Correct procedure for bleeding coolant system on Tamora
Discussion
5yearstobuyatvr said:
Ive checked the search, but nothing,can anyone advise me on the correct method of bleeding the system.John
I watch with interest, as mine is booked in at Castle to get this done as the water temp sensor has gone tits up and I suspect there might be an air lock somewhere. Having the coolant changed at the same time as its not much more money.Shep
I have changed the Rad on my Tamora twice in the last 14 months, and successfully bled the system. The only bleed point is on the top of the rad, to gain access you, lift the bonnet, stand in front of the car , stick hands in between the gap of bonnet and front slats on front of car,and look through the slats to see what you are doing, i removed the bonnet for easier access and to make topping up the hole system easier.If you are doing a basic bleed you don`t really have to go to this trouble IMO. The bleed NUT is on the top leading edge of the Rad on the near (passenger) side, it is plastic with a rubber washer on the end, and being a TVR is 9/16!!! not metric 
It is quite long. To do a basic bleed take the expansion cap off and check the level in the normal way, then top up until you can just about see the level, with the car cold and not running open up the bleed bolt almost all the way, you should hear/feel any access air escaping, as the air escapes the level in the expansion tank will lower, it is important not to let the water level drop below the elbow level as this will just suck in more air into the system and you are back to square one.I hope this makes sense? To do a full bleed after a rad change or just to change the coolant, is similar, only you take the bolt out until you feel/see water coming out of the top of the rad, than top up the expansion tank, to the top, run the engine up to temp, and wait for the themostat to open, when it does quickly top up the system as requied always keeping it at the normal level. Let the car cool down and then repeat and the "basic" bleed as above.After all this run car up to temp and check both fans work 92/96, the easiest way to then check if you have got rid of all the air is to check that your temp gauge on the dash does not flicker in higher than 2 degs i.e the gauge does not jump around from , say 82 to 85 and back again with out going to 83 and 84. I hope all this makes sense, it really is easier than it sounds
It is quite long. To do a basic bleed take the expansion cap off and check the level in the normal way, then top up until you can just about see the level, with the car cold and not running open up the bleed bolt almost all the way, you should hear/feel any access air escaping, as the air escapes the level in the expansion tank will lower, it is important not to let the water level drop below the elbow level as this will just suck in more air into the system and you are back to square one.I hope this makes sense? To do a full bleed after a rad change or just to change the coolant, is similar, only you take the bolt out until you feel/see water coming out of the top of the rad, than top up the expansion tank, to the top, run the engine up to temp, and wait for the themostat to open, when it does quickly top up the system as requied always keeping it at the normal level. Let the car cool down and then repeat and the "basic" bleed as above.After all this run car up to temp and check both fans work 92/96, the easiest way to then check if you have got rid of all the air is to check that your temp gauge on the dash does not flicker in higher than 2 degs i.e the gauge does not jump around from , say 82 to 85 and back again with out going to 83 and 84. I hope all this makes sense, it really is easier than it sounds
T66ORA said:
I have changed the Rad on my Tamora twice in the last 14 months, and successfully bled the system. The only bleed point is on the top of the rad, to gain access you, lift the bonnet, stand in front of the car , stick hands in between the gap of bonnet and front slats on front of car,and look through the slats to see what you are doing, i removed the bonnet for easier access and to make topping up the hole system easier.If you are doing a basic bleed you don`t really have to go to this trouble IMO. The bleed NUT is on the top leading edge of the Rad on the near (passenger) side, it is plastic with a rubber washer on the end, and being a TVR is 9/16!!! not metric
It is quite long. To do a basic bleed take the expansion cap off and check the level in the normal way, then top up until you can just about see the level, with the car cold and not running open up the bleed bolt almost all the way, you should hear/feel any access air escaping, as the air escapes the level in the expansion tank will lower, it is important not to let the water level drop below the elbow level as this will just suck in more air into the system and you are back to square one.I hope this makes sense? To do a full bleed after a rad change or just to change the coolant, is similar, only you take the bolt out until you feel/see water coming out of the top of the rad, than top up the expansion tank, to the top, run the engine up to temp, and wait for the themostat to open, when it does quickly top up the system as requied always keeping it at the normal level. Let the car cool down and then repeat and the "basic" bleed as above.After all this run car up to temp and check both fans work 92/96, the easiest way to then check if you have got rid of all the air is to check that your temp gauge on the dash does not flicker in higher than 2 degs i.e the gauge does not jump around from , say 82 to 85 and back again with out going to 83 and 84. I hope all this makes sense, it really is easier than it sounds
Good description. To be clear when you say the expansion tank you mean the metal swirl pot (I dont have the expansion tank mod) and the elbow is the point at which the horizontal pipe goes into the engine (about 2 inches down from the top of the swirl pot)It is quite long. To do a basic bleed take the expansion cap off and check the level in the normal way, then top up until you can just about see the level, with the car cold and not running open up the bleed bolt almost all the way, you should hear/feel any access air escaping, as the air escapes the level in the expansion tank will lower, it is important not to let the water level drop below the elbow level as this will just suck in more air into the system and you are back to square one.I hope this makes sense? To do a full bleed after a rad change or just to change the coolant, is similar, only you take the bolt out until you feel/see water coming out of the top of the rad, than top up the expansion tank, to the top, run the engine up to temp, and wait for the themostat to open, when it does quickly top up the system as requied always keeping it at the normal level. Let the car cool down and then repeat and the "basic" bleed as above.After all this run car up to temp and check both fans work 92/96, the easiest way to then check if you have got rid of all the air is to check that your temp gauge on the dash does not flicker in higher than 2 degs i.e the gauge does not jump around from , say 82 to 85 and back again with out going to 83 and 84. I hope all this makes sense, it really is easier than it sounds
Shep
Five yrs, what makes you think you need a bleed?
