Effects of not bleeding heater core? Or- can i bleed with no blower fan?

[rex]

New to E30s and also on DIY car work in general, I just changed my timing belt/water pump. I hooked everything back up and go to bleed the coolant using jlevie's method:

A better way to do this is to disconnect the small tub that runs from the reservoir to the radiator from the reservoir. Fill the reservoir with coolant and put the cap on. With the front of the car at least one 1' higher than the rear apply pressure to that tubing (blow into it) until coolant is flowing from the bleed screw and and the top of the radiator. It is important to have the front end of the car up in the air so that the radiator and bleed screw are the highest points.

Note that this won't clear ar from the heater core. To accomplish that you have to follow the normal bleed procedure (see below).

1) Using ramps or a jack get the front of the car 1' or more higher than
the rear. That will make the radiator and bleed screw the highest point
on the engine and facilitate removal of air.

2) With the bleed screw open, add coolant until no more air comes out of
the bleed.

3) Leave the filler cap off, or at least loose, and set the heat for max
temp and fan speed. Leaving the cap loose will prevent air that's still
in the system from causing a "coolant fountain" once the engine heats
up. Start the engine and allow it to warm up to operating temp. As it
warms up occasionally crack the bleed screw to release any air and top
up the coolant as necessary.

4) Once the engine is at temp bring it up to 2000-2500 for a few seconds
several times. Then crack the bleed until no more air is released. At
this point the heater should be throwing lots of hot air, which
indicates that the heater core is filled with coolant. You may have to
repeat this a few times to get all the air out.

5) Drive the car a bit, allow it to cool back down, and recheck the
bleed for air. Over the next few days you may get very small amounts (a
few bubbles) of air out of the bleed screw.

But, my blower fan is completely dead. I check the fuse, and the fuse is blown. So I replace the fuse and try again -- the new fuse blows immediately when i turn on the blower.

So I'm thinking I need a new blower motor - my question is, is there a way to bleed the coolant of air without running the blower? And, if not, is the car drivable without doing this - or will it just overheat? Trying to find out if I can drive the car while I diagnose and figure out the problem with the blower motor.

Thanks

Rex

[nando]

you don't need to run the blower to bleed the cooling system. what it really does is let you know when you've bled it correctly, as a system with air bubbles in it will typically blow cold air through the heater.

[rex]

you don't need to run the blower to bleed the cooling system. what it really does is let you know when you've bled it correctly, as a system with air bubbles in it will typically blow cold air through the heater.

Score, so if I am not seeing any bubbles from the bleed, I'm probably good to drive while I figure out the exact issue with the blower fan? I guess if I notice it overheating I'll know right away lol

Thanks for the quick reply

[TobyB]

yeah, seconded. As long as you've gotten most of the air out, it'll be ok,
and the air will continue to work its way out.

Don't have a working fan in the race car, and I've changed coolant 4 or 5 times
with no problems a- tall. Yes, I still have a heater core in it. Yes, I DO like
second degree burns, as a matter of fact!

t

[rex]

yeah, seconded. As long as you've gotten most of the air out, it'll be ok,
and the air will continue to work its way out.

Don't have a working fan in the race car, and I've changed coolant 4 or 5 times
with no problems a- tall. Yes, I still have a heater core in it. Yes, I DO like
second degree burns, as a matter of fact!

t

because race car

update: on the 2nd new fuse, the blower decided to work, and it was putting out damn hot air, i let it idle for about 10 min in the driveway to see if it would overheat, seemed good, took it around the block a few times, still good, then drove it home, then drove to work and back this morning, so far all good - except that the blower stopped working (now seems clear i need a new one)

bleeding the coolant may have been the only thing on this whole project to go right/work easily the first time