Cooling system newb - help.

[nyr197]

Through search, I found some different techniques for bleeding the system, still unsure.

2006 tC:

So I decided that I would drain the radiator and refill w/ toyota super long life coolant every 30k miles, just to be safe.
I drained the rad no problem, tightened everything back up, and poured just about an entire gallon of coolant through the radiator cap.

Squeezed the hoses some, saw some air bubbles come out. Filled it to the top, but did not notice coolant coming out of the bleeder valve on top of the radiator (more on this later).

Put the cap back on, started the car and got it to operating temp. Ran the heat, it came out hot. Let it cool, opened the cap, added a little more coolant as well as a small amount in the reservoir. Is this enough??

The FSM says to attach a vinyl tube to the bleeder valve and to open the plug by 3 turns ( I did this)
However, nothing came out...hmm?
Should I be undoing this air valve while the engine is running? With the radiator cap off?

What should I do?

The heat works fine, doesn't seem to overheat @ idle. I did add a small amount to the reservoir as I noticed it dip slightly after a 5 minute test drive.

 

[unDummy]

Yes, it is that easy. Some vehicles have problems burping air bubbles. They will overheat.
Since you had no problem, don't sweat it. Most Toyotas, IMO, burp easily.

BTW, on my Camries, when I drain/refill the radiator, I usually also remove and clean the overflow bottle too. After a couple heat cycles, they are completed burped. My Mazda is also that easy(but includes a bleeder mounted high(where air will accumulate). On the other hand, every Nissan that I work on scares the )(*&) out of me. They don't burp too easily even when using the air bleeder.

And, since the bleed is on a side, sometimes jacking the vehicle will help move are toward the bleed vent. You can also open the bleed while hot(be careful of shooting hot coolant) and use normal coolant pressure to push out any air.
Heat cycling will burp air into recovery bottle and draw coolant back into the system. Keep an eye on bottle level and the temp gauge. Check and top off bottle and radiator when cold(early morning) a couple times.
If your gauge climbs too high or if the needle dances, shut down immediately until you burp it better.

 

[nyr197]

Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.