Change hoses and t-stat

[gdlgiii]

I have a 2002 Jeep Liberty Sport with the V6 3.7 engine and would like to know how to change out the upper and lower radiator hoses and t-stat. I have been reading online and a little confused at the different posts.

When I drain the coolent from the bottom of the radiator does that get that out of the fill bottle toward back of engine compartment?

Do I just run water through the radiator from the upper hose inlet and let it drain out from bottom hose that is disconnected?

Replacing the thermostat looks easy (any gotcha's I need to be aware of?)

On the upper radiator hose there is an allen screw. Is that a bleeder screw I need to loosen when filling it back up?

When putting coolent back in, where do I fill it up at? From the bottle at the back engine compartment?

Do I fill the bottle up, then crank engine to run coolent through it?

What is the best way to put coolent back in this?

 

[Luke]

Welcome

and

http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f202/how-flush-change-coolant-25739/

 

[gdlgiii]

Great! so as far as that allen screw behind the top radiator hose I do not have to worry about then? I read where that "bleeds" the system.

 

[Luke]

Some do that, some don't from what I read... I opened it just to help avoid air pockets, reinstalled with teflon tape.

 

[Porkchop]

Some do that, some don't from what I read... I opened it just to help avoid air pockets, reinstalled with teflon tape.

X2

 

[gdlgiii]

Well, hoses replaced and new thermostat is in place. Only thing is I only got about 6.5 or so qts put back in the sytem. I flushed the radiator itself but not reverse flush through the engine. Its not running hot and the temp dial in smack dab in the midddle.
I need to find out how much I got out because I didn't measure when I dumped it in a huge plastic bin. I added the water I also flushed the radiator with. So its possible the other 7qts was still in the engine?? I drove around town for about 45 mins or so and never saw any issue. The bottle shows right at the cold fill line. I will let it set tonght and see what it shows in the morning.

 

[gdlgiii]

I also removed the bleeder screw but nothing came out until I turned over the engine for 30 seconds. So I plugged that back with some thread sealent.

 

[Luke]

Can't remember how much (coolant) was left in the KJ but it was quite a bit ... I measured and replaced what I removed though.

Should just be air coming out the bleeder valve ... until you start it