bleeding coolant system of air bubbles

[khilgers]

I just replaced the water pump in my '97 and what is the best way to get all of the air bubbles left in the coolant system? Also, how do I fill up the coolant that leaked out from the block?

[180fan]

on your intake manifold you'll see a little bolt that looks like it's holding nothing in. It's got a little yellow sticker under it that says "do not open when engine is hot". (cold engine of course) take the bolt off. take the cap off your radiator. Fill your radiator until there is coolant coming out that screw hole. Cap your radiator and squeeze your upper radiator hose repeatedly (also try bouncing the front of your car to bounce out more bubbles). Now open the cap, fill if necessary. Cap back on and start car. Squeeze upper radiator hose and uncap radiator, fill if necessary. Stop car, and repeat the squeezing and the uncapping until no more coolant fills up your engine. This is of course going to keep happening until you've got a slightly warm engine in which case stop, let it cool off, and repeat when it's cold.

[NISTECH]

do as 180fan says with the bleeder screw. but jack the front end up as high as you can get it or if you have an inclined drive way pull up on that and drive up on car ramps. then do his procedure. you should only have to put the coolant in once by doing it this way. you are struggling with the heater core so once you have filled it and you put the bleeder screw back in,start it and turn the heater on. the lifting of the front of the car helps alot.

[rousie13]

Jacking up the front of your car works the best. Using a burp funnel helps this process too.

[khilgers]

thanks for the helps guys, I'll finish it up today.

[WongFeiHung]

So to do a complete system flush....Do I let all the coolant out first, then follow these steps?

[TachyonS14]

Ya, 180 said it correctly. But, don't be a n00b like I was and strip the bolt :-( Took me forever to get that sucker out.

[s13sr20chris]

burp funnels rule

[rousie13]

yeah they do

[FL240racer]

Hey the ast time I replaced my coolant th e bleeder screw broke off at the top, just as i was finishing. I secured the top on with gasket maker to make sure nothing would leak out... any suggestions for getting it out if I need to change my coolant again, or any other ways to bleed the air out?

[NISTECH]

did it break off flush with the manifold?

[FL240racer]

yes it boke off in the hole, flush with the manifold...

[NISTECH]

remove your gasket stuff you put on. use some brake clean to remove any deposits in the area. go grab a #2 pencil with a new eraser on it. push down on the head of the bolt with the eraser hard while twisting it to unscrew the bolt. if this does not seem to work. take a very fine peice of sand paper ,on a square block if possible, sand it smooth. Don't take off to much your goal is just to remove any burs preventing it from turning. then try the eraser again. If this method doesn't work you will have to have it extracted by someone experianced with pulling broken studs or bolts. Its very easy to screw something up if you aren't skilled at it.

[FL240racer]

thanx for the advise.. but one thing i don't think i made clear... the screw snapped while flush with the manifold as i was either tightening it or removing it, so there is very little (if any) of the screw itself sticking up... i'l still give the eraser a try tho... i thought i someone at one time told me of a tool for such occasions... can't remember the name of it tho.. ever heard of such an animal?

[NISTECH]

yes I use a reverse drill bit and if it doesnt come out when drilling it I use a screw extractor to remove the piece. This requires a perfectly centered hole drilled in the center of the screw and a good feel when using the extractor. If you twist too hard and break the extractor off your screwed. You cant drill into the extractor since it is made of hardened steel.

[s13sr20chris]

easy outs are cheap but snap on straight flute extractors are my favorite.

[NISTECH]

yea we got a set of those in the exhaust recall kit. haven't used them yet. dont have the corrosion factor here.

[FL240racer]

thanks for the replies guys... looks like i gotta leak and am gonna need to do this soon... where can i get easy outs or the straight flutes? Sears, etc? gonna call tomorrow....

[Nismo_Freak]

Sears should have something you can use.