How do I bleed a radiator, and the correct mixture.

[darren44]

Hi all.
I just put in a new radiator in as my auto fluid was leaking into the water.
I had a mate do this and he just put some cheap coolent in so I could run the car for a week and then drop the collant and put in some good stuff.
I just got the holden coolant from motor traders. Holden anti-boil,anti-freeze concentrate coolant inhibitor. Part number 92140057 But it just says see your manual for the correct mixture. I can t find my manual.
VT series 2 2000 year make. Auto. eco 6.
anyone know the correct mixture as I have 5 letres of the stuff?
I also got the tablets for the water pump do I need to break these up first.
I take it draining the radiator is just a matter of turning the heater on then dropping the bottom hose.
Refit the bottom hose and fill slowly. How do I bleed the system ?

Thanks.

[lufkin]

i use a coke bottle, cut bottom off of it, stick in top of radiator, then full it with bleeder tap open on top of thermostat, that way when you fill up the coke bottle, you can have the water lvl higher then the thermostat if that makes sense, bleed the air out, then i drive it to get upto running temp, then undo bleeder again to let more air out, do all these steps with heaters on, i have always done this and never had a problem with airlocks or anything alike

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

And when you top the coolant up, do it via the expansion tank, not the radiator.

[Tree cutter]

Your cooling system holds 12 litres of coolant. My gregorys manual says to mix 50% water and 50% ethylene glycol inhibitor. Dont put any more than 50% ethylene glycol because it actually lowers your boiling temp of your coolant when it is mixed at over 50% A lot of manufacturers say 33% ethylene glycol is OK but your coolants boiling temp will be lower than if it is mixed at 50%
You are supposed to undo the knock sensors to drain the coolant from your block properly but they are hard to get to if you dont have a hoist or pit. I normally just undo a radiator hose and a heater hose, turn the heaters on hot and flush the system out with a garden hose until the water coming out is clear.

[graham7773]

old but interesting fact, my uncle used to fly Spitfires and Lancaster bombers during the second world war and the Spitfires used to run 100% ethylene glycol coolant. Another, 33% ethylene glycol gives a boiling point at sea level of 127c. If your motor is getting hotter than that, something is wrong as normal operating temp is around 106c give or take

[darren44]

ok coke bottle
full up.
leave run til thermostate kicks in. heaters on.
top up
bleed at the thermostate.
close when fluid comes up.
top up expansion bottle.

what about the radiator tablets ?

where is this heater hose ?
anyone live near Port Adelaide that can give me a hand ?

[graham7773]

if you are going to use the GMH pellets, you undo the top radiator hose and put them in the hose. Thats according to the GMH service manual

[darren44]

ok 3 tablets in the top radiator hose.
were is this heater hose I have to undo ?

[Tree cutter]

Dont worry about undoing the heater hose if you have already put the pellets in. I only undo the heater hose so i can flush the system out by letting the coolant run out and the sticking a garden hose in the heater hose and turn the tap on for the garden hose so it pushes the old coolant out. heater hoses are the smaller ones, about 20 to 25mm thick.

[moose man]

. Another, 33% ethylene glycol gives a boiling point at sea level of 127c. If your motor is getting hotter than that, something is wrong as normal operating temp is around 106c give or take

Correct, except for the sea level bit. I have this extract from an old chart.

Pressure kPa / glycol 33% / 50%
0 / 104.5 deg c / 108.5
25 / 110.5 / 114
50 / 116.5 / 119.5
100 / 125 / 129

Radiator cap pressure should reach 100kPa, so that is when it should boil (not at sea level).

Also, VT/VX cooling system is designed to not let the coolant exceed 100 deg C. Anything over 104 is regarded as critical by the PCM, after which fault codes will be set, cooling fan will be on constantly and engine performance will be limited to protect itself (spark timing, fuel delivery etc). Typical Normal Operating Temperature will fluctuate between 94 and 99.

I bet aftermarket chip programmers don't consider these protective measures when they make chips!

As mentioned earlier, too much glycol in the system will affect cooling capacity. This is because glycol does not soak up heat at the same rate that water does. Heat does not transfer well to glycol, so we mix water with it. Optimum mix is 55% glycol, but anywhere from 33% to 50% has a similar effect. The heat load transfer rate drops quickly over this % (when graphed).