taking off the top radiator hose
 

does anyone have any tips/advice, etc..... on how to remove the top hose on my 04 STi please. i dont want air locks (obviously), and i dont want coolant pissing out all over my hard work keeping the engine clean as a whistle.

many thanks

dan

do it when engine is cold but apart from that,expect some fluid loss

is there no way i can just let some of the coolant out by the tap at the bottom of the radiator ? and how do i top up making sure of no air in the system dude. ? .

dan

Yes, you can partially drain the system via the tap. You'll need to drain a good two and a half litres to be reasonably sure the top rail will be dry, but even then expect some drips when you take the hose off.

If you drain it via a filter funnel into a receptacle you can put the same coolant back in, assuming it's not old. If it is old, may as well drain the system completely and fill with new stuff

There are gazillions of posts about airlocks and refilling so probably better to click the search than have it all gone through again.

thankyou sir. :thumb:. i cant use the search function at the moment. it keeps throwing me out. after taking ages to get that far. lol. i need to know how to refill with no risk of airlocks etc......please. pretty please.

just do it properly.

warm up the car.

wait 10 mins or so and remove the bottom hose from the rad,catch all fluid in a container

now remove top hose and replace

refit pipes and start the car up and refill via the small tank with the radiator cap on,just slowly fill it and wait for the level to drop and keep refilling and the air if any should find its way out the system and go into the expansion tank near the battery and this will then settle to a level and keep an eye on it

thats how i did mine when i replaced the Rad other week