Definitive Defender 300 tdi antifreeze coolant how to do answer (please)

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Tmac

Active Member
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West Yorkshire
I have searched and read conflicting answers to flushing and renewing antifreeze on a 300 tdi Defender so can anyone just bullit point the process.
Much appreciated
El Thicko
 
1. buy some new antifreeze (ethylene glycol) - should be green. If you have a plastic cap on the rad or thermostat housing, buy a metal one.

2. Get a large bucket and place it under the bottom rad hose. Set heater control to hot.

3. take the expansion cap off and pull off the bottom rad hose.

4. Move your feet. Maybe this should be number 2.5.....

5. wait.

6. undo the caps on the rad and thermostat housing.

7. Once all the coolant has drained out, put fresh water in the top hole of your choice and wait for it to run clear. Move your feet.

8. Put the bottom hose back on.

9. Fill the rad, then put the brass cap back in

10. Slooooowly fill the thermo housing. Keep squeezing the pipes to get bubbles out. Watch the expansion bottle level as this will refill also.

11. thermo housing brass cap back in, check expansion bottle level, and run up to temp, checking levels and leaks
 
Thanks for that steveo
I had read someone removing a drain plug on the engine block and that was confusing me.
Cheers
Enlightened
 
Tmac said:
Thanks for that steveo
I had read someone removing a drain plug on the engine block and that was confusing me.
Cheers
Tmac
Click to expand...

You only really need to drain the block completely for head removal and similar. But it does no harm to do it for coolant changes, and isn't difficult.
 
Oh one more question is it ok to let the drained coolant go on ground and soak away or collect in container and dispose of responsibly
 
Tmac said:
Oh one more question is it ok to let the drained coolant go on ground and soak away or collect in container and dispose of responsibly
Click to expand...

You should really catch it and dispose of it, but the main thing is not to leave pools of it on the ground. It is very toxic, and attractive to pets and wildlife due to it's sweet taste.
 
Tmac said:
Oh one more question is it ok to let the drained coolant go on ground and soak away or collect in container and dispose of responsibly
Click to expand...
yeah, that.... :) I refer you back to my point about moving your feet - the coolant goes everywhere but the container!

All garage workshops have a coolant disposal method thats legal - you're only going to have a few pints caught so I imagine if you were buying parts there, they may take your old coolant.

I use Citroen coolant - helps that I work at a Citroen garage :)
 
If you use concentrated antifreeze dilute it using distilled water. Its only a few £ a gallon. Tap water has minerals and chlorine and other trace elements that can cause sludge and rust.
 
If your old coolant is dirty after flushing out the engine and the rad remove the two pipes to the heater and flush it out with a hose.There wont be a lot in there but as you are at it .
 
Small tip to avoid making a huge mess and worse still, pouring poisonous glycol onto the ground. Buy a 2 metre length of 10mm internal diameter hose, ideally transparent. Use it to siphon off the coolant in the header tank into a suitable container. remove bottom hose from header tank and lift it up as high as you can to avoid spillage. Insert the 10mm hose into the bottom hose end removed the header tank and shove it down as far as you can. Siphon that off into a bucket. keep a glass of water close to you just in case some coolant finds its way into your mouth (remember, it's poisonous. rinse your mouth out). When the siphoning stops, you may remove the 10mm hose from the bottom hose, place the container under the vehicle and aim the bottom hose into the container. The hose will now be lower than the rad and you'll effectively empty the rad with no mess, no fuss and no harm to the environment.
 
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