New Thermostat

The new thermostat has arrived so I decided to get it fitted and fill the engine and radiator with coolant. This is because I had noticed some limescale-like flakes in the water pump housing and I figured it would be much better to get the water/coolant into the system to prevent any more occurring.


Before doing this I removed the water pump to clean it up a little. The aluminium polishing kit I had purchased from metalpolishingsupplies.co.uk did the job well and if I had a really small detail polishing wheel I could have done even better, but I am happy enough with it compared to how it was. 

Once the engine fires up and has been run to warm I'll drain the system and re-fill it just to make sure I've got rid of any junk from the engine.

I bought concentrated coolant from Halfords and mixed it at 3:1 (water:coolant) and the system still took about 4 litres of coolant to fill it.

For those following the blog regularly, you'll know I  don't have the heater yet so for now I have connected the two heater hoses together so that everything is sealed.

A learning point here is make sure you have all your engine accessories sorted before doing the cooling system. I have not yet finished fitting the alternator and power steering and I'm finding it very difficult to work behind the stainless header tank.