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Rover 25 GTi - Change engine coolant

6K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  smiddlewood 
#1 ·
i just bought a second hand rover 25 gti and have been adviced it is time to change the coolant. i have a copy of haynes workshop for rover 25s and it is very helpful. but i'm not sure where i'm supposed to open to drain the coolant. can anyone point me in the right direction? pictures would be even more helpful :)
thank you so much!
 
#3 ·
you drain it by taking the bottom radiator hose off , it would be useful to catch the coolant as it drains, and measure how much comes out (this will help with the maths later on)

Flush the system, I do this by connecting a garden hose into the hose that come out the bottom of the expantion tank and letting it run.

Now there should be only water in the system

It should be a 50/50 mix therefore if 2 1/2 litres came out originally there should still be 2 1/2 litres of clean water in the system after flushing, so to get a 50/50 mix I would add 2 1/2 literes of pure anti freeze

Then bleed the system (lots of posts on how to do that)
 
#4 ·
Flush the system, I do this by connecting a garden hose into the hose that come out the bottom of the expantion tank and letting it run.
Forget that bit, to do it this way is complicated (reconnect bottom hose jiggle valve etc)

do it this way, remove top radiator hose from radiator end stick a garden hose into the radiator hose and let it flow out from the bottom radiator hose
 
#6 ·
look downwards at the front of the engine bay, you have the radiator. at the bottom on the left is the bottom hose. on the top right is the top hose.

remove the cap on the expansion tank (clear tank, right of engine bay)

remove the bottom hose, this will let the coolant run out. catch it if you want, or your handbook might specify how much fluid should be in there. or halfords can tell you, if your haynes doesnt.
...... hang on ill find the guide i rote............
 
#7 ·
i recommend changing coolant at least once a year, helps to stop build of crud in the system , therefore helping prevent or delay the growing problem of head gasket failure....

THIS GUIDE WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN FOR A ROVER 200. SOME POINTS MAY NOT BE AS ACCURATE ON THE 25.

YOU WILL NEED:
Elthol glycogen based antifreeze (most are now)(halfords advanced is fairly cheap and meets the bill)
Tools (8mm spanner, screwdrrive, 6mm spanner (for clips) Pliers or mole grips
5 liter tray
mixing pot
1.5 litres SOft water.
2 new Jubilee clips (29mm-46mm)

1. remove the filler cap

2. take a large container to catch the antifreeze, there will be just less than 3 litres in there.

3 remove the bottom hose from the radiator, let it drain.

4 remove the top hose of the radiator once it is empty.

5 garden hose in th stop radiator hose hole to flush it out, on extremely LOW PRESSURE.

6 after i while you should see the water running clear from the bottom hose hole of the radiator.

7 secure all clips and hoses back in place, i would advise replacing the top and bottom radiator hose clips with new jubilee clips. 29-46 mm ones.
8 remove the top half only of the air filter box (just unclips) and the airfilter.

9 there should be a bleed screw, with an 8 mm fixin on the top. undo it fully with 8 mm spanner, do not loose it. (it is located diagonally under the diszzy cap, its gold on a black metal coolant pipe.)

10 mix up 1.5 litres of soft water ( i used battery water from halfords) and 1.5 litres of antifreeze (ethol glycogen type) ( i used a 1.5 litre water bottle, and filled it once with each, then mixed in a brand new clean bucket, and used a funnel to pour into the system)

11. SLOWLY pour the mixture into the coolant resorvoir, a very slow trickle, so it doent glug or you will get more air into the system.

12. keep filling you will see seom start to come out of the whole where you took the bleed screw from, wait until this is a contstant flow of the same colour (indicating no air bubbles).
13. replace the screw

14. keep filling SLOWLY until you reach the MAX mark on the plastic filler tank.
( if you over fill, remove the bleed screw to take some of the antifreeze out. but not too much)

15. turn on car DO NOT REV. just leave at idle until the fan kiks in for one cycle.
(this took 5 mins on mine, wasnt overly hot day)
WHILST DOING THIS WATCH THE TEMP GAUGE LIKE A HAWK
(it should not rise above alf way, if it does TURN OFF ENGINE IMMEDIATLY, further air bleeding using bleed screw maybe required.
Also leave the header tank cap open to let air escape.

(the remainder of the antifreeze mixed up (you wont use all of it) maybe required for topping up after the cars first run)

cheers
 
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