Techno Duck

Just a few general cooling system questions.

1. I think i may still have air in the system after doing my headgasket. I refilled the block through the top coolant pipe and vented accordingly. Fans turn..etc. Runs great around town and on the highway. I come to a stop and let it idle for maybe 30-60 seconds and the temp gauge steadily rises up. Crusing i never get higher than the first white line for hte dash gauge, my aftermarket gauge tapped into the upper radiator hose reads about 190 'F. The temps rise to about 210 'F on my aftermarket and get to the halfway mark on the dash gauge, sometimes 3/4 of the way to the 2nd white line when i idle for a minute or so. Does this sound like air in the system? Car never overheats per se, but i just find it strange the temp goes up that quickly. Honestly i dont ever remember the temperature going up that high so quickly since until the headgasket fiasco. Going to keep bleeding it this weekend.

Any other possible causes for this problem?

2. Also has anyone wired up a light that can be mounted anywhere in the dash, maybe a LED or something to go on when the fans turn on? Any ideas how i can accomplish this? I am not to savy on the electrical side of things..thats why im a mechanical engineer .

3. Has anyone made a bleed nipple for the highpoint vent. The banjo bolt is just a complete freaken mess when i open that thing up to bleed. The thread size is a funky one to. Anyone have solutions for this?

4. What is the maximum water temperature i should allow before i should shut the car down? About 230 'F? This is with a 50/50 mix of water and antifreeze.

Also here are some useful pictures for anyone with the late dash.



and for us stubborn Americans i converted the temps..



Going to tape a printout of this next to my gauge so i can compare readings. Ive got reason to believe that dash gauge is off by 10-15 degrees.

SD Porsche Fan

Have you pressurized the system yet? If you don't have the cap you can borrow one from AutoZone. If there is any air left that should get it out.

There is also the "mouth over the coolant fill tank hole" method.

Techno Duck

Steve, havent pressurized it yet. I just did the 'gravity' fill technique. I am going to Autozone this weekend to borrow the pressure tester and hope for the best. Was just bugging me and was wondering if there were any other reasons for this.

Techno Duck

Alright i just took a ride and i am thinking maybe im just being a bit paranoid. The fans kick on when the dash gauge gets to the halfway mark roughly. Now my aftermarket gauge temp goes up steadily to about 210 degrees F as the dash gauge works its way back down to the first white line. Does it sound right that the coolant leaving the cylinder head (and going through the upper radiator hose) is at about 210 degrees?

tinman944

I have in my car an aftermarket temp guage. when I had both guages hooked up the aftermarket guage always read 208-210 the factory guage went from the middle to the red all the time....I may be wrong but I go by the aftermarket one and never worry about it anymore

Techno Duck

Can anyone test something for me quickly... put the ignition key on the 'on' position but dont start the car. Press the a/c button, do the radiator fans turn on still?

My a/c dosent kick on even when the car is on.. i was attributing that due to the low refrigerant level (the low pressure cutout for the compressor). Are the fans supposed to turn on regardless?

Jaak Lepson

Get a 8mm grease nipple with a 1/4' (IIRC) plastic tube long enough to reach the coolant tank. (IIRC it was an 8mm nipple >$0.40 a piece; maybe get several sizes as I did this over a year ago.)

1.) Make sure the bleed vent is high (park on slope or jack that side of the car up).
2.) Remove banjo bolt and screw in grease nipple (with the check ball removed) with clear plastic tubing ty-wrapped to nipple. Place other end in the coolant overflow tank with the rad cap off.
3.) Start car and make sure heater is turned to max. temp.
4.) observe coolant as it flows through the CLEAR plastic tubing. There should be no air bubbles in the flow once all the air has been bled.
5.) Shut off engine, remove nipple/hose and reinstall banjo bolt.

Hope this helps ... I am going by memory, but, it took almost an hour to get rid of the air bubbles.

tinman944

I bought a wilwood brake bleeder and installed it in place of the stock bleeder

Techno Duck

Thanks, going to rebleed this weekend and ill pick up the grease fitting.

One thing i believe i have verified is the high speed fans are not turning on. Probably a relay issue which ill check this weekend. Everyone has basically verified teh fans should turn on with the a/c button depressed regardless of the refrigerant charge in the compressor. Mine dont turn on at all, and i know i have low refrigerant in there.

Jaak Lepson

I found my post from Feb. 11, 2005 ......

Hope this helps.

Jaak

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An easyest way to bleed the system is use a 8mm grease nipple fitting with the spring and ball bearing removed. Attach a 6 to 8 foot long piece of clear tubing and connect them together with a ty-wrap.


1. Raise the front end of the car.

2. Remove bleed bolt and replace it with the tube/nipple.

3. Place other end of clear hose into the coolant tank.

4. Start engine and turn heater on to full.

5. Run the car until no air bubbles are visable ... hence clear hose!

In some cases the is so much air in the system that it may take up to 45 minutes till air has been removed. If it takes longer .... maybe a HG problem.

6. Replace the Hose/nipple combo with the bolt.

7. Lower car.

Hope this helps. I got this from Rennlist a few years back.

Techno Duck

Thanks for digging that one up Jaak. How would i go about getting the spring and ball bearing out.. maybe knock it out with a needle point punch?

Jaak Lepson

It's real easy. In the threaded end I pushed an awl in and pulled it out. A small portion of the spring came up and pulled it free with plyers. I taped the fitting and the ball fell out. Took me 20 seconds just now (am at home) ... it is a 8mm grease nipple.

PeteL

I re-read the bit about a light on the dash for the fan circuit. I like that idea and I am interested as well, but would need an electric guru to provide instructions.

Also..where would one find an 8mm grease fitting?

Jaak Lepson

Any auto supply shop ... pep boys etc. Even Wallymart carries them.

I got mine from Canadian Tire for $7.95 CDN for a pack of 10!!!

Go to the autoparts counter and ask .... they have them in stock.

HTH ...


... any you call yourself a grease slinger .......

potent951turbo

So you have the other end of the clear hose in the coolant reservoir tank with the cap off the whole time you have the car running?

I have bled and bled my cooling system and know there is still air in the because I will pull into my driveway and hear the water swish around in the heater core.