Favorite cooling system bleed method?

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Vacuum is my preferred method

If vacuum isn't available I like to raise the front of the vehicle while filling the radiator. Helps the air escape naturally.
 
Personal favorite is to travel some steep local mountain roads at RPM which places the engine in various positions to let the coolant find all those possible air pockets.
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Spill free funnel.

Had enough rewards dollars from Advance after a job to grab one on the cheap. Way easier and no mess to clean up (for the motors that don't have a bleed valve).
 
I would love to pick up an air lift, but until then, on vehicles I am able, I fill the engine from the thermostat housing, install the stat and continue filling from the radiator or recovery tank depending on vehicle.

On vehicles that don't allow filling from the thermostat I will elevate the front of the car as high as I can can, pop open any bleeders, fill it up, pull off any hoses I think will allow air to escape in order to get more coolant in on the initial fill. Then I'll start it up and let it rock, I will also plug in my bluetooth obd 2 adapter and monitor coolant temp from my phone while im still under the hood topping things off.
 
My preferred method is to just pay a shop the minimal labor fee to deal with properly bleeding the system and disposing of the many gallons of old coolant.
 
I don't think I have a favorite other than following what the maintenance manual says. On three of my four cars there's nothing special you need to do, those are self-bleeding IAW the FSM. The Accord has a bleed screw on the thermostat housing.

Some BMWs (not mine) have specific instructions for bleeding the cooling system after maintenance.
 
I follow the workshop manual.
Can't remember a car that I have had that has needed anything more than a standard fill, warm, cool,top up type process.
 
Spill free funnel I got as a gift. epaauto has it for 20 bucks on amazon and ebay if you dont have prime. Practically the same as the lisle that goes for 40 almost everywhere else. Saves me the headache of not being able to tell if theres air in the system since im still a rookie at this.
 
I'm getting the Lisle spill free funnel, its going to be $25 at advance, have some coupons and codes. I used to use a funnel with electrical tape on the base, it would always leak.
 
On engines that are hard to bleed completely, I drill a 3/32" hole in the outer ring of the thermostat. Small enough that it doesn't hinder warm-up, but it makes the chore of bleeding the cooling system a thing of the past.
 
There should be no favorite, it depends on the car/truck.

For example in a Toyota that I had, the t-stat have the bleeder valve so there is almost no need to bleed.
All I did was squeeze on the hose while the engine is running to make the bleeding faster.

In the 6.5L diesel truck, there is a bleeder valve before the t-stat.
Open that for a few minutes while the engine is running.

So, asking the question is almost useless without the information about the vehicle that you have.
Because a lot of the suggestion may not be applicable.
 
Lisle spill-free funnel 90% of the time. I have a vacuum filler that was intended for a Nissan, but it's also recommended for the Prius or other Toyota hybrids.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Warm and Burp with the cap off.


With the front end about 1' higher than the rear.
 
Originally Posted By: Kuato
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
Warm and Burp with the cap off.


With the front end about 1' higher than the rear.


+1
 
The 2.5 engine in my Fusion is apparently a fairly difficult one to properly 'burp' because it's a 'reverse flow' system, so it's recommended to use the vacuum method. Barring that, there is a valve built into the 'coolant water outlet' but it's a PITA... so there's another suggested method which is also kind of a PITA but works.. involving filling, running the car in park for approximately 30 seconds at 2,500 RPM to 'force' the air bubble through.
 
I measure what came out and make sure it goes in. I've had "colicky" cars refuse 1/2 gallon or so.

I remove the top radiator hose from the radiator nipple, hold it sky high, and backfill the engine through this until the open radiator nipple starts dripping. Then I slam the hose home and connect the clamp.

I feel the car has to be within a pint of its capacity to run in hopes that the thermostat will open and it would self-burp. If I don't get it to this level I worry and try different things.

I also squeeze and massage the (connected) top hose to try to burp bubbles out. Doesn't everybody?
 
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