Coolant Flush For R33

[br3ndan]

Hey guys,

I am going to change radiator and hoses this upcoming weekend. Ive search thru the forums but i am unable to locate a picture of the drain plug which is apparently on the passenger side of the engine block somewhere near dump pipes?

If someone could supply a picture... that would be alot appreciated. My car is a R33 GTS T. Also can someone explain to me about this heater on full to fully drain the system?

Cheers,

Brendan

[black33gtst]

perhaps someone could do a tutorial on this?????

[Flash89]

isnt the drain plug on the radiator?

[NA_Goodness]

Hey mate, i did this today. Jack your car up first, makes it much easier. I really wish I had a jack... On the passenger side, there is a 40mm hole in the cover, which you can see a plastic bung through. Grab your screw driver and undo this. If you leave your radiator cap off, only some coolant will drip off, then take the cap off later when you are out of the way. Make sure the heater is open so the coolant in the heater can be drained an be replaced. Otherwise you won't flush all the old coolant out. I don't have a photo, but its pretty easy to find. Good luck!

[br3ndan]

Cheers for that ill take a look..

So i leave the heater on to let the coolant out of the heater hose... how long do i leave the heater on for?

[NA_Goodness]

Also, I cleaned out the overflow tank. I squirted water into it then sucked it out, but the best way would be to take it out and clean it properly, unless its already clean then don't worry about it.

[br3ndan]

So its just a plastic bung? i would of thought it mite be a taperd screw of some sort? .. wouldnt it fall out to easy if it was plastic ? .. would N/A be different to Turbo?

[NA_Goodness]

yeh, sorry mate, it is a plastic screw bung sort of thing. And leave the heater on for as long as you are doing it, make sure the coolant can flow through and fill it up. You do know how to bleed the system, dont you?

[NA_Goodness]

And I dont think NA and turbo are any different, they are still the same engine. The layout and everything in the engine bay are all the same

[br3ndan]

in regards to bleeding the system i heard u just turn on the car for a bit with the cap off and the air will bubble out. THen you just keep topping up...

Or have you got a different method?

Thanks for all your help NA_goodness i really owe u on this one.

oh and btw if i leave the heater on wouldnt it flatten my battery?

Edited February 17, 2008 by br3ndan

[HKS_R34]

Make sure you dont use a hose to flush it out. Because the minerals and deposits in the water will eventually rust out the radiator.

[black33gtst]

tell us more about bleeding the coolant system

[black33gtst]

anyone elaborate on how to bleed coolant system?

[Jmaac]

Ensure car heater is on hot (not fan, this ensures that the water in the heater coil is exchanged over aswell)

Remove radiator cap (vaccum will slow the drain considerably)

At bottom of radiator theres a plug, unscrew and drain water from radiator, hoses, and head.

Underneath exhaust manifold, at bottom of block theres also a plug, unscrew and drain water from block.

Pull radiator out, flip upside down and flush with garden hose, drain and refit and plug

Flush block with garden hose, drain, refit plug

Fill cooling system with premix inhibitor, or mix concentrate solution with demineralised water

Fit radiator cap, ensure overflow bottle is full, start car until warm

At the top of the plenum theres a radiator drain plug (You can also use temp sender). Remove and wait until water starts pouring out and refit.

Stop car, top up overflow bottle and radiator if needed.

Edited February 18, 2008 by Jmaac

[black33gtst]

cheers mate

[NA_Goodness]

Seems like a lot of work, at work we just use a hose to flush it all out. Too much effort to take the radiator out and muck around with that. If you use tap water in the cooling system, it will corrode your radiator, but just cleaning it should be fine, but its up to you how you do it. Bleeding the system is pretty much just running it for a while, letting the air bubbles escape. When it starts to overflow, i usually put my hand over it to make it go into the overflow tank and dont waste it. If your in a hurry, you can over fill the overflow tank, and it'll suck the coolant in as it is needed, but it probs isnt recommended.

[br3ndan]

thanks alot guys, i will be doing this on sunday... i will take photo as i go so we can make kinda a DIY on this. =)

As for the raditor.. doesnt really matter im going to take it off anyway... got a brand new twin core alloy one. =D .*drooool*

Edited February 18, 2008 by br3ndan

[Jmaac]

If u have a stock ecu it may run funny you'll have to alter the temperature tables/conversion factors in the ecu to get it running nice and smooth i.e. poor cold starts, runs richer etc. Thats only if the cooling capacity (capacity to cool, not water volume) is increased and normal operating temperatures are reduced

Just make sure you bleed all the air out of the head. No amount of water will fill the cooling system if theres a big air bubble sitting up in there.

If your feeling really handy you could just scale the signal from the temperature sender with a few electronics

Ill scan the RBxx instructions and get them up for u

Edited February 19, 2008 by Jmaac

[W0rp3D]

The water in my car has gone all rusty since the last owner never bothered to put coolant in it, any idea if there is any special stuff to do a real good job of cleaning it out?

also anyone know how many litres the cooling system holds?

[Jmaac]

Supercheap and the like sell radiator flush that will help clean the system

Rb25det i know holds 8.5l and rb26dett holds 9l plus whatever