p556guy

You're not using the worm-drive type clamps, right?

Those can put pressure on the fitting just under the screw and over time can cause cracking. The springy hose clamps distribute pressure more evenly.

C4S R HILL

Excellent write up, 6 gallons out, 6 gallons in, Thx.

Ahsai

Good work! Glad it helped.

Kirkwoodloyal

Bookmarked. Fantastic job!

Black_on_black

I used this method as well a few months back. Fantastic

Although with the vacuum suck method, first fill only got about 18L in obviously there were air pockets in the front. Parked it nose down on the drive waited to warm up. Halfway there with coolant cap off it started to spew. Put cap on. Was afraid it would suck reservoir dry when t-stat opens and radiators filled up but it never did....so after t-stat opened it sucked water to the front rads (i could feel the tubes in the wheel wells getting warm). Revved as instructions. Cooled down, filled five litres (now filled 23 minus some small drips from the spewing mentioned) and went for a drive. Level is perfect since then.

Iw as dreading this part of the water pump install but actually it was a piece of cake thanks to instructions on here! Many thanks.

Mike

Schnell Gelb

I am confused by the different versions of Airlift at very different price levels.
I found a generic version for about 1/2 price and wonder if anyone has experience of it and could make a recommendation? It is FJC 43610. There seem to be several re-branded ones that look identical.
Airlift do have several different models and their "economy" model is comparable to the generics?
So which do Rennlisters use ? The 550500 Airlift 2
550000
550500INT
550500HD
any others??

Ahsai

I have the 550000 http://www.tooltopia.com/uview-55000...FZJbfgodemYAEA

It works flawlessly and with the adapters even on other cars I have. Don't know about the other ones though. I've read that ppl have success with the airlift plastic one (economy) as well.

Schnell Gelb

Ah Ha! , so the economy one is plastic .
So I wonder if the generic one is brass on the critical areas?

Ahsai

The one I got (the link above) is made of brass and it's worth every penny to me. The plastic ones are like $70 so we're talking about only $40 diff.

Not sure about the generic ones. Any photo or link?

I would suggest going for the known working ones as the space is quite tight where the tool hooks up to the reservoir's neck. No gaurantee that a tool with diff shape will fit.

Schnell Gelb

Here is a link to various AIr lift vacuum refill tools:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...%20Airlift%202
here is the generic:
I read elsewhere on the Forum that the version with the tapered adapter is faster & easier to use because it seals so well.Seems counter-intuitive to me.

Fracture

great post, very informative
I really liked the part about getting the last .5 out of the heater core

makes perfect sense, if your going to flush, flush it all

spruden

Getting ready to tackle this job - along with a water pump & thermostat replacement, plus a radiator clean and other odds/ends.

I'm having a hard time finding a suitable "simple rubber gasket" for sealing my air hose to the coolant reservoir. I know that a rock solid seal isn't necessary since the PSI load is low...any advice on what specifically to use? Or where to find something to hack/re-purpose?

Thanks in advance!

aviography

I assume you are talking about blowing out the coolant trapped in the coolant hoses?

If so, then you'd love at what I did, I took a plastic shopping bag, poked a hole in the middle for the air hose blower tip to go through, and held the plastic bag tight over the reservoir opening with my hand, then push the button on the air hose blower tip. Works great, but just make sure you have a big drainage pan underneath because the coolant WILL gush out!!

Ahsai

Great idea and very original

Spruden, I just cut a circle out of a 1/8" rubber sheet and cut a hole in the middle of it to accept the air hose. Really no need to be air-tight at all. In fact, being not air-tight gives you some control on how fast you want the coolant to GUSH out

Also, a few PSI is more than enough.

spruden

Quick update - I performed this coolant drain, water pump, low-temp thermostat, and refill procedure last week.

Draining the coolant was simple. I found some gasket material to get a "good enough" seal on the expansion tank neck. Follow Ahsai's steps and you're golden here.

The waterpump/thermostat combo was a bit of a pain - but totally doable. Just be super patient - make sure you get the engine carrier structure out of the way and there's clearance to remove/install from the bottom.

Refill with the (worst titled product in the world) Uview Airlift 55000 was awesome to see. What a simple and efficient product to use. Even though the name is annoying the product is great...highly, highly recommended.

No leaks so far - will continue to monitor coolant level and top off as needed.