1. Home
  2. Car Maintenance
  3. Emptying the radiator: Mondeo 2.2 Duratorq

Emptying the radiator: Mondeo 2.2 Duratorq

Hi All,

OK: I'm one of the strange breed that services cars using genuine Ford materials myself. Even in warranty. Oh yes!

Anyway, today I attempted my 35,000 mile service on the Mondy 2.2 Duratorq. But - uh-oh - could I find the radiator drain plug? Could I hell! So of course I then referred myself to the latest Mondy Haynes "book of lies" - the red one - which covers the 2.2 Duratorq. It referred to a drain plug which is noticeably absent from my rad!

Seems like the only way to dump the water and flush the system through is to remove the bottom radiator hose. Easier said than done!! There's an all-plastic union held in place with a springy clip. Removing the clip had absolutely no effect on my chances of disconnecting the lower hose.

So - my question to the group: Does anyone know how to shift this thing?? My car has the original (orange) antifreeze in it, which has dropped in level slightly, and I'm keen to replace it with the later (purple) stuff over the holiday period.

Any suggestions for forward progress would be warmly welcomed. If they involve minimal destruction of the radiator, well hey - that would be even better!

Cheers to all who can tell me how to disconnect this damned hose!

Al.

Reply to
Mean Al
Loading thread data ...

Why bother? The orange stuff is plenty good enough. What magical benefit do you think the purple will give you?

Reply to
Conor

Remove the clip. pull the hose off.

It's not rocket science.

As someone else has said, why change to the purple stuff, the orange stuff is fine.

I very much doubt that the 35000 mile service specifies a coolant change.

Reply to
SimonJ

The orange and the purple coolants have a service life of 10 years. Why are you changing it?

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

Why? The organic acid orange one will last longer than your radiator and/or hoses, so why not wait until one or the other fails before mucking about?

Al. [But not mean! :-)]

Reply to
Al

Hi all, seems like everyone is asking the same question!

I know that the orange antifreeze has a service life of 10 years. Two reasons I want to replace:

1) The level has dropped a bit. I don't have, and seemingly can't buy, the OEM Ford Orange Antifreeze any more (I believe it was known as "Super Plus 2000". 2) Some folks (including Haynes) think that a 3 year replacement cycle for engine coolant is still a wise move on this car.

The main trouble is that the orange and purple stuff shouldn't be mixed. I remember years ago (1999) when I first bought the orange stuff, being explicitly told not to mix it. So, in order to top up the antifreeze on this car, given that I can only buy OEM Ford purple variant, I have to dump the lot, flush and replace.

The problem I had is that removing the clip doesn't allow me to shift the pipe. I'm hampered by a lack of room, and a fear that I'm gonna snap something if I pull harder. Difficult !!

Nevertheless, unless there's a knack to disconnecting these pipes (e.g. bayonet mechanism - again, impossible due to lack of room) I'll try again another time.

Cheers,

Al.

Reply to
Mean Al

So surely your first move should be to fix the leak?

Nope, you can't buy the orange stuff any more.

Bear in mind that Haynes are supported to some degree by non-OEM parts manufacturers. For example, Champion plugs.

It is perfectly satisfactory (indeed, arguably better) to use the car maker's recommendations, and stick to their service intervals.

The purple stuff is the direct replacement for the orange stuff. Neither can be mixed with other coolants, but are perfectly OK when used together. Indeed, I have been doing exactly that for the last three years or so in my Focus.

Perhaps in five or six years?

:-)

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

I don't know about the Ford stuff, but the VW purple coolant is backwards-compatible with their earlier coolants (which were incompatible with each other). It might pay to check.

I also service some family cars where the there's no drain plug, and the bottom hose is difficult to grip. Twist it first to loosen it from the pipe, and then pull and twist together to remove it (easier to say than do, I know).

If you want peace of mind, buy a replacement hose first so that you've got it there if you damage the existing one.

John

Reply to
John Henderson

Hmmm. I bought some about 6 months ago. Not genuine Ford though. I'll try and remember where I got it.

Useful to know :-)

Al.

Reply to
Al

The price at a Ford dealer for common service items like coolant, filters and wiper blades can often be less than might be expected. I've bought those sort of items for less than Halfrauds prices at times. You are also able to get to know the parts staff; this can be useful when trying to source the more obscure bits.

Chris

Reply to
Chris Whelan

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.