im starting this thread in conjuction with my other thread thats been going about my mods that i just finished..

mainly im having one HELL of a time burping the coolant system... what my major problem right now is that - either i think that i got a bad t-stat and its tsuck open or i got one nasty air bubble directly under the tsat not letting it activate like it should... i saw this because my drive to school tonight is about 30 mins on the freeway at speeds around 70 - 75...RPMS at around 2200 2400 ish... and my temp gauge didnt bump off the 130 mark... yea.. i tried the heater and nothing but cold *** air blew out... i got to school early so i poppped the hood and the coolant resevior was full like it should be... and i went to un do the cap on the rad and a little bit of coolant spurted out..i was worried about it burning me... well come to find out the coolant temp wasnt even over 100 degs..... i mean i coulda taken a bath in this stuff and still be freezin!!! my elec fans didnt turn on at all so the rad is just getting cooled by ambient and forced air going through it by driven.. (its hella cold tonight too..id say in the hihg teens.)

you guys agree that my tstat is bad and its stuck open?

only time i could get the gauge to move and warm air coming out of the heater is when i had to let it sit there and idle for a while till it start to move... obviously b/c theres no air coming through the rad as much as it would have been if i were driving at 70 ...

my stat is a hypertech stat from summit.. part number HYP-1018... im gonna go to napa tomorow and get there brand of t-stat and swap it out friday since i got that day off... along with trying to get the air out

i also hear a little bit of a gurlging sound coming from the dashboard area when i got the heater on and i rev the motor up a bit witch would indicate to me that i got alot of air stuck in the system...

any dieas and thoughts or tips would be great

 

when the motor is cold... fire it up and put your hand on the upper hose.. you should not feel any coolant flow at all..,. if you do, the t-stat is stuck open

 

if u think you got a bad t-stat wen you take it out put it on a pot of water on the stove (dont let the wife see you) and put a theromoter in with it and see at what temp it opens up at try to suspend it in the water thow so its not on the botten getting heat from the element i use a pot with handles on both sides then just some string with the t-stat tyed to it

 

How do you fill it? It can be tricky sometimes.

Way I learned and have never fialed me is to let the engine get to temp (or as much as it can) with the lid off the rad. It'll probably start to over flow when it goes close. Now rev the engine and the coolane level should do down, keep pouring it in as it will drink it. Keep it revved up too, one hand on the TB other pouring. Or get a helper

Its simple but never let me down.

 

if the hole is drilled, you dont have to worry about filling it up. air escapes thru the hole as the waterlevel rises and fills both sides of the t-stat.

 

Holes? What? I'm confused.

 

drill a really small hole in the diaphram of the t-stat and air has a place to escape during fillup. No air pockets to worry about during fill up

 

Interesting

 

i tried that after i got home and ate dinner... fired it up from cold and felt the upper hose... it felt like fluid was going through but wasnt sure so i broke out the trusty mechanics stethiscope and sure enough theres coolant flowing in the upper hose right at startup... ill try to see if i cant get the air out like socha described... its not to far off then how it filled it up... i just didnt rev it...

ill test the tstat this weekend ... ill be damn sure to drill the air holes in the new one... man i hate dealin with coolant...stinks so bad!

 

i think gear oil is worse

yah there shouldent be anything through the upper hose on startup