daniel VR said:
hi guys, im going to change my thermostat this weekend, i was wanting to know the correct procedure on bleeding the air out of the cooling sysem afterwards.... Do i let the car run with the cap off then top it up, close it and open the bleeder nipple? or other way around? and when do i just unscrew the nipple..... ect. Im really not sure...
hope you can help.
thanks...
Preferably have the nose of the car slightly uphill.
After changing thermostat open bleeder on top of thermostat housing.
fill with coolant until a steady stream of coolant comes out of bleeder.
close bleeder and continue to fill until radiator full.
Top up expansion tank to min level(lower level).
Turn heater on and run engine to operating temperature with cap on observing temp gauge.
If no leaks then next day check coolant level in radiator cold and top up if necessary. Recheck expansion tank level. Vehicle vary to the amount of water discharged into the expansion tank when hot so just make sure it is up to the min level cold. If you fill it to the max cold the engine may fill the expansion tank and overflow it.
If you cant get the engine uphill or at least level and the nose of the engine is downhill you may have to crack the bleeder nipple with the engine running (not Hot) with the cap on and see if any air escapes. You may have to do this a number of times as the bleeder will become the highest point in the cooling system that you can open. You will need to recheck the radiator cold for a couple of days. Usually there is no problem. I have just done mine and I placed the engine up hill and it bled during filling and the level has remained the same when I have checked it over the following 2 days.
