Help bleeding coolant!!?

[Garth]

Checking car over before a track day tomorrow and discover (at 6.30pm!) that a plastic 'T' piece is split and leaking! Managed to get replacement and coolant - have replaced and filled up. Disconnected the top hose to the heater and bleed nut on top of ali radiator (did a conversion from standard Sigma set up to R400 rad after rad failed, so no self bleed pipe any more.

 

Not sure how to check if the system is full or whether there is still loads of air in there? Any advice welcome please.

 

Cheers

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

You want to fill slowly from the highest point in the system, with the heater valve open (if heater fitted). That way you should get the air out of the fill point. Run the engine and keep an eye on the temperature gauge. Let it cool down and check level in expansion tank.

[Garth]

Thanks - I did try and so that - the main hose that runs from the top of the radiator actually rises above the expansion tank and cