RE: Flushing procedures for radiator/cooling system and hydraulic system

[Aleksander Mierzwa <alex@matrix.com.pl>]

Gerard wrote:

	>My radiator has gathered a whole lot of brown scale and I have
coolant
	>crust at the upper connection pipe coming from  the radiator. I
looked
	>at the procedure for flushing the cooling  system in the Haynes
books
	>but the cooling system for the 5 cylinder is different from
that that
	>I have on this 200T model. The pipe coming off the radiator
heads into
	>a large valve system which I believe to be the valve that runs
the
	>water to the turbo for cooling. This valve is not even
mentioned in
	>my Haynes and I would like to know the full procedure used to
flush
	>the cooling system, perhaps from the Bentley books.
	>Another note about the valve, this leaks. Can this valve be
repaired
	>or do I need to replace it? The unit is spilling coolant all
over its
	>mounts and a lot of it has the rusty looking scale on it. I
usually
	>put in about 1.5 litre of water every 2 weeks or so. So canthis
valve
	>be strip and can the seals be replaced to get it fixed?

This is not the valve, it's electric coolant pump. You should replace
it, otherwise it will soon fall into pieces resulting in instant coolant
loss. As for now, you can bypass it with a piece of pipe of correct
diameter. It's used only for cooling the turbo after the engine is
switched off, so you can drive without it provided you will idle the
engine for a minute or so before siwtching it off.
I think the flushing procedure from Haynes will work on the Turbo
models.

	>Can the hydraulic system also be flushed? Some of the hydraulic
pipes
	>at the reservoir show some signs of leaks as these connecting
points
	>are covered in fluid. I would like, once again as precautionary
	>repair, to replace these pipes and would like to know the full
flush
	>procedure if possible. Any specific replacement piping I need
to
	>obtain or will any good hydraulic rubber hoses do?

I don't think it can be flushed, but simply replacing the fluid (beware:
use only the fluid specified on the sticker on the reservoir and/or
owner's manual) usually does the job. Mind you, most of the hydraulic
hoses have special fittings, have built-in restrictors of are generally
"special" in some way, so they must be made by a competent hose shop to
the spec.

Aleksander Mierzwa
Warsaw, Poland
mailto:alex@matrix.com.pl
87 Audi 5000CS turbo (mine)
88 Renault Medallion wagon (mom's)
91 mountain bike (just in case both cars broke at the same time :-)