Changing coolant on a 306 TD

Feb 08, 2004 3 Replies

Has anyone done this, and is it really as much of a swine as it looks?



I thought I was prepared when I went out this afternoon to tackle the job. I'd made a "header tank" out of an old antifreeze bottle and an o-ring for refilling the system and I'd found the two bleed screws as well. I found the drain plug on the bottom left of the radiator within a few seconds, but 5 minutes after looking for, and failing to find the block drain plug, I've given up!



Every car I've done this on I've just pulled the bottom hose off the rad to drain both the rad and block, then refilled and bled, so my second thought was to do it the old fashioned way. I then discovered that it is an absolute swine to get at any of the radiator hoses due to about 4 cm clearance between the hose and the base of the fuel pump.



Before I just book the sodding thing into a garage for what is normally a piece of whatsit 20 minute job, can anyone offer any useful advice?



Cheers Dan



You;'ve found all the bleeders- the bottom hose included- and your knuckles...bleeding...!

Allow an hour to hour an a half- and have a spare jubliee clip or two handy- you'll invariably have to hack saw or break one off...

Tim..

Cheers Tim. Is there a coolant drain plug on the block or is the Haynes manual telling porkies? Peering up the back of the block from beneath the sump, I can't see or feel anything that looks likely, and I'm looking up as far as the turbocharger and all its plumbing. Would imagine it would be somewhere near the bottom.

Dan

Well to be honest, i've never looked for one- disconnect top and bottom hoses, fill a watering can with boiling water (so the thermostat opens) and pour it in the top hose to flush it through...

Tim..

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