Official figure is 6 litres in total (3 litres dliute) but I find it always seems to take less than that. 5 litres will definitely do the job with plenty left over to top up at a later date

I finally got around to replacing the thermostat! The clips from the old one had melted off, the spring was floating around and the needle popped out when I removed the thing - clearly broken. I'd post pictures but from what I hear it's a textbook case of a common fault.

I completely replaced the coolant as well. All in all it took just over two hours, and now my car's temperature gets to the half way point instead of trying and always failing. I am a very happy man .

The issues I have previously described are no longer occuring. I no longer have to worry about stalling the car and being unable to start it. I also save a bit of petrol thanks to the car heating up normally. I replaced very old coolant with new coolant, which was something that had to be done anyway. The temperature indicator indicates temperature again.

Soon I'll get around to some other faults, such as the car pulling to the left a bit, the replacement of the coolant tank, the replacement of the old aux belt, the ABS kicking in far too early and perhaps the replacement of the large rear exhaust bit (badly corroded).

Thanks very much for all the help.

Nick

ABS is probably a seized caliper. Car pulling to left, apparently relatively normal for the Fabia in general although could be linked to the ABS