MarkLDN
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Re: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
So back from the shop, C$124 poorer. They said there was air trapped in the coolant system. I asked how they got it out and it was a vague "using our special equipment" and "uncapping and letting it run for 45 minutes." Tried to get more information on said "special equipment" out of them but don't think the desk guy knew specifically what they did. That bill also includes a tire rotation and clearly overcharging me for coolant. I hate taking it in! But oh well, the price I pay for peace of mind. In other news, the accelerator pump on the carb is not working properly (likely cause of the stall and rough acceleration). And the master cyclinder is leaking. I really want to repair it all myself before I sell it but no time unfortunately (they wanted $300 for the master cyclinder alone). Off on a year long backpacking trip through south america next week! Family will sell the van while I am gone. Thanks for all your advice and help on this guys. I'm going to miss doing this!561Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Hrmmm, I don't think so but possible. We took it 9000 miles and drove some very long days and one would think it would have reached peak temp. Though saying that I was always impressed with it rarely running above 1/4-1/3 hot on the temp gauge. Thinking about this, mine didnt have the little air release valve you showed me but there must be some allowance for cold coolant to get through because when I was doing the initial fill I would hold my hand on the upper hose and feel air bubbles coming up. I would wait for coolant to drop below level of upper hose (bubbles stopped) and then top up, repeated until no more bubbles. But that doesn't help me in this situation. Going to take it in for a check up and ask them to use their magical expensive equipment to test everything is working fine. I am in the process of selling it and don't want to new owner coming back with problems.561Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
time2roll wrote: Yes it will overflow as the air bubble expands due to rise in temperature. All you can do is attempt to catch the overflow. When the thermostat opens the radiator will seem to go empty. Keep topping off for 5 to 10 additional minutes. I assume you have a coolant recovery bottle. This will chase any remaining air out of the system during the first few heating and cooling cycles. I have always thought about drilling a 1/16" or 1/8" hole in the flange but have never tried it. Can't see that it would hurt much. Could go down and ask for a premium thermostat and see if it has the release hole. Or possibly remove the thermostat during the initial fill to that level. Still need to observe the thermostat open and verify the level before you roll. No idea why it shut off. Did you have the old thermostat in during chem clean? Probably had the release valve. Dig it out of the trash and inspect. Thank you sir. Yup, it's got an overflow reservoir. So that's what they meant when they asked if I wanted basic or premium! Last time I was given the option in a part there wasnt any difference other than "lifetime" or "1 year" warranty. The parts person didnt know what they were talking about as I queried this again and they had no answer. But certain old one didnt have a release valve. I held them up against eachother. The garbage man has taken it to a better place now though so can't double check.560Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Got into it this morning and opened the rad cap, no room to add any more coolant. Let it warm up. And put it on a steeper incline to help with air bubbles. Turned the heater off and steam started coming off the rad and temp gauge shot up, so turned heater back on and this stopped steam and lowered temp gauge back to normal. Could have been a coincidence so waiting for it to cool again and will test with no heater. Took it around the block also and engine didnt die on me this time. Hoses are all hot but quite hard to squish. Dont know how pressurized they should be but concerned that they are under a lot of pressure. Still quite concerned it's the thermostat or water pump not opening fully or slow flow (I should have tested the bloody tstat before installing. I may just take it to the shop and have them diagnose it.560Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Yes, new tstat. No it did not. Yeah I waited forever for the tstat to open when I did the initial fill but coolant started overflowing so I shut it off. Okay, hope it settles down once cool and will top up. Haynes only says to squeeze the upper rad hose to bleed but I've done that. How would an air pocket cause the engine to shut off while driving? As in what goes on inside the engine. It's a 1978 so I doubt it has much in the way of fail-safes. Also I didnt have these problems when I filled it with just water and drove for a few days to do the chem clean.561Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Right. Something has gone wrong. I put a final topoff in the radiator, capped it and warmed up the engine. I then took it for a slow 20km/hr drive around the block and the engine died on me after about 300 meters. It restarted and after getting it back to the hose the temp gauge was past the midpoint and steam was coming out of the hood. It was coming from the radiator. Other symptoms are a new squealing sound (sounds very similar to a dying water pump on www.mycarmakesnoise.com). Also the hoses seemed abnormally hot to touch, but the bottom rad hose was just warm (which I guess makes sense). Also I noticed a tiny bit of coolant coming out of the plug fitting (see photo, plug is located between the heater hose and upper rad hose; it's not significant, just a little seepage. The dampness you see above it in the recess on the engine is just water collected from the flushing process). It seems to indicate a dying water pump but the water pump was doing fine before all this. We drove 9000 miles and never overheated once. Temp gauge only approached midway when going up hill. My only other hunch is that the new thermostat is possibly failing and/or only opening up halfway. Westend! What do you think?272Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Great to hear I am on the right track! We bought this 1978 Dodge campervan to do a small tour of the western US and sadly now need to sell the van so I want it in tip top shape for the new owner. I had no knowledge of automotive maintenance and repair before this but these last few months have been an education! And I love it! So much satisfaction when you tighten that last bolt and the thing still starts! Really appreciate all your time!232Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
Haha Complete Novice. I have my Haynes manual to hand and have consulted numerous forums (such as this one) on how to conduct a thorough flush. Though I get nervous when something doesn't go to plan, or something unexpected happens. The last thing I want to do is break something and have to take it to the shop. The whole reason I am doing it myself is to save on shop labour (currently off work so plenty of free time). The reason for the flush is that I noticed a drop in my coolant level and saw indications of a leak. As I had to drain the system anyway I wanted to give it a proper flush/chem clean and put new coolant in. Replaced the thermostat while I was at it. So the answer is I am probably paranoid because nothing was wrong with the system before I took it all apart. Putting new coolant in now very slowly. The reason I dont think the thermostat is opening is because I can normally see the coolant flow towards the upper rad hose (through the open cap) and feel the hose itself get hot. Only hoses that are getting hot are the heater core hoses at the moment. I have topped it up with 3 gallons and currently letting it cool to try a final fill up before putting the cap on and taking it for a test drive. Very much appreciate your words of wisdom and patience with my posts! Mark232Views0likes0CommentsRe: Rad Flush - antifreeze question
westend wrote: Some vehicles will have a "T" in the upper heater hose to eliminate air. Some vehicles have an expansion reservoir that is plumbed into either the radiator cap or a fitting on top of the radiator. That plumbing to the reservoir acts as an air eliminator. Any opening on the top of the radiator will eliminate air in the cooling system. IOW, leave the cap loose. Ah okay yeah it has a reservoir with a hose connected to the radiator cap. I've done the hose squeeze after warming up, cap off, thermostat opened. However alarmed when I turned the engine off and water shot out of the radiator. Let engine cool a bit and added more water. Warmed engine. This time thermostat didnt seem to want to open. Then water started shooting out again and I immediately shut the engine off. Seems quite hot. Steam was coming off exhaust manifold from splashes. Getting worried!232Views0likes0Comments
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