fill with your coolant. The coke bottle works OK but a cut up old top radiator hose works the best. It's a perfect fit inside the filler, whereas the coke bottle dosn't seal real well. The idea is to raise the fill point higher than the top bleed screw so all the air is forced out.

cheers monsta s4. its good to clear things up. i know this has been covered plenty of times, and i have read all the old posts but there are so many other little things which are confusing me which i dont understand. - how do u know when the thermostat opens?

Thermostat opens at close to operating temperature. Varies slightly between thermostats but should be close to 75 degrees.

Leave the cap off while you're running it with the cleaner. Bubbles will start to appear in the radiator as the thermostat opens.

snapped the bottom bleed bolt! well at least the top one came out alright. should i get the bottom one fixed or can u still get the air out ok with just the top bleed point open?

Just the top one is fine, mines been like that for over 10 years now. Also an easy way to fill is to: - Turn on heater, Remove Bleed bolt, put in concentrate, fill the radiator using garden hose, turn hose down to really low pressure Put cap on all the way - then half undo it, disconnect the overflow hose that goes to the reservoir at the res end, push overflow hose into garden hose, fiddle with rad cap until water gently flows in and bubbles come out wait for air bubbles to stop, tighten bleed valve tighten rad cap reconnect overflow hose

just wondering when changing the coolant should i run the car first, or fill the radiator from cap until full then run it? not quite sure about that part. thanks

fill it first then run it.

i think im stresing for nothing. im just going to give it a shot and see how it goes. doesnt seem like many people are listing things that can go wrong, so im taking that as long as i open the bleed valve and get the raditor full i should be ok.

Quote: Originally Posted by vlproject i think im stresing for nothing. im just going to give it a shot and see how it goes. doesnt seem like many people are listing things that can go wrong, so im taking that as long as i open the bleed valve and get the raditor full i should be ok. when changing the coolant do i have to drain the block as well? or is it ok just to train the radiator. Quote: Originally Posted by vlproject when changing the coolant do i have to drain the block as well? or is it ok just to train the radiator. ok so i have finally filled my radiator with coolant after doing 3 cycles of filling with water and draining. now the last 3 times i have taken my car out, if im stoped at the lights the motor starts to stuggle to stay going and once cut out. this only happens sometimes but before i changed the coolant this never happened. does any1 know what the problem could be? cheers

maybe u got some water onto some elctrical contacts while changing ur coolant. take off ur dizzy cap/lead and dry them up, or spray them with some sort of water dipersant, if the coolant change was the ONLY thing u did, this should solve ur problem, hopefully

Quote: Originally Posted by vlproject hey guys. this is a very newbie question i have just got my VL last week. i have done alot of searches and read all the coolant threads. just wanted a confirmation as there seems like alot of different ideas and its kinda confusing. any help would be greatly appreciated. i have a rb30e 1) disconect bottom thick hose and drain the radiator. 2) open 2x bleed valves 3) put bottom hose back on radiator 4) fill radiator from the cap until fluid gets to first bleed valve, close that valve then continue to fill till the fluid reaches the top bleed valve and close that, close cap. ------------ thats my basic understanding from reading the other threads. but im sure im missing out heaps of critical procedures. eg- to get air bubbles out. i read the u ment to turn your heater on? blow on sum pipe? argghh. not sure. alot of u guys could do this with your eyes closed but its my first time so i want to get it right. sum questions i have are - what coolant to buy? how much? how to mix it. - gota bit of that rusty coloured stuff in radiator bottle??? Thread Rebirth Newbie questions - Is this the same method for a VN Calais V8? - Where are 2 bleed valves?