Coolant system bleeding

[82eye]

anyone have a trick for bleeding the cooling system properly? i've been at it 3 days and i'm getting sick of watching $60 bucks worth of coolant bubble out my reservoir and soak up the driveway on every attempt.

i've got the front 3 feet higher than the back on jackstands. heater on full, no hot air at all. reservoir open and overflowing. occasional trickle out of the bleed screw at the therm housing but no steady stream.

i keep having to shut the car off as it creeps over the 3/4 temp mark. nothing makes any progress. car heats up fairly quick.

edit : pretty sure my heater core is completely air locked. heater hoses at the back of the block by the fire wall are dead cold.

[MrBurgundy]

When I used to bleed cars without a power bleeder, only thing that worked was engine at idle, cap on tight, bleeder tight and periodically crack the bleeder and let the pressure force the air out.

If you're really having a hard time, the best way is obviously a power bleeder. I've ruined a good cylinder head trying to bleed a car the old fashion way...

you can also try and slip one of the hoses off the heater core inlet while the car is running to help some air get out if you suspect it being air locked

[82eye]

i'm much closer to getting it now. closed off the res cap and finally started to get some hot air off the heater. been cracking the bleed screw every once in a while. car settled a bit and stayed a hair below the half temp mark.

i shut it off for now and am waiting for it fully to cool before i add more coolant to the res. don't wanna take a chance re-introducing air into the system before it's cold. probably try a short drive after topping it.

[MrBurgundy]

sounds like you're almost there..

Believe it or not, some cars are even worse to bleed lol

[82eye]

sounds like you're almost there..

Believe it or not, some cars are even worse to bleed lol

i shut it off to let it cool down and suck the res back. after it cooled completely i refilled the res, capped it and got it to running temp while cracking the bleed screw every once in a while. probably going to have to repeat that for a few days til all the air works out. it hovers just a hair above half at idle and drops to just under on throttle, so i have to be close.

gonna try a drive or two in the next couple days and see how it fairs. had to shut it down here as the karen next door is pissy about how loud it is. i told her that's how it runs. she's whining she can hear it in her house. her husband actually likes the car ... he's ok lol.

[digger]

I almost always slowly fill it progressively with cap off engine idling and never once had any issues

[82eye]

I almost always slowly fill it progressively with cap off engine idling and never once had any issues

i filled the rad this time through the top hose before i started.

[Panici]

I always pull off the top rad hose and fill both the rad and the engine that way.

Then fill the overflow res, and squeeze/pump the coolant hoses by hand to circulate the flow and get some air out.
(Might not be possible with a mechanical fan still in place. Watch your hands!)
I do the same hose squeezing as the thermostat opens up.

Then repeated cracking of the bleeder as things get up to operating temperature to purge the air.

Finally, for the first few of drives I'll top up the coolant res before driving and crack the bleeder after driving.



I have one of those funnels that screws into the rad cap spot to add some head pressure, but I think I've only used it once?

[Aleman]

I captured some advice on coolant bleeding from jlevie (RIP) who was one of the old-timer E30 gurus on r3v for many years. While I'm only sometimes successful on the the first attempt, this procedure has never failed me. I have this printed and kept in the garage for reference. Sometimes I disconnect the top radiator hose and slowly pour the coolant mix into the rad that way. Regardless of where the pour in the coolant, take it slow!

Bleeding the M20 Cooling System: (jlevie)

1. Using ramps or a jack get the front of the car a foot or two 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 2000-2500rpm 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.

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=205965


Bentley Manual Cooling System Bleed Procedure

1. Add coolant until the level reaches the mark on the coolant reservoir.
2. To bleed air from the system on 6-cylinder models, loosen the 8 mm bleeder screw and add coolant until it spills from the screw.
3. Tighten the screw and start the engine.
4. With the engine idling at normal operating temperature, loosen the bleeder screw until the coolant spilling out is free from air bubbles, then tighten the screw.
5. After the engine has cooled, recheck the coolant level and add coolant as necessary.

[82eye]

I always pull off the top rad hose and fill both the rad and the engine that way.

Then fill the overflow res, and squeeze/pump the coolant hoses by hand to circulate the flow and get some air out.
(Might not be possible with a mechanical fan still in place. Watch your hands!)
I do the same hose squeezing as the thermostat opens up.

Then repeated cracking of the bleeder as things get up to operating temperature to purge the air.

Finally, for the first few of drives I'll top up the coolant res before driving and crack the bleeder after driving.



I have one of those funnels that screws into the rad cap spot to add some head pressure, but I think I've only used it once?

this is pretty much how i did it. the only difference is i capped the res and let it warm up to force coolant into the heater core while using the bleed screw at the therm housing. then refilled the res and rebled after it cooled completely.

i have large funnel i used to keep the res from bubbling over too much when i was bleed with it uncapped. it didn't really work until there was coolant forced into the heater core and the res was capped to finish the process.

i'm gonna have to keep an eye on it over the next few days while i break the engine in.

[khiobrien2]

I was in the same situation a couple of months ago. Only thing that helped out was a no spill funnel. IIRC I got it from Harbor Freight and it was cheap. 3 days of struggle fixed in 20 mins of using that.

[khiobrien2]

I was in the same situation a couple of months ago. Only thing that helped out was a no spill funnel. IIRC I got it from Harbor Freight and it was cheap. 3 days of struggle fixed in 20 mins of using that.

https://www.googleadservices.com/pagead/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjy2M27lZuIAxVxJK0GHZatLWcYABAKGgJwdg&ae=2&co=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8tjNu5WbiAMVcSStBh2WrS1nEAQYASABEgIVqfD_BwE&ohost=www.google.com&cid=CAASEuRoPE5IFlJhTv8fXh6lPX7fqw&sig=AOD64_22VRnzWjkECRSCQVZol105NDtpqQ&ctype=46&q=&ved=2ahUKEwihycW7lZuIAxXTL0QIHejlDmoQqygoAnoECAMQDg&adurl=

[82eye]

the car came close to an overheat last night then swallowed half the res in one big burp lol