Coolant top up - air pockets?

[ANZAC_1915]

I think I refilled my WRX coolant too fast --- the header tank should help bleeding but several times today my temp went up to 2/3 and suddenly back down.

I am going to wait overnight and check it cold in the morning.
All the levels are ok. (both in the header tank and the expansion tank).

Do the air pockets eventually get swept out and the system self-bled? Or do I have to drain the whole flippin' thing and refill it really s-l-o-w-l-y.

[I had to drain some coolant as I was fitting the engine block heater (TBird rally coming up).]

Glenn

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[hotrod]

Just top the radiator off every time it cools down. It will take 3 or 4 times to get all the air out. Best is to park the car on a slope so the radiator is high, top it off. Be sure the heater is on so you get air out of the heater core.

Larry

[Jademonkey]

make sure you're engine is cool when you do this..but turn the engine on, open the radiator...and slowly fill until it gets to the top. The water pump circulating water should help get rid of the air in the cooling system.

[ANZAC_1915]

I just checked now and it had slurped up a bunch from the expansion tank, so I topped that up and topped off the header tank.

Glenn

[PerformanceAutoSolutions]

what i do if i serviced the cooling system,i removed the upper radiator hose and fill through the hose until it backs up in the hose,then install the hoes on the radiator,and then fill through the filler neck of the tank on top of the intake manifold.
dave

[DuneHopper]

Just did mine. I refilled the radiator, then warmed the car up w/ the radiator cap off, revving a little, and adding more coolant every time it burped. It took quite a while, like 15 minutes, to stop burping.

[Shik]

Dunehopper has it, although with the WRX you pour the coolant in the tank near the turbo.

Leave the cap off and just keep watching and waiting for no more(or very very few) bubbles to pop up. Be patient

And when you do pour the coolant in, try to pour it slowly as not to create alot of unwanted bubbles.

Oh, and make sure your heater is in the HOT position so the heater core gets filled as well at the same time.

[cantex]

sometimes jacking up the front of the car will remove the bubble as well.
but i recommend what shik said

[Coati]

Originally posted by Glenn Wallace
several times today my temp went up to 2/3 and suddenly back down.

To quote George Costanza "I think it moved!"

You've seen a rare thing, indeed.

[ANZAC_1915]

And when you do pour the coolant in, try to pour it slowly as not to create alot of unwanted bubbles.

Yes, I was a bit hasty. One night with the radiator at the high end of the car worked. I topped it up then and it was fine.

If y'all want a picture of a engine block warmer install, let me know. The cable routing on the WRX is a challenge due to header angle.

Glenn

[Austin]

Originally posted by Glenn Wallace
If y'all want a picture of a engine block warmer install, let me know. The cable routing on the WRX is a challenge due to header angle.

Glenn

Please post a pic.

[shinsain]

can this make your temprature gague go crazy?

see thread:

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show...hreadid=503134

i'm really going crazy here......

EDIT: fixed it this morning. all good. don't mind me.

although there is one thing....i don't know how some of you arrived at a very complicated answer to this. "jack the car up" "put the coolant in the res. by the turbo"

i think its simpler than that unless there's something i'm missing?

all i did was wait until i could see the temp gague spike, then i would go and relieve the pressure on the reservior by the turbo. then i would tighten it down, rev it to make the bubbles push and wait until the next temp spike and repeat.

i also put the coolant where it is normally supposed to go: in the overflow tank by the radiator. no jacking, tipping, standing on one leg, none of that.

is there some reason for you guys saying all that that i'm not familiar with?

also, i first tried leaving the cap off and waiting for the bubbles, and it didn't work whatsoever. hmm

[z&cobb]

You can speed the "burping" process by squeezing the big upper radiator hose repeatedly after each addition of coolant.

You should be able to get 2 gallons (pretty nearly) in this way, make sure the heater controls are on, both when you drain and when you fill.

You shouldn't have to stand on one leg, tip the car on its trunk, or suck on the coolant tank opening.

[SubaruImpreza_power]

[sp00n32]

One thing that made draining the coolant easier is to remove the tube that goes to the overflow tank and attach that to the radiator drain spout. This hangs over perfect to your collection bucket.

