Coolant Change and Flush

[Mini Men]

Hi, time to change the coolant given we have no idea what's in the van or how long its been in. So I have my red stuff ready to go and have watched the video and info sheets. However guessing I need to flush everything out given we don't know what's in already. Is this something you can do DIY and how?

[wonkanoby]

yes its diy and messy

you can find different ways on u tube

but bear in mind bongo has har more pipes and heaters to collect sludge

than most regular cars

start by removing rad cap and bottom heater hose to rad to get bulk out

then start the flushing with a hose pipe

extent depends on how far you want to go

you can for instance back flush front and rear heaters by removing hoses local to them..you will be amazed at the crud

back flushing is forcing fluid in the opposite way to its normal flow

the 2x steel pipes connect the rad to the engine area also tend to have lots of crud in them

you can remove hoses at both ends

you could evan rod them through like a drain

be carefull removing pipe as to likes of rear heater its easy to break things

[Northern Bongolow]

as above . get as many hoses off as possible then flush,be careful of those connected to the front and rear heaters the stubs of the heaters are made of plastic and can be brittle.

[Simon Jones]

If you've got an old hose you can modify with a hose fitting so you can connect it up to the tap and reverse flush water thru the radiator to come out the header tank.

[mikeonb4c]

At the risk of being controversial, will there be crud if a system has been properly maintained. I've never seen a hint of crud in mine

[Simon Jones]

If its been properly serviced from new and no bits of metal, plastic or rubber have worked loose from within the system then you could be totally crud free. Typically it silts up the radiator matrix so you are unlikely to see anything obvious when you do a coolant change.

It also depends what water has been used in it. Our kettle at home has calcium deposits in it (limescale) and the shower head nozzles frequently need unblocking. The Bongo engine is effectively a giant kettle but without the advantage of water being replaced every day.

You can also get a chemical reaction if you mix two incompatible types of coolant which can result in a cloudy gel forming which will block the smaller passages.