Finally under the car, now what!

[dickendoe]

Hi

so I finally bought ramps and thought I would start on a nice easy job and replace the coolant.

Two things (well more but would not want to bore anyone),

1) the radiator is really well hidden, do I need to take the bolts from the underside of the spoiler off (and the black plastic guard) to get to the bleed screw?

2) and I am embarrassed to even be writing this, how do you get to the radiator cap?

There is a third thing actually - there has been no oil or coolant dropped underneath the car, but getting under it I noticed that there is a little oil on the grey plates at the back of the engine raft (close to where the suspension arm connects. Seems clean and fresh, but no sign on the engine, sump, gearbox etc. If I were a gambling man I would say transmission fluid as it just seems too far back to be the engine but no signs of issues there.

How do you check the gearbox oil?

Thanks in advance for any advice for this numbskull

Cheers

p.s. the next job will be oil replacement, I can see the oil filer but it is hard to get a hand to it, is there a trick to it

[Specky]

Q1. There's a couple of bleed points, I prefer to use the one under the light pod, by using that one it's quick and easy with nothing to remove as such.

Q2. There isn't one, just the filler cap on the expansion bottle. To change the coolant I normally remove an easily accessible pipe.

Q3. Possible cause of the slight leak is normally the degradation of the O-ring seals on the CAS and or the CAS blank.

Q4. G/Box oil level check is carried out by removing the speedo drive where it enters the G/box housing.

Q5. A few ways to skin this cat, but because it's your first time and it's good to be able to see what's happening, couple this with ease of access I'd remove the front wheel and go up via the running gear. And... If you drop the filter you can easily reorintate it and extract it.

Saying that, you can go over the top of the plenum, go in from underneath, both are a harder option due to very limited access and hot components and hot oil.

TTFN

[Fredjohn]

Hi.
Check under Repairs section of this site and then look in routine maintenance box.

There are fairly detailed instructions on how to change both oil and coolant posted in it.

Good luck: I have yet to do both things myself having only just bought my car. I also need to change brake fluid, but instructions are given for that too.

[dickendoe]

Hi

thanks for the responses - feel confident to get the coolant sorted, then need a good few hours to mess around and find the speedo cable hole etc.

Onwards and upwards

Cheers

[rip]

I found it very difficult to loosen the jubilee clip on the radiator bottom hose until i bought a twist ratchet. Now i have one of these it has become an easy job.
Access to the oil filter through the wheel arch is impossible with my Elan so I have to go from the top. This was a pain but now I insist on using a K&N filter because it has a 1" removal nut which makes things a whole lot easier.

[dickendoe]

Rip, what is the part number for the K&N filter you use, have not bought one yet and would be good to learn from your experience. I did manage to touch the oil filter from under the car but not confident it will come out that way!

[Fredjohn]

Rip, what is the part number for the K&N filter you use, have not bought one yet and would be good to learn from your experience. I did manage to touch the oil filter from under the car but not confident it will come out that way!

Sure rip will respond but found this part no. K&N HP-1004 on http://www.larkspeed.com As it has a "nut" as part of the canister it can be put on/removed with ordinary socket/spanner.

Good luck.

[ccb056]

The K&N filter is 93% efficient @ 20 microns, I am currently using this filter.
However the next will be a Purolator Pure One PL14459 which is 99.9% efficient @ 20 microns.

The K&N has a 1" nut on the top, the Pure One has a textured surface.