Bleeding Radiator now
Discussion
Hi,
All now pipes and hoses plumbed in, started first time (even standing for 4 weeks - the Red Top battery is proving to be worth its money), ran her up to temperature, bled the two rail valves but couldn't find one on the radiator to bleed.
The car got up to around 90 and the fan kicked in but the rad was still feeling cold, so I turned her off and groped around some more - seems that the hose going up from the thermostat only felt warm up to about half way up, that side of the radiator was cold. The other side was warm and I noticed a nut where I presume a bleed valve might go (?) so I loosened that and hot water came out so obviously there is water at that top part of the rad. To me it seems like there is air trapped at the top of the pipe coming up from the thermostat. I'm hoping the thermostat isn't a duff one - it was a new unit from one of the normal suppliers. Or did I just chicken out too early and shut off the engine before the water/air had all circulated?
Any advice appreciated - getting eager to get her back on the road again, this all started as a tiny weeping split on one of the hoses a month ago...
Cheers
Joe
All now pipes and hoses plumbed in, started first time (even standing for 4 weeks - the Red Top battery is proving to be worth its money), ran her up to temperature, bled the two rail valves but couldn't find one on the radiator to bleed.
The car got up to around 90 and the fan kicked in but the rad was still feeling cold, so I turned her off and groped around some more - seems that the hose going up from the thermostat only felt warm up to about half way up, that side of the radiator was cold. The other side was warm and I noticed a nut where I presume a bleed valve might go (?) so I loosened that and hot water came out so obviously there is water at that top part of the rad. To me it seems like there is air trapped at the top of the pipe coming up from the thermostat. I'm hoping the thermostat isn't a duff one - it was a new unit from one of the normal suppliers. Or did I just chicken out too early and shut off the engine before the water/air had all circulated?
Any advice appreciated - getting eager to get her back on the road again, this all started as a tiny weeping split on one of the hoses a month ago...
Cheers
Joe
yosini said:
Hi,
All now pipes and hoses plumbed in, started first time (even standing for 4 weeks - the Red Top battery is proving to be worth its money), ran her up to temperature, bled the two rail valves but couldn't find one on the radiator to bleed.
The car got up to around 90 and the fan kicked in but the rad was still feeling cold, so I turned her off and groped around some more - seems that the hose going up from the thermostat only felt warm up to about half way up, that side of the radiator was cold. The other side was warm and I noticed a nut where I presume a bleed valve might go (?) so I loosened that and hot water came out so obviously there is water at that top part of the rad. To me it seems like there is air trapped at the top of the pipe coming up from the thermostat. I'm hoping the thermostat isn't a duff one - it was a new unit from one of the normal suppliers. Or did I just chicken out too early and shut off the engine before the water/air had all circulated?
Any advice appreciated - getting eager to get her back on the road again, this all started as a tiny weeping split on one of the hoses a month ago...
Cheers
Joe
That nut on the radiator is the bleed nut,did you change the thermostat as we suggested ???All now pipes and hoses plumbed in, started first time (even standing for 4 weeks - the Red Top battery is proving to be worth its money), ran her up to temperature, bled the two rail valves but couldn't find one on the radiator to bleed.
The car got up to around 90 and the fan kicked in but the rad was still feeling cold, so I turned her off and groped around some more - seems that the hose going up from the thermostat only felt warm up to about half way up, that side of the radiator was cold. The other side was warm and I noticed a nut where I presume a bleed valve might go (?) so I loosened that and hot water came out so obviously there is water at that top part of the rad. To me it seems like there is air trapped at the top of the pipe coming up from the thermostat. I'm hoping the thermostat isn't a duff one - it was a new unit from one of the normal suppliers. Or did I just chicken out too early and shut off the engine before the water/air had all circulated?
Any advice appreciated - getting eager to get her back on the road again, this all started as a tiny weeping split on one of the hoses a month ago...
Cheers
Joe
You need to the bleed the radiator nut first then the 2 on the rails and you she should be fine, do that first and let her get upto temprature then the fans should kick in, let her run for a while and if she does not boild over everything thing is fine, if not and you did not and you did not change the thermostat check it to make sure its not stuck shut if it is change it, if it is fine and the fans don,t kick in check the sensor and change that, if that don,t work you might have put the pipe to thermostat round the wrong way but it looks ok, good luck
Gary
Thanks all - bled it fine last night, so much air comes out of those rail valves! The previous owner said that the temperature gauge read over - which seems to ring true as it got up to around 90-95 on the gauge before the thermostat opened, temperature dropped, fan went off and more air came out. I then let it get back up to temperature and the fan to come on and go off again.
All happy. Thanks again to everyone that helped along the e-way, the advice on this forum really gives you the confidence to tinker and fix things yourself, save money, and keep these wonderful cars running beautifully.
Cheers
Joe
All happy. Thanks again to everyone that helped along the e-way, the advice on this forum really gives you the confidence to tinker and fix things yourself, save money, and keep these wonderful cars running beautifully.
Cheers
Joe
yosini said:
Thanks all - bled it fine last night, so much air comes out of those rail valves! The previous owner said that the temperature gauge read over - which seems to ring true as it got up to around 90-95 on the gauge before the thermostat opened, temperature dropped, fan went off and more air came out. I then let it get back up to temperature and the fan to come on and go off again.
All happy. Thanks again to everyone that helped along the e-way, the advice on this forum really gives you the confidence to tinker and fix things yourself, save money, and keep these wonderful cars running beautifully.
Cheers
Joe
Glad you got it fixed All happy. Thanks again to everyone that helped along the e-way, the advice on this forum really gives you the confidence to tinker and fix things yourself, save money, and keep these wonderful cars running beautifully.
Cheers
Joe
Sounds like your all ready for summer now well done for getting a job done that would have cost you a lot of money in a garage !
What coolant did you use ?
I used the Halfords OAT coolant mixed 50/50 with distilled water
bit over the top but she is worth it.
If your still near any connections use a bit of silicone grease to keep the damp out too
Check level after first couple of runs and if you ever bleed her some more make sure she is not nose down on drive ! car needs to be level or nose up for that job
well done for getting a job done that would have cost you a lot of money in a garage ! What coolant did you use ?
I used the Halfords OAT coolant mixed 50/50 with distilled water
bit over the top but she is worth it. If your still near any connections use a bit of silicone grease to keep the damp out too
Check level after first couple of runs and if you ever bleed her some more make sure she is not nose down on drive ! car needs to be level or nose up for that job
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