Well it's been a couple years since I last drained my coolant and the time has come again. I have no problem draining it by disconnecting the lower radiator hose. I know a decent amount of coolant will be left in the block but the block drain plug is not in a position that's easily accessible. Now my issue... last time I filled the coolant, I filled the reservoir but nothing went into the system. This left the upper coolant hose (and I assume the radiator) dry. I ended up slightly overheating before shutting down. Then, the coolant began to flow into the upper hose and I was able to bleed it without issue. I assume this is because the thermostat was airlocked. The Bentley manual is a little vague about the bleed procedure but it says coolant should be flowing when I open the bleed screw with the engine off. I've read that there are actually two bleeds on the MCS. One on the upper radiator hose and another. Where is this other bleed valve? Is this the one that needs to be opened to get the thermostat submerged? Thanks.

 

go to the drivetrain posts ; there'll be a post as to where the screw is . it's just under the hoses of the thermostat . i believe the one going to the front . it faces straight down .

 

I think herbie meant that it faces straight up...

...look in the area of the front right corner of the head, the bleeder screw will take a 8mm socket.

 

Thanks guys. I'll take a look. I found the thread in the drivetrain forum and they said it is a 10mm screw but that'll be easy enough to determine. I even posted in that thread but I couldn't remember it

 

Now that you mention it, it might be a 10mm. I must be thinking of something else, sorry.

 

You can also speed things up by filling the radiator through the top hose. I tend to do this in addition to filling through the reservoir......

 

# 2 wins !!!