So the fun starts...

[supersport]

My car has been immobile for 15 months with a nasty oil leak, and despite saying I was going to sort it I haven't made any progress, infact other than saying I am going to do it up until now I have done nothing. So now at last the works starts, she is up on axle stands, the oil is drained and about to drain the coolant.

It's going to be a fun and interesting process to get the head off and cleaned and then put everything back together and hopefully working leak free [] It's going to be a challenge as I am not overly mechanically minded, but what can possibly go wrong?

First two questions though

1. where do I dispose of the coolant?
2. Got turn the engine to TDC, have found the hole to see the marker, but struggling to get a socket on the end of the crank, the fan is in the way. Surely it can't that hard, so what's the trick?

 

[944Scott]

Take the radiator and the fan out as you are draining the coolant anyway. As its been standing for so long it would be worth doing the belts pulleys and water pump at the same time.

 

[vitesse]

For the time being,I would store the coolant in old screen wash 5l containers or suchlike-then once the job is done it can be reused to check the engine -then once satisfied drain back into the containers & re-fill with new coolant mix-saves wasting new stuff initially.
Dispose of it at your local waste transfer station or whatever they are called in Yorkshire.

 

[supersport]

Thanks. Plan is to all that whilst at it.

Good idea to reuse as a test.

Have taken waste oil to the tip before, goes in a tank. Just don't remember seeing anything for coolant.

 

[colin944]

Defo remove the radiator and the fans. it gives you so much more room to work. Then you can get a big impact socket on the crank and a big bar to turn it over. You'll need a flywheel lock if your going to remove the pullys etc. And keep it on when you do up the crank nut as it needs to be really tight ( can't remember the torque setting) .

 

[Waylander]

155lbs/f