Pump for Alde fluid change

stepheng

Has anyone tried using one of those small pumps you attach to a drill to pump the new fluid into the system.

I would remove the expansion tank and attach the pump to the input side and a tube to the output side to a bucket and pump new fluid until all the old fluid is expelled.  I've use one of those pumps to flush AC coils in a car before and worked great.

qhumberd

Basically yes should work if you have access to the hoses
this thread has my procedure with a 12v pump and lots of other methods 

https://tab-rv.vanillacommunity.com/discussion/2665/changing-out-the-alde-fluid/p17

tybladesmith

@stepheng, what year and model of T@B? Yes a drill pump can work. Having ready access to the expansion tank is one question. Older tanks have brittle hubs where the hoses attach. Numerous T@Bbers have reported breaking the tank. YMMV

ScottG

I looked into these as one of many alternatives. IIRC, one of concern that came up was the liberal amount of lubricant (a petroleum jelly-like substance) in some pumps, and whether it might contaminate whatever you were pumping.

This is a concern with any pump you source that is not specifically intended for "clean" transfers, so shop carefully. In some cases you may be able to clean out the excess--that is what I did with the manual transfer pump I ended up using.

stepheng

Our T@B is a 2018 320S and the expansion tank is behind the Driver's side panel in the back when the seat is down.

tybladesmith

@stepheng, I have the same year and model. You will discover working with the hoses on the bottom of the expansion tank is nearly impossible without super powers. This is exactly why these discussions are so long. Simple solutions are hard to come by. Working with the Alde spring hose clamps without the specialty pliers is also a super power, expect the dreaded ping of a clamp going off to hide someplace impossible to find. Using a pair of locking hose pinching pliers is also required unless the system is drained completely. Still keep rags handy.

ScottG

I agree that you will find access to the expansion tank hoses challenging. However, virtually any suitable pump could be used with the tank adapters I discussed here on April 11. No removal of the tank or hoses required! :-)