Cooling system... Is this normal?

[E30Classic]

Ok, had a little mishap where the radiator developed a crack in the plastic piece on the hot end, so had to replace a bunch of things.

I put in:

- new radiator
- new hoses
- new 80C thermostat
- new expansion tank cap (14.0psi)
- new fan clutch
- new fan
- new fan shroud
- new coolant (lol)
- waterpump/timing belt done about 14k miles ago so skipped those

I bled the system. The heater blows hot. The temp needle rests right below 12 o'clock hash mark when operating temp is reached. Usually 3-5 minutes.

Now, this is the weird part:

The hoses feel REALLY hot, and they feel REALLY pressurized. Almost like an inflated ball, and there doesn't seem to be much coolant in any of the top/bottom hoses when I squeeze them. Yet, I did add a little over 10 quarts in the system, and topped up while/after bleeding. Coolant light did not come on.

When engine is revved, the coolant expansion tank receives a healthy inflow of coolant which increases with rpms, signifying a working waterpump.

I must admit I have not checked how they felt before my old radiator went as E30 is new to me.

Is this normal? How do yours feel? How fast do they get up to temp?

[StereoInstaller1]

You have successfully described my car so I hope it is normal...

[thereisnoyun]

operating temp

3 -5 min to warm up sounds about right.

Pressurize? well it has to be pressurized... or else there be air bubbles everywhere.

Being hot? its coming from your engine... it should be extremely hot.

sound normal to me

[jlevie]

Even a small amount of air in the cooling system will result in higher system pressures than normal. With the work that you've done I'd suspect that the system isn't fully bled. The procedure I use is:

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.

[E30Classic]

^ done all that, thanks for the help. I'm just perplexed by the really high pressure in the hoses. I guess it's under 14 psi, or the cap would have released it. That and the coolant light comes on occassionally. Then I add coolant when cold, maybe a teaspoon or two, to get the cold mark and after the car is warmed up, it releases that extra coolant I added via drain tube.... I'm used to E36s which are not like this, and the hoses are not pressurised much, if at all.