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[Dave johnson]

Hi looking for some help with a couple of issues with a 2000 mV6 3 litre manual. I recently bought the car back from a workmate looking slightly the worse for wear. To start with anybody out there with a pro drive front bumper car was in a light front shunt and bumper fitted to it is a standard omega model. Secondly and sorry if this seems like a stupid question but is there 2 radiators ie a front and back or what is the function of front one. On the radiator nearest engine there is a approx 25mm hose running horizontally from the battery side coming from what I think is a pump running to a fitting approx a quarter of the way down the driversside of the radiator when I tried running the car up at the location it was stored in all was ok till brown sludge started coming out of header tank. Engine is now stripped for oil cooler replacement. The pump from which the hose I mentioned ran from has had the plug taken off and was bypassed with a 30 amp fuse also the point at which the hose entered theradiator there was no fitting in the rad itself just a female thread. Any help would be appreciated with this. Car is a factory manual model not ex police. Might be mad for buying it back price of fuel etc but couldn't stand to see it get ran into the ground. Cheers

[tunnie]

the rear radiator (closest the engine) is for engine cooling. The other one is for the climate/aircon.

Sounds like yours had the optional extra of an engine pre-heater fitted. Can either leave it or junk it.

Make sure you flush coolant well afterwards, oil is a nightmare to get out, tiny capful of bleach will help break it up (don't drive it with that in, just idle)

Make sure good 50/50 mix of anti-freeze goes in during this cold weather, poor coolant maintenance is biggest cause of oil cooler & hg failure 

[Dave johnson]

Thanks for that. Pump I referred to is in pre 99 Haynes manual as the auxilliary coolant pump. What is it's function and why would the plug off the top of it be bypassed with a 30 amp fuse. Is it needed or would it have been running ok without this connected. The point where the hose enters the radiator does this need a special fitting or blank cant see anything in there at moment. Thanks again for any help.

[Kevin Wood]

the rear radiator (closest the engine) is for engine cooling. The other one is for the climate/aircon.

Sounds like yours had the optional extra of an engine pre-heater fitted. Can either leave it or junk it.

Sounds like the electric water pump fitted to all V6s to me.

There should be a fitting either side of the radiator for this. The threaded union is probably a transmission oil cooler connection. Maybe the radiator has been replaced with one from an auto?

Maybe it's a 4 pot radiator and doesn't have the fittings for the pump?

Kevin

[Kevin Wood]

..and as to why someone would bypass it with a 30 Amp fuse I have no idea. Sounds like a good recipe for a blown 30 Amp fuse to me.

This pump runs on after the engine has shut down from hot, circulating coolant to prevent "after boiling". You might get away without it in our climate, maybe not. Either way, it would have been fine just to disconnect the pump. I have no idea why a fuse would have been connected. I would go over the electrics very carefully because it sounds like a cowboy has been at work.

Kevin