Hi Gents:

I'm in the process of de-winterizing the locost blade. I'm changing the oil and the diff oil as well. However, in the two years I've driven the car, I've never changed the coolant. So:

1.) Is it important to do so?

and

2.) How do I go about doing this?

Any help is appreciated.

--Thanks, Chris

Hi Chris,

Normally I would say 'No' coolant doesn't need changing.

However with many homebuilt cars we have bits and pieces in the cooling system that can mean we need to think about changing it more regularly.

For instance; if you have an aluminium cyl' head with an older copper radiator or copper fittings somewhere within the system then this can cause accelerated corrosion within these parts and it may be useful to change the coolant just to flush any particles of corrosion out of the system.

As for how; I would remove the radiator/expansion tank cap and just undo and remove the lowest coolant hose you can find. Replace the hose and refill with your preferred mix of water/anti-freeze etc...

Many thanks. Sounds easy enough!

--Chris

I'd say it's a very good idea to replace the coolant.
For one thing if you've never done it, the coolant could have crud from the block in it.
Also anti-freeze breaks down over time- its not really a function of miles done.

It's pretty easy. I use a large gardening seed tray (it'll hold the entire amount of coolant). Drive over that, let the car cool down, pop off the bottom radiator hose, let it drain, put the hose back on and fill her up with the correct ratio (50/50 water Antifreeze is common on bike engines). Its best to use distilled water as tap water has limescale in it which will eventually crud up your block. Personally I use the water which comes out of our dehumidifier!! Its full of bacteria and fungal spores so its no good for drinking but for my cars radiator its excellent (and free ).

Make sure you bleed the system after filling

My R1 engine has a bolt in the water inlet pipe, next to the water pump, that is used for draining the coolant. You don't even have to remove a hose. Take the filler cap off to let air into the system and remove the bolt to let the water out.