So I got a hole in one of the bottom tubes of my radiator (dont ask... lol) The tube was mangled and cut pretty bad so I ended up just crimping and soldering the one tube shut. I'm hoping that there is not some sort of circuit there that needs to be completed- with all the other tubes I'm hoping the coolant won't miss the one blocked tube.

I put the radiator back in, but when I started the engine and filled the coolant reservoir up, and let the car warm up, nothing was going into the radiator via the upper or lower radiator hoses. I even drove the car around the block. I took the radiator back out and nothing was in it. I obviously shut the car off because I was worried i'd crack the block or burn out the water pump or something- it just seems like no water is getting to the radiator!

So I am wondering if I need to hook up the lower hose, "prime" the water pump by pouring coolant down the upper radiator hose until it's full? Then hook the upper hose up and let it run? Adding to the coolant reservoir as needed? There is no radiator cap on the radiator itself... it's on the reservoir.

Help I am so engine stupid!

 

I think I ended up getting it filled okay by partially filling the radiator before I installed it, then pouring coolant down the upper hose as much as it would hold, and then adding more to the reservoir. Dumb to not have a radiator cap *on* the radiator.