Rad Coolant Pipes, Coolant and Oil Change

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Hi Guys/Girls,

Today I\'ve mostly been changing my old degraded mis-shapen radiator coolant pipes to some nice new ones from Mazda, I also changed the oil/oil filter and coolant at the same time:D

What you need:-

5ltrs of Aluminium friendly coolant
5ltrs of Di-ionised water
Bottle of Redline Water Wetter (optional)

Mazda or Silicon radiator coolant pipes (2off)
Mazda Parts No.s:  N3A1-15-185B   £11.68
                               N3A1-15-186B   £14.89

5ltrs Castrol GTX mineral oil 10w40 for modern engines
Mazda oil filter
Mazda sump plug washer


Here are the photos I took along the way:

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First off I drove the car around the block to let the oil warm up a little so that will drain much quicker and easily. I then jacked the car up on the passenger side (so oil drain is tilting downwards) put a suitable container to catch the oil (at least 5litre capacity) under the drain hole and loosened off the drain plug and removed it. I then removed the old filter using a chain type filter remover.

To get to the radiaitor coolant pipes I had to completely remove the air box.

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Air box removed:)

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In order to drain the coolant I had to remove the under tray, this can be fidly and some of the bolts can be rusted to the fasteners:( Once removed or pushed out of the way unscrew the cross head screw from the bottom centre of the radiator. Place a suitabel container underneath and then remove the radiator fill/pressure cap on the block.

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Now not alot of people know this, but there is another coolant drain plug on the block. It is located under the spark plugs in the centre bottom of the centre plate. Use a 14mm socket to remove it. Place suitable container underneath to catch the coolant. Best to have the car on level ground to do this:)

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Action shot

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Remove the old rad pipes using a monkey wrench and/or a large set of long nose pliers to remove the hose clips and to free the pipes up.

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Replace old radiator coolant pies with the new items and make sure that the hose clips are all in place and secure. Replace the coolant drain plugs and torque up to correct values. Then re-attach the under tray.

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Put a new sump washer on the oil drain bolt, clean any remaining oil from the sump threads and torque up the plug.

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Sandwich plate for oil temp sender:

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Make sure you lube up any oil seals on the new oil filter and on the sandwich plate with a little lightweight  oil or ne engine oil.

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Put the filter either straight onto the block or onto the sandwich plate tighten hand tight.

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Drop the car onto level ground if you haven\'t already done so and fill the new oil to the appropiate level on the dip stick.

For coolant I tend to mix it first before putting it into the engine. I used a 2ltr mineral water bottle and mixed 2oz of water wetter in with 50% di-ionised water and 50% coolant, my car took 3 of these mixes, therefore 6ltrs in total, this amount may vary. Fill only from the filler shown in the picture. It is the one attached to the water pump in the middle of the engine attached directly to the engine block. Keep burping the system by squeezing the rad pipes to release any trapped air.

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Once filled,check underneath the car for any leaks. Once you are satisied that everything is ok and at the correct level. Replace the caps and re-attach the air box and piping. Start the car and let it get up to temp checking that the temp doesn\'t rise too quickly or go into the red. Then turn off the ignition, let the car cool and then once cold check the fluid levels again, top up if necessary.

And thats it, hope you enjoyed my afternoons work:bandit

Cheers for reading,

Paul:D

[scooby_si]

Good stuff mate, will move this to the FAQ in a bit as it\'s good stuff :god
On a sidenote where did you get your water wetter from in that size i had a search a while back & mostly only found it in tiny containers........
Si