Loving my dolomite couple of things, i have replaced the thermostat as it was not going up above from cold hardly!, took it out and it most certainly looked horrid, replaced that, it's now sits just about below half way (this normal?) also i find the bottom hose quite cold all the time.
Do you think it would be wise for me to flush out the system? if so whats the best way of doing so?
i would flush the system with a rad flush,holts is a good brand ,(drain plug on the bottom of the rad and side of block ),remove the thermosat before flushing ,do this 3-4 times using a hose if possible fill up with clean water ,run the engine for a few minutes, flush though again with clean water then replace the 'stat and all the hoses with new jubilee clips
and fill with a good brand antifreeze/water
this will take a hour or two but is well worth it.
therostat not opening ,what make have you used? don't use intermotor parts they are krap.
when you have fushed run it up to temp without the thermostat in place and see if that makes a difference.
ive never had a water pump fail on a 1300/1500 engine which of course doesn't mean that they don't fail.
The bottom hose should be only mildly warm as the radiator has cooled the water...it flows in hot at the top and comes out cooled down at the bottom
Middle of guage is fine.
Jonners
Note from Admin: sadly Jon passed away in February 2018 but his humour and wealth of knowledge will be fondly remembered by all. RIP Jonners.
Replaced thermostat and completely flushed out the system, radiator was full of rusty sludge and so was the expansion tank, mmm that would not have helped!, temperature is now just over a quarter all the time now, the heater is nice and toasty, so i assume all is good now, i will keep an eye on it over the next few days and see if there is any changes.