draining the coolant system.

I haven't personally it's just been a case of having the new one to hand getting the old one out and getting the new one in as quick as possible. Then topping the coolant up then rechecking level after a drive.
 
Depending on the location of the thermostat, I find it best to drain the sytem to just below the stat housing so that you can install the housing gasket dry.

I've never had to bleed the system afterwards, even on old cars. Maybe I was just lucky.
 
I've not drained and refilled many cooling systems to be honest - too lazy. Obviously use the right coolant - one size fits all is not sufficient now.

Refill as much as you can and then start engine from cold. Look at expansion tank levels and squeeze hoses to expel as much air as possible. Beyond that they should all self-bleed.
 
An indy down the road is going to do it for 60 quid labour plus 15 quid coolant, which is a decent price as they'll have to take off the intercooler to get to the stat housing.

I'm just running out of time and weekends before it gets proper cold.
 
That's a fair price. I had the Passat done last January as the coolant was starting to look a bit suspect. Turned out the radiator was failing so that cost me another couple of hundred quid on top!
 
Aye - it is really a quick job. Had a quick gander at it over the weekend. You can see a small coolant leak, just drops, from the front of the housing. Apparantly it's a common fault of Fords of this age, it's due to the plastic of the housing going brittle.

Prices of the parts make me laugh though.

The none-oem pattern part that I bought was 18 quid, still has a 2 year guarantee on it. A none-Ford but OEM standard part would have been 50 quid. I'd have got this if I was keeping the car long term.

The Ford branded part? 160 quid. Yes, nearly TEN TIMES the price I paid.

Ridiculous.
 
VW is a bit steep on OEM parts, too. Personally I'd rather use pattern parts given how enreliable my Passat has been with factory parts.

BMW dealer network is the opposite of what you'd expect. Discs, pads, wiper blades, filters etc are all cheaper than Halfords!
 

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