Topic: Coolant bleed procedure

[Dave@DDMworks]

SACRILEGE!  Thou shalt be burnt at the stake!   

(Calming down...) So what do you use instead, and why? 

We just use the Advance Auto Parts antifreeze, works great and can be mixed with any other antifreeze without an issue. We are not fans of Dexcool here, or the evil Blue stuff that MINI uses.

[elff]

Missed Dave's response from my phone.

The benefit is you eliminate the need to use overpriced crappy Coolant.

[TomatoSoup]

The benefit is you eliminate the need to use overpriced crappy Coolant.

Found some interesting info... started a new thread: http://www.kappaperformance.com/forum/index.php/topic,9583

[SolNut]

Thanks TS for the great reference information! 

I have 2 gallons + of 50/50 just waiting for a nice day to change. 

[Treeman]

Just tried this and filled the overflow without any coolant coming out of the nipple. And yes the overflow tank was elevated. Called Joe. After scratching his head a bit he remembered he once filled the upper radiator hose first. By the way I had just replaced mine as it was cut almost through by the fan shroud. I did that and problem solved. So that may be an extra step for some.

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[Dave@DDMworks]

We recently had a car here that was the worst car we have ever had to bleed. We actually had to bleed the car twice, both times the normal procedure absolutely would not work. What we had to end up doing in both cases was to jack up the drivers side front of the car and set it on jack stands to get the front left as the highest point. Then pull the heater hose that goes into the firewall (2 press in clips to release, very easy) and fill that line with coolant until it came out of the heater core. Then we removed the upper radiator hose and filled it up and then did the normal bleed after that and it worked both times. So if you get stuck there are a couple other things that you can do to help get that coolant down to the thermostat and the bubble out.

Hope that helps,
Dave

[elff]

That sounds like a mini cooper!

[Dave@DDMworks]

That sounds like a mini cooper!

It was actually worse

[Sol Asylum]

That sounds like a mini cooper!

If it was a Mini he would have said picked up the car and shook it till the bubble worked itself out.

[Gentleman Jack]

It was actually worse

Worse than a Mini Cooper?  I've never heard if a car worse than a Mini Cooper. Except the Pinto and the Opel GT.

[rlhammon]

I know this is an old thread, but seeing as I'm putting in a new engine and have the system empty... I want to check.

Is this is what I should be doing?  The service manual seems to be a bit more involved than this, so I just wanted to check.  If this works for an empty system (which it seems it should), then I'm going this route.  Dave must have edited his video, because he didn't add in as much coolant as I got out of the system when I drained mine!

[Kelu]

This procedure worked in my case with an empty system.

[rlhammon]

This procedure worked in my case with an empty system.

Thanks!  I'll give it a shot this week.  I think I emptied about 8 liters, plus what has subsequently drained out as I've moved the engine around the garage.

[smillerkyd]

Help - the car won't burp - (newbie here)

Replaced thermostat housing and thermostat.


Girlfriends Car:2007 GXP :33k miles
Dealer: Diagnosed as thermostat housing leakage car temp gets up to around 220
Action/Objective: Avoid $600 dealer charge and impress girlfriend


1 - drained coolant from reservoir
2 - drained coolant from radiator via plug on bottom left of radiator (passenger side of car)
3 - removed thermostat cover on front side of housing - coolant poured out into bucket underneath car
4 - proceeded to remove housing - more coolant drained into bucket
5 - housing removed. Square seal appears to be damaged/melted.
     5a). three main bolts to remove housing: third bolt appeared to be loose. Seems the dealer may have done a $$hitty job previously and never tightened correctly.

6 - installed new housing and seal
7 - install new A/C Delco thermostat
8 - buttoned up connections, hosing etc.
9 - Removed reservoir and hose per DDM works video
10 - Lift reservoir about 12-14 inches and refilled with 50/50 coolant
11 -  NO LIQUID CAME OUT THE NIPPLE PER THE VIDEO

(Note: car is on jack stands.)

Do I really need to do a vacuum process (I read this someplace)?

BTW this was a fun project to work on and this site was a great mentor and helped immensely.