Refilling the coolant system question
#16
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Sorry to resurrect an old thread but I have a question about bleeding air out of the cooling system.
I had to open a cooling line (lower line on right side rad). In the process, I lost a little coolant, although surprised at the very small quantity (maybe 1/2 cup). All is back together now, but I would like to bleed the air out of the system.
First question, can a vacuum bleeder be used to bleed once the system is already full (or nearly full)?
Second, if I go through the manual bleeding technique or running, revving , venting, running, ravings, venting, etc, is this normally done while stationary (such as in a driveway)? The procedure I'm reading calls for holding 2500 rpm for 5 mins or so with occasional repeated revs to 5000 rpm. It doesn't "feel" right to scream an engine with no load. Would it be acceptable to drive the car, stopping regularly to check and top up coolant?
I had to open a cooling line (lower line on right side rad). In the process, I lost a little coolant, although surprised at the very small quantity (maybe 1/2 cup). All is back together now, but I would like to bleed the air out of the system.
First question, can a vacuum bleeder be used to bleed once the system is already full (or nearly full)?
Second, if I go through the manual bleeding technique or running, revving , venting, running, ravings, venting, etc, is this normally done while stationary (such as in a driveway)? The procedure I'm reading calls for holding 2500 rpm for 5 mins or so with occasional repeated revs to 5000 rpm. It doesn't "feel" right to scream an engine with no load. Would it be acceptable to drive the car, stopping regularly to check and top up coolant?
Here's what worked for me:1. Gather the coolant and distilled water you want to use. 2. Park the car on a steep incline, nose down or jack the rear of the car very high. The fill must be higher than the top of the front rads, would be nice if it were above the heater core. 3. Open the little burp valve right behind the fill port on the overflow bottle. 4. begin filling with coolant, you will get about 1.5 gal in it(remember, I was completely dry). 5. Start the car, set heater to highest temp, and blower on. 6. As the coolant is drawn into the system by the pump, continue to fill the overflow tank, but do not fill it to the top, as some coolant will come back up while revving. 7. Watch the temp gauge and when it reaches about 180, middle of the gauge, shut the engine off, close the engine lid, and let it heat soak for a few minutes. You may hear gurgling as the coolant flows past the now-opening thermostat. Don't get in a rush. 8. Open the engine lid, check coolant level, and fill as needed but again, don't overfill. 9. Switch to water as the coolant is appropriate for your climate. 10. Watching the gauge, start the engine and run it up to 2500 for a bit, then idle, then 2500, then 4000, then idle. Go check and add water as needed. 11. Check for hot air coming from heater system indicating that you have fluid in the heating system. 12. Go for a spirited drive, monitor the temp gauge. 13. Add coolant as needed over the next day or two. 14. Close the burp valve.