Help - Coolant change on 4mo

[curtis715]

Hey all,

Went to change the coolant on my bora 4mo today but couldnt locate the drain point on the bottom of the radiator. Only thing i could thing to do was disconnect the hose as below and itd all drain from there?



Is there something im not seeing or is that the way to do it? Sorry for the noob question im only used to working on jap cars.

Cheers Curtis.

[audi-tone]

Probably different on a 1.8t but I did exactly as you - took the bottom hose out. It's a bitch to get on and off and messy but it got the job done.
Good luck. Remember to only use the vw g12+ coolant too!

[curtis715]

Ok thanks buddy, yeah the only reason why i didnt do it straight away was to try and avoid the mess. Do you remember approx how much coolant the system holds. Be about 4 litres wouldnt it?

[governor22]

my coolant alarm went off this morning.

1. Where can I get G12 coolant (canberra area) ? WOuld repco or kmart have this stuff

2. How do you disconnect the coolant hose to let it drain ? Do you need any special tools etc

cheers

[governor22]

and 3. How much coolant do I need if i'm doing a full top-up

[Golf-Sam]

Ok thanks buddy, yeah the only reason why i didnt do it straight away was to try and avoid the mess. Do you remember approx how much coolant the system holds. Be about 4 litres wouldnt it?

im afraid you will have to go the hose way for drainage ..

theres 2 variants.. some need a 9.4 Liters and some need 12 Liters .. best thing is to buy 5L bottle of 100% concentrated Red coolant ..
i use Nulon .. it covers the needed requirements from VW .. and is about 30 bucks from stores like Autobarn and Autopro .. 5 Liter bottle will make up to 10 Liters of coolant ..

[Golf-Sam]

and 3. How much coolant do I need if i'm doing a full top-up

for the GTI you need 8 Liters of coolant .. i havent personally looked at the change in them .. however my money will be on the hose as well .. according to Nulon's guide .. the red stuff will cover you as well ..


sam

[governor22]

yeah, topped it up today... would've flushed it but they don't recommend you lift the car with only one jack .... i also couldn't get the front bumper off.... fail

[h100vw]

yeah, topped it up today... would've flushed it but they don't recommend you lift the car with only one jack .... i also couldn't get the front bumper off.... fail

There's a drain tap on the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side.

Without having a bone dry engine/radiator, I don't reckon I have ever put more that 4-5 litres in a VW.

Gavin

[noone]

Are you sure the Nulon is a suitable spec? I can't find anything about it being G12+ compliant (the only VW coolant spec I know).

[h100vw]

Are you sure the Nulon is a suitable spec? I can't find anything about it being G12+ compliant (the only VW coolant spec I know).

i don't want to start a war but when I got my Polo it had some green coolant in it. The head looks visually worse in the water ways than the one from my replacement engine.

I will be using the "real" thing after my rebuild.

Gavin

[Golf-Sam]

i don't want to start a war but when I got my Polo it had some green coolant in it. The head looks visually worse in the water ways than the one from my replacement engine.

I will be using the "real" thing after my rebuild.

Gavin

good to know Gavin .. i'll keep an eye on mine ..cheers

Sam

[governor22]

There's a drain tap on the bottom of the radiator on the passenger side.

cheers gav, but i couldn't see it. Prob because the bumper cover extends so far back under the radiator .... the Youtube vid where the guy does it doesn't seem to have this undercarriage plastic cover... see: DIY: Volkswagen mk4 jetta/golf/gti radiator flush part 1 - YouTube

[h100vw]

Yeah, it's a way forward.

[craig_the_german]

Hi. I believe Penrite have recently released a coolant that is VW G12+ approved.