Replacing a water hose

[toddy98274]

Hi

I have a split water hose on my mk3 gti 8v engine code AGG which I have bought the replacement for direct from vw as gsf said they didnt stock it.  When I replace it I am assuming that I need to drain the coolant system first, replace the faulty hose and then refill the coolant with brand new stuff.  Sounds easy!?! but I have a few questions before I try it

1) Whats the easiest way to drain the coolant system? (ie which hose do i need to pop off to drain it all, is it a good idea to jack the back of the car up so it drains easier etc)

2) What coolant should I buy to fill the system back up again and how much roughly will I need? (I have read that G12 pink coolant from vw dealer is best but is this suitable for my car and what kind of quantity am I going to need to fill the whole system back up)

3) When refilling do I need to make sure there is no air in the system or are there any things I should check once full to ensure that its been done correctly.

Any help appreciated

Thanks

Andrew

[Judderi]

Simply take the split hose off and let all the water drain from there. If its the bottom rad hose your obviously gonna get allot of water coming out. Then put your new hose on.

Fill the header tank up to the max mark with coolant (any will do) but yes the pink ones tends to be the best. Then start the engine.  While the engine is running leave the heater tank cap off and massage (squeeze) repeatedly all the hoses you can get you hands on. Keep topping up the coolant as needed. This will release all the air. The car will eventually get up to temp and the rad fan will kick in. Once the fan stops check your level and fit the header tank cap.

Job done!

[toddy98274]

Thanks for that, it sounds easy enough but is there much that can be damaged by doing this wrong, or is there even much possibility for doing anything wrong

Do I need to make sure the whole system has drained before putting the new coolant in as ive heard it isnt a good idea to mix coolant types

Thanks

[Judderi]

Dont worry. You cant really do any damage, unless you dont put any water in at all!

Yeah now probably would be a good time to flush the system and put all new coolant in. To do this simply stick a hose pipe down all the hoses you can and push all the crap out the other end. If you look in the mk2 maintainence and info child board there is a how to. The same principal applies.