Or just park on your neighbor’s lawn so you don’t have to use a bucket at all

[Cadaver]

EPA would have a fit if they ever saw the guys in my neighborhood drain it while at the car wash. While its draining, they just wash their car like nothing was going on. Had mind of turning them in, but i'd like my scoobie to stay in one piece and not wind up in some chop shop. LOL

[thrdeye]

Just thought I'd bump this thread and give some more info since it's linked in Unabomber's FAQ.

I did a coolant change the other day, which is the second one I have done on my car. First time, went off without a hitch. This one was a bit more frustrating. After I changed the coolant, the car would continuously overheat during my "test drives". At first I though "Oh crap, a head gasket is gone", because I thought I knew EVERYTHING about air being trapped in the system and I thought that I had it all out. I got frustrated last night and parked the car and let it sit. I knew that car ran perfectly befor I started futzing with it, so I gave it another try

I went to Napa today, got some PEAK Global to use for top-off. When I got home, I popped off the cap and just started compressing the upper and lower radioator hoses rapidly. I then could FEEL that there was absolutely NO COOLANT in the upper hose. It was all air. (If there is air in it, it will be VERY easy to squeeze - you will notice it is harder to squeeze as water enters the hose) I started "massaging" the hose and I could feel the coolant start to work it's way into the hose as I made a swushing motion with my hand. I then started the car and heat cycled the engine, letting the fans kick on and off a few times, all the while, I was squishing the hose and topping off the coolant with distilled water and PEAK. Turns out, for whatever reason, a TON of air got into the system this time and that is what caused my problem. I took the car for a drive and the temp needle stayed right where it needed to be.

DON'T GIVE UP! KEEP MASSAGING YOUR HOSES UNTIL YOU GET ALL OF THE AIR OUT! IT MAY TAKE A VERY LONG TIME!!

[Hayes]

My manual says fill with coolent and run engine for 5+ minutes at 2500 rpm to purge air. Your manual is your friend so I wonder why so many of us don't read it?

[thrdeye]

Originally Posted by Hayes

My manual says fill with coolent and run engine for 5+ minutes at 2500 rpm to purge air. Your manual is your friend so I wonder why so many of us don't read it?

yes, that is the correct procedure. What you're looking for is the fans to kick on, which will let you know that the thermostat has opened. There should be a significant amount of air come out at that point. However, if you have an 02 WRX or any Subaru that doesn't have a cap on top of the radiator, there is a great liklihood that you will still get air trapped in there.

[Snoop]

Heh. I wish I had all these tips when I changed my coolant a month or so ago. I started driving around after my flush and was freaking out when the temperature started approaching the red zone (x3 or so). I wish I had these methods to try way back when. I ended up kind of shaking my cars front end back and forth and that seemed to help too, though. Probably not the easiest way, though.

[craigmp50]

OK, so I won't get turned in to the EPA, just what do you do with the used coolant if you don't let it drain into the sewer, will they recycle it somewhere?

[AndyH]

Originally Posted by craigmp50

OK, so I won't get turned in to the EPA, just what do you do with the used coolant if you don't let it drain into the sewer, will they recycle it somewhere?

For a location near you that accepts coolant for recyling, go here:
http://www.earth911.org/master.asp?s=ls&serviceid=1

Enter your ZIP code and on the results page(s) look for locations that accept "antifreeze".

[Chris Cuevas]

great thread !
I just changed my radiator hoses and have the problem of overheating on my test drives !
I will go burp the hoses !!

Thanks a million guys !

[thrdeye]

Originally Posted by Chris Cuevas

great thread !
I just changed my radiator hoses and have the problem of overheating on my test drives !
I will go burp the hoses !!

Thanks a million guys !

yep, burp burp burp and then burp burp burp some more.

[Chris Cuevas]

This is killing me....
I have burped it twice and still it keeps overheating..

I have massaged the hoses, added coolant, massaged more, added a little more coolant, then test drove. About a mile and a half it spikes close to the H !!!

About to go and do it again !!