Attention! Do not allow antifreeze to come into contact with your skin or painted vehicle surfaces. In case of contact, rinse immediately with plenty of water. Antifreeze is extremely toxic and deadly if ingested. Do not leave antifreeze in an open container or spilled on the floor; its sweet smell can easily attract children or pets. Check local regulations for the disposal of used antifreeze. In many areas there are special centers for its acceptance.
The cooling system must be regularly drained, flushed and refilled. This procedure is carried out to maintain the quality of the coolant mixture and prevent the formation of corrosion, which reduces the efficiency of the cooling system and can cause engine failure. When servicing the cooling system, the condition of all hoses and radiator cap should also be checked and, if necessary, defective components should be replaced.
Dehumidification
1. Unscrew the radiator cap. This can only be done on a cold engine. If the engine is hot, unscrew the cap until the first click (with a rag) and wait for steam to come out.
2. If the system is required to maintain frost resistance, certain measures must be taken. For some work on the cooling system, the coolant does not need to be completely drained. So when removing the upper hose or thermostat, it is enough to drain the coolant to the level of the corresponding element.
3. Set the heater control to position «warm».
4. Disconnect the bottom water hose and drain the fluid. A plug is inserted into the side of the cylinder block (next to the oil dipstick), which must be unscrewed to free the cylinder block from the coolant. A little higher is the air bleed bolt. Open this bolt. On an injection engine, also open the bleed screw in the heater hose.
5. If the coolant is drained to clean the system, remove and empty the expansion tank. Clean the tank and reinstall.
6. After draining, reconnect the water hose and screw the drain plug into the cylinder block.
Flushing
1. After the system is completely drained, flush the radiator with clean water from a garden hose until clean water comes out of the drain or bottom hose. If the radiator is severely rusted, damaged, or leaking, it should be removed (see chapter Cooling and heating systems) and send it to a repair shop for a radiator specialist.
2. The flushing described above will remove various deposits from the radiator, but will not be able to remove rust and scale from engine surfaces and cooling pipes. All this can be removed with a chemical cleaner. Follow the purifier manufacturer's instructions for this procedure. Before flushing the engine, open the drain plug of the cylinder block.
3. On suitably equipped models, remove the overflow hose from the expansion tank. Drain the tank, rinse it with clean water and connect the hose.
Filling
1. Check again if the drain holes are closed.
2. Prepare antifreeze coolant. The content of 30% antifreeze concentrate gives frost resistance down to -15°C; 50% to -35°C.
3. Slowly pour coolant through the radiator opening and also fill the expansion tank. tighten bolt (s) bleed when coolant starts to flow out of the holes. Coolant must be visible at the filler hole.
4. Screw on the radiator cap.
5. Run the engine until operating temperature is reached (fan should turn on) and then cool the engine again. Check the coolant level again after a few hours. Depending on the installed engine, the volume of the system differs, its value is indicated in Specifications at the beginning of the chapter. 0.7 liters should be poured into the expansion tank.