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I need to change my thermostat on my 2001 focus. To do so, I need to drain the coolant but I can `t seem to find the typical radiator cap.I know that on most cars there`s a big cap that you take off for filling radiator with coolant. The only thing I find is a small plastique cap on the right end of the rad. It`s easy to take off but underneath, it looks like a pneumatic connector. I`ve got to solve this little problem cause it`s winter and I don`t have much heating in my car
Most newer cars do not have traditional radiator caps; they only have a pop-off plastic cap on the coolant reservoir. Does the cap you described say "coolant only" or something similar?Most newer cars do not have traditional radiator caps; they only have a pop-off plastic cap on the coolant reservoir. Does the cap you described say "coolant only" or something similar?
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To the right there is a clear plastic tank with yellow cap this is were
you fill it up and to empty the rad on the left of the rad at the bottom uses a 2p coin two unswrew a plug to emtpy it
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The drain plug is actually just a screw that requires a large phillips head to remove. It is located on the passenger side at the bottom of the radiator. The best way to locate it is to find the tube that runs from the coolant reservoir to the radiator and look underneath where it hits the radiator. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ XPROG-M V5.0
Take off the radiator cap and open the radiator drain plug. Let it all drain out. Also open the block drain plug on the engine-it is down low on the engine block, just beneath the freeze plugs. Or if you don't open the block drain, about a quart of old coolant will remain in the engine. Not everyone drains it completely.
Now loosen the upper radiator hose clamp on the thermostat housing, and pull the hose off the housing. Two bolts hold the thermostat housing onto the block. Note how tight they are-when retightening these bolts, do not overtighten. Pull off the housing and remove and discard the old thermostat. Place new thermostat in proper position, and clean or scrape the old gasket material from the housing and the block mating surface-get it shiny clean again. Remove alll traces of old gasket or adhesive completely to avoid causing a leak. Refit new gasket and housing back over the thermostat, and tighten the two retaining bolts down evenly. The torque on them would be about 15 ft. lbs.-run them down finger tight, then a couple of turns with the wrench, and that's about it. If it leaks there, another turn on the bolts should stop it. Now fit the hose back on the housing and tighten the clamp. Close the radiator drain (and engine drain, if you opened it), and refill the radiator with a 50-50 mix of antifreeze and water, also the coolant recovery tank. Now turn heater control to high heat, start the car with the radiator cap off (to expel air) and run till normal operating temperature is reached. Now the thermostat should be open and the coolant level in the radiator may drop. Turn off the car and add coolant to the radiator as needed to top it up. Check for leaks at the thermostat housing, replace the rad. cap. I think you are done.
Hello again Vicki, you can read my first post to you on type. Now for where and how. Put suitable container under radiator drain valve. Start to drain old antifreeze, you can also loosen radiator cap for faster drain, but make sure antifreeze doesn't start to spill all over your driveway or garage floor. When radiator and engine are mostly drained, I would recommend to change the thermostat. Follow the top radiator hose down to the engine. This is where you'll find the thermostat. Remove the attaching bolts and remove thermostat.If you wish to flush your engine,you can put water down the thermostat hole as well as the radiator cap hole, or you can do a fancy flush. Shut drain below, reinstall thermostat housing without thermostat, fill radiator with fancy flush cleaning solution and water replace radiator cap ,run for time stated on can of flush. Now you go back to where I began and start the draining again. Dispose off antifreeze correctly it is dangerous to animals if they ingest. Close drain,and fill engine with antifreeze thru thermostat housing, when almost to top install new thermostat and gasket. fill radiator almost to top, start engine, open inside heater and let engine warm to operating temperature. At this time the antifreeze level will drop, because thermostat will open, and you can fill some more .This should eliminate any possible air bubbles. Fill your coolant tank. I would like to know how you make out. GOOD LUCK.
A 2001 Ford Focus does not have an outlet on the radiator for a cap. It has a de-gas type cooling system and what would traditionally be called a "radiator cap" has become the de-gas bottle cap. It is located on the de-gas bottle just in front of the passenger strut tower and behind the passenger headlamp assembly. Do not open this cap when the engine is hot as you may be burned by the coolant.
loosen pressure cap slowly at coolant tank to relieve pressure,when pressure is relieved remove cap,place a suitable container under drain valve at bottom of radiator open drain valve.when coolant has stopped draining,close valve.then remove thermostat,[this is a good time to replace t.stat since it must be removed to refill cooling system],disconnect heater core coolant supply hose at rear of intake manifold.add coolant thru t.stat opening until coolant comes out of coolant supply hose fitting,reinstall hose and tighten[not to tight] reinstall thermostat o ring and thermostat.add coolant to tank until the coolant level is between the COOLANT FILL LEVEL marks.select the maximum heater temperature and blower speed settings run engine until it reaches operating temp.add coolant until the coolant level is between the COOLANT FILL LEVEL marks.turn off engine allow it to cool, recheck coolant level,add as needed .ford requires this procedure to avoid engine damage due to trapped air.
