got the new car today, 94 ef fairmont. Clooant level lights on and I dont know how much is in it, so best to dump whats in it and do a complete refill. I have been told there is a knack to doing the fairmonts seeing the thermo housing dont have a bleeder valve. Can someone tell me the process of removing air in the system please?
Cheers
Raven

Make sure engine is cold.Drain coolant by removing lower radiator hose.Refit lower radiator hose and add correct amount of corrosion inhibitor,and or anti freeze via header tank.Fill system with clean water to "add/MIN" mark on header tank.Install header tank cap one turn only, or depress and turn until fully locked.Set heater control knob to HOT position(or 32 Degrees C if climate control fitted).Start and run engine at 2000 rpm for 10 minutes to open thermostat and purge air from system.Allow engine to cool,remove header tank cap, and top up coolant to full/max mark on header tank.
The above procedure is taken from my my ef falcon factory workshop manual.

what difference does it make if the engine is hot or cold when you drain it? at ford the forman always did it when it was hot...

is it detrimental to the engine or any of the cooling system if you do it when it's hot? or is it more so the fact that it may burn you and would have some pressure built up behind it if it's hot?

thanks guys

it should have a plastic drain bolt on the drivers side radiator tank, do it while cold.
this way you can refill and flush it with cold water to get all the old coolant out..
dont do it while hot..you dont put cold fluid in a hot engine!! and you dont want to get burnt.
once its refilled leave the radiator cap open or on first half turn and run the engine with heator on till the thermostat opens, then just top it up and your done..

Alright done that. The coolant level light is still on and I know it has enough coolant in it. I thought the sensor was dead, think it is. Also the temp seems to sit on about the R range on the sign normal and it goes up to O before the thermo's kick on..... is this alright? It has a brand new radiator in it, new hoses and the thermostat seems to be working correctly and there is no oil/water mix at all. So the R is about half way. Any advise would be great.