How To remove wheel arch trim

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PulsarLee

New Member
hi guys,

couple of quick questions;

how do i remove the plastic nearside wheel arch trim as i want to rub some bubbling down b4 it gets any worse.

Also,

whats the best way to fully drain the water from the engine as iwant to give it a flush after working on the car. also will anything need to be blead when topping back up.

cheers,

Lee

 
D

danr

Member
http://www.gti-r.com/Reference/FAQv10.htm

pretty old, dunno if anyone here is responsible for it ..


V10 Q How do I drain/refill the "water" in the radiator?
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This from Chris Lloyd (BTW use "Year round coolant" not water no matter where you live - it's a mix of water & antifreeze and it helps to keep the water pump bearings lubricated and it deters rusting).

-Draining the radiator
Riiight - you've got to drain the old water first (obviously). There’s a drain plug on the bottom of the radiator, on the drivers’ side end - its plastic with a pozi head. There’s a hole in the splash guard to access it. However, on my car the drain plug had been 'bored out'; by someone using the wrong size pozi screwdriver
- on to plan B.


- Plan B :Ignore this bit if you’re drain plug is OK
Jack the car up on the passenger side, get under the front bumper and undo the plastic splash guard on the passenger side ( 4 or 5 10mm bolts) and remove it. Now you should have a good clear view of the radiator. bottom hose, and all the water has somewhere to go, now the splash guard is out of the way. Undo the hose clip on the bottom pipe.

-stop ignoring !
Remove the radiator cap. Now whether you’re draining from the drain plug, or from the bottom hose, prepare for Niagara Falls. I got 4.5 litres of water out, so if you’re going to catch the water in something, make sure its big enough!

-Draining the block
This ones hard to explain. Find where the bottom hose joins the block, just above the gearbox. The outlet has ' Caution!' written on a yellow sticker on my car. There are five bolts holding the outlet to the block, four in a square pattern, and one 'odd' one on the top left as you look from the front of the car. This is the block drain plug. Undo and drain the water - about another 0.5 litres. It tends to run over the turbo inlet and down the side of the gearbox, just warning you!

-Flushing
I saw no reason to flush my system, so didn’t bother. But be my guest!

-Refilling
Refit the drain plug, and/or bottom hose securely. As I got 5 litres out, I wanted to put 5 litres back. The manual says the system holds 5.7 litres, I’m guessing the odd 0.7 litres is in the expansion tank
(which, incidentally you might want to drain off now)?
You should be looking at a 33% mix of antifreeze at least for British weather. The manufacturers also advise putting all the antifreeze in, then the water, but I always pre-mix it, and pour it straight in. You have to pour quite slowly into the radiator, because the inlet is so small, and you don’t really want air in the system. It also takes forever! As a guide, I managed to get 3.5 litres of water mix in. I also put some water in the expansion tank, between MIN and MAX.

With the radiator cap off, start the car, the water pump should draw the water immediately, even tho' the thermostat is shut. Keep topping up the water level. I got another 1 litre in. When the car wont take any
more, replace the radiator cap, and leave the motor running, slow or fast idle, until the fans come on, then switch off and leave for 5 mins.

The car will still be warm, but the water should have settled. Remove the radiator cap very carefully, with a rag, to release the pressure. Top up the level of water in the radiator. Re-seal the radiator cap, and run the
car again until the fans come on. Leave the car to cool completely. Once cold (next day?) fill the expansion tank up to the MAX level.

Job done!

Hope that helps someone
Chris

This is an addendum from Ivan Tomic ...

The bolt you mention as the block drain plug is not actually the block drain plug, but the air bleeder bolt for when re-filling the system back with water. The block drain plug is between the turbo and block, in the block. Might be a bit hard to get to, but this is the proper drain bolt from the workshop manual. Now I am not saying that you can't drain it with the air bleeder bolt as you have done.

The 0.7 litres of water would be in the heater core inside your dash area. When removing all water, make sure your water temp dial is on HOT to remove the water from the heater core also.

When refilling the water, you need to bleed the air from the cooling system by the 'odd' bolt until all air is out and water is spurting out continuously, then tighten the odd bolt. You should really install an air
trap thingy to the pipe under the plenum where the water enters the block (from just above the oil pump location, very hard to get to) and run car with heater temp on HOT and the air catcher will also catch the air bubbles.


 
PobodY

PobodY

Moderators
Staff member
PulsarLee said:
how do i remove the plastic nearside wheel arch trim as i want to rub some bubbling down b4 it gets any worse.

Also,

whats the best way to fully drain the water from the engine as iwant to give it a flush after working on the car. also will anything need to be blead when topping back up.
Click to expand...
If you're lucky, you should be able to undo the little nuts holding it on from the inside of the arch.
If you're not, it's time to break-out a hacksaw and cut them off. - I'd plan on the hacksaw as they're almost certainly rust-welded in place and will shear rather than undo if you can get a spanner (8mm?) on them.
When putting them back, use the studs more like locating pins and put some adhesive on the trim to hold it in place.

RE Draining the system, I'd do as above; undo the drain screw in the bottom of the radiator and let it flow out. If you then want to flush it, I'd take the top hose off and put a hose pipe on it... although thinking about it, you might need to take the thermostat out first or it's not going to circulate using cold water.
I've never needed to bleed mine. I fill it back up, squish the pipes a little which seems to send all the bubbles to the radiator; top it up again; start the engine and let it start moving the coolant around; check and top-up; done.
 
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hainesz

New Member
i found that the best way is to soak them in penertrating spray 1st leave them to soak then heat them gently with a heat gun on low or even a hair dryer will do... then undo them, less chance of snapping them
 
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