The radiator drain valve is a couple of inches above the bottom of the radiator, on the passenger side of the car. Insert a 1/4" drive ratchet into the center of the drain valve and loosened it about a half-turn. The center of the valve moves outward as it turns, and then coolant flows out through a drain hose. I placed a dishpan under the front of the car to catch the coolant that flowed from the drain hose. When closing the radiator drain valve, you need to push it inward and then tighten it. When fully closed, there is a small tab on the off-white center part that engages a slot in the black outer part. Note that complete filling of the cooling system may be impossible until the engine gets hot enough to cause the thermostat to open and push out any air that may be trapped in the upper radiator hose. Many vehicles have a thermostat that opens at 190 or 195 degrees Fahrenheit (87 to 90 degrees Celsius).
On some vehicles I will run the engine for a while and watch the coolant inside the radiator. When the thermostat is closed, the coolant just sits there. Once the thermostat opens I can usually see the coolant moving across the radiator. BUT... the slanted radiator cap on the GMC Jimmy allows coolant to spill out, so I just install the radiator cap to the first "click", which covers the opening but doesn't seal the system.
Often after filling the cooling system it's necessary to "burp" the cooling system to get rid of any pockets of air. This can be done by running the engine for a few hours (or even a few days) with the radiator cap turned to the "first notch" which simply holds the cap in place while not forming a tight seal. Turning the radiator cap to the "second notch" forms the tight seal needed for proper pressurized operation.
The Jimmy's, Blazer's and S10's didn't seem to need any special burping procedures... I just ran it until the thermostat opened, added coolant to the radiator, and then topped up the coolant in the reservoir.
Good luck and hope this helps. If your having a hard time with the drain plug, just unhook the bottom radiator from the radiator and drain it that way.
When engine is cold, take out the thermostat. Put back everything add water as needed to the radiator, leave the radiator cap out. Start the engine be careful stand in front of the radiator and where the radiator cap goes watch if the water is circulating rev it slowly and the water should circulate faster. If it is not circulating the radiator maybe clogged, inside the cylinder head where coolant circulates might be clogged or the water pump is not working.
Ok well there are two issues here the boiling and the potential for the transmission to be harmed by the contamination of the tranny fluid by antifreeze. First A/T fluid is not going to harm the coolant system in the least, however antifreeze in the trans. fluid will harm the automatic transmission get the tranny flushed as soon as possible , Change out the thermostat then refill radiator using 50% water 50 % antifreeze ( premixed in container) fill radiator then run the car without radiator cap add coolant as needed, put you radiator cap on and wait 5 - 10 minutes until car comes up to operatimg temp. you must observe the engine to make sure the electric radiator fan comes on after the car runs for at least ten minutes if it does not the problem is the usually the radiator fan relay or the fan coolant temperature sensor last in rare cases the fan itself. As for the air bleed usually letting the car run with the radiator cap off for ten to fifteen minutes will do it just make sure you don't remove the radiator cap when the car is hot 2nd degree burns usually hurt.
It should be on the passenger-side of the bottom of the radiator, facing the rear of the Focus. If not you will need to remove the lower radiator hose.
make sure engine is cool then drain coolant by opening the drain plug at bottom of radiator. remove cap from radiator so coolant will continue to drain and when coolant is down enough to pull off upper radiator hose at intake then close drain, then remove two bolts at coolant housing and remove thermostate. clean gasket material from intake and housing and replace with new gasket and thermostate tighten bolts install hose fill rad with coolant water mix 50/50 and run engine with heat on floor until gets hot and you see coolant flowing in rad, install cap
no, it actually says ``mio 75 pa8 vicking`` and it`s not a pop-off cap. It`s a twist cap
Most newer cars do not have traditional radiator caps; they only have a pop-off plastic cap on the coolant reservoir. Does the cap you described say "coolant only" or something similar?
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