If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might find it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might find it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
T66ORA said:
Five yrs, what makes you think you need a bleed?
If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might find it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
Mine is covered by said fibre glass cover. I might let Castle do it this time as it will need a new temp sensor if its not reading zero because of an air lock - I drove off Sat on the way to Chatsworth without the rad cap on! only got about 1/2 mile and temp was only about 50 deg so the stat had not opened before I remembered and stopped to fit it.... Wont do that again!If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might find it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
Edited by shep1001 on Wednesday 29th April 23:20
T66ORA said:
Five yrs, what makes you think you need a bleed?
If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might figeand it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
Tony,I am not sure whether I have an air lock or not,just trying to eliminate possibilities before calling the garage.On the way home from Chatsworth my water temp readout was hovering around 115/120C in standing traffic,Oil temp up to 100c and pressure down to 4psi on tickover,when moving on motorway temp about 92, oil 85 ish and pressure up to 25.Got home checked fans,only one kicking in at 98c.I had new water sensor fitted 12 months ago,could this be the problem? John.PS checked coolant level tonight, its about 2 inches below the outlet pipe in the filler tank.If you have no air in the system in the first place, you will need to remove the excess water you put in. other wise the next time you run up to temp it will lift the cap and dump the excess out, normally a brown pants moment
As a footnote you might have a piece of fibre glass that runs down the side of the rad, this is siliconed into place and needs to be removed when doing a Rad change, you might figeand it easier to access the bleed bolt if this is removed? Any ?? let me know, good luck.
Out of interest, do the hoses on the rad become difficult to squeeze when the system is at temperature (I guess because the system is now under pressure) when cold I can squeeze the hoses and hear the coolant move, when at full temp its very difficult to squeeze the hose. Also I have felt the rad when hot and it apears to be hot all over suggesting there is no air lock in the rad.
Shep
I am a new member and own a Tamora, and have had similar problems, and will try rectify heating problem as soon as I return home later in the month. Thanks for the great info. I was contemplating on having an external switch through a diode system to switch on the fans. Only one Tamora running on the road in South Africa, as one was written off and being repaired, while the other is still moving from show room to show room in an attempted first sale.
5yearstobuyatvr said:
Went out for a 100 mile trip,the water temp didnt go above 78c, having said that I kept moving, with no standing traffic.Its a pity because the problem seems to be when I hit 90c and it keeps going up!
Did you leave the engine running on your driveway after you got back? After a minute or two the temp should go up and the fans come on (maybe just one fan), stabilising the temp around 88-92. Temp should be up around 88-90 in normal slowish urban driving, so unless you live in the middle of nowhere then the reading is too low - perhaps a faulty sensor underreading now.Espritment said:
I am a new member and own a Tamora, and have had similar problems, and will try rectify heating problem as soon as I return home later in the month. Thanks for the great info. I was contemplating on having an external switch through a diode system to switch on the fans. Only one Tamora running on the road in South Africa, as one was written off and being repaired, while the other is still moving from show room to show room in an attempted first sale.
Welcome to the mad house. We've not had a SA owner on here for a while (there was a T350 owner a few years back who is now departed.Targarama said:
Espritment said:
I am a new member and own a Tamora, and have had similar problems, and will try rectify heating problem as soon as I return home later in the month. Thanks for the great info. I was contemplating on having an external switch through a diode system to switch on the fans. Only one Tamora running on the road in South Africa, as one was written off and being repaired, while the other is still moving from show room to show room in an attempted first sale.
Welcome to the mad house. We've not had a SA owner on here for a while (there was a T350 owner a few years back who is now departed.Gassing Station | Tamora, T350 & Sagaris | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff