water pump and thermostat

[jackie]

about to replace the thermostat with a tridon high flow thermostat, i hope that is good idea as it claims to help engine more than normal thermostat and i thought i would also do the water pump and flush radiator out while i was at it. any tips/suggestions advice as this is first time i done it and have a manual to follow but feel getting some tips before i bust something is a good idea first.

[VR_Acclaim]

ive always held my hand over the wat er pump and put a hose down the thermostate hole adn then when it build pressure remover you hand and continue the hose for about 5 minutes or how ever long u want

[jackie]

yes thinking i should flush the radiator as well, is that a good idea? is sticking the hose down the thermostat hole flushing it?

[wildss]

remove the thermostat and bolt the housing back on
drop coolant
fill with radiator flush and top up with water
run for a while and give her some revs to help flow
drop coolant flush and fill with water run again and drop water
if its still dirty repeat till fairly clean
install new t/stat and fill with the right mix of coolant and water

oh and have your heater on hot and fan on high while you do all this to flush the heater core as well

[wildss]

and if you squeeze your radiator hoses and they make a cracking noise (hard rubber) it wont hurt to replace them.
if they have a good amount of flex in them check them again in about 12 months
if you really want to lash out pull the radiator and have it flushed by a rad place and make sure its flowing @ 100% or there abouts

[wildss]

search for bleeding cooling system as you will need to get the air out once youre done

[jackie]

ok, yes heater is whole other drama, it just dont blow hot air in the car, i tried everything to find out why no hot air, especially on those -3 degree mornings. so hope thermostat helps that issue out.

[TheIceman]

if you really want to lash out pull the radiator and have it flushed by a rad place and make sure its flowing @ 100% or there abouts

This is a MUST, you have to atleast take the radiator out and to a radiator place and have it flow tested, normally free. if the radiator is blocked, it aint gonna help ya engine. and no amount of flushing is gonna unblock a blocked radiator, it has to be taken apart and cleaned, small cost. Cheap insurance against overheating your engine. i reckon around 1/3 of all radiators ive had flow tested were in need of clean outs, and thats alot of radiators.

[wildss]

lol my mate has an xg ute that had overheating probs so he took it in and apparently it was like 80% blocked!
they're not cheap for xg's either, something like $480 because its an in-between model type of thing