My brother in law felt that the antifreeze in his '96 Escort was too weak for winter so he drained half a gallon out of the petcock on the bottom of the rad. He said that he went to refill the rad and it was taking too slowly so he just dumped the rest of the new stuff in the over flow tank. My question is does he run the risk of getting an air pocket in the system and causing some damage? I think I've heard of this in some engines, but is it a risk in this case?
Refilling the Rad.
- Thread starter Ron Jeremy
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Don't know about Escorts but many cars need to be well burped or they will have strange overheating and gauge excursions.
Messauge the hoses, etc....and get the coolant in there properly is all I can add.
Volvo 4's can be a pain...there is a jiggle valve on the thermostat but still it takes patience and and more than few heat cycles to get all the trapped air out.
Messauge the hoses, etc....and get the coolant in there properly is all I can add.
Volvo 4's can be a pain...there is a jiggle valve on the thermostat but still it takes patience and and more than few heat cycles to get all the trapped air out.
He should have put the cap on and started the car. Let it run untill the t-stat opens and shut it off.
When it has cooled remove the cap and top it off.
When it has cooled remove the cap and top it off.
The procedure that's in my Ford factory service manual for "burping" the system is as follows:
1. Fill coolant up to the base of the radiator filler neck.
2. Run engine at high idle (2000 RPM) with radiator cap off until thermostat opens (may take up to 10 minutes). Make sure heater is on and in max position.
3. Shut off vehicle, and check fluid level. Top off fluid to bring level up the base of filler neck again.
4. Run vehicle again at high idle (2000 RPM) for an additional 15 minutes with radiator cap removed, with heater still in max position.
5. Top off coolant in radiator to proper level, install radiator cap while vehicle is at idle.
6. Fill recovery tank to proper level.
That's the procedure for Ford's. It also helps to park on an incline while doing this, with the front of the vehicle going up the incline. It's also important to check the levels the next morning after everything has cooled off, top off as needed.
Hope that helps.
[ November 10, 2003, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Brad ]
1. Fill coolant up to the base of the radiator filler neck.
2. Run engine at high idle (2000 RPM) with radiator cap off until thermostat opens (may take up to 10 minutes). Make sure heater is on and in max position.
3. Shut off vehicle, and check fluid level. Top off fluid to bring level up the base of filler neck again.
4. Run vehicle again at high idle (2000 RPM) for an additional 15 minutes with radiator cap removed, with heater still in max position.
5. Top off coolant in radiator to proper level, install radiator cap while vehicle is at idle.
6. Fill recovery tank to proper level.
That's the procedure for Ford's. It also helps to park on an incline while doing this, with the front of the vehicle going up the incline. It's also important to check the levels the next morning after everything has cooled off, top off as needed.
Hope that helps.
[ November 10, 2003, 12:59 AM: Message edited by: Brad ]
Brad, that is the exact/perfect way you should refill any cooling system, even one with a bleeder screw. Always keep the pressure cap off with engine running until you feel the upper hose get hot (thermostat opening) and continue to let if run at fast idle. After you have the level as full as it will go, replace the cap and then commence the opening of the bleeder screw if you have one.
Also, to the original question, if you just tried putting pure antifreeze in the overflow, hoping to bring the concentration of anitfrieze back up to 50%, it would take many many heat cycles for it to mix thouroughly. Best bet is to make sure you have your solution correct in the cooling system/radiator itself and then just add 50/50 to the overflow.
Also, to the original question, if you just tried putting pure antifreeze in the overflow, hoping to bring the concentration of anitfrieze back up to 50%, it would take many many heat cycles for it to mix thouroughly. Best bet is to make sure you have your solution correct in the cooling system/radiator itself and then just add 50/50 to the overflow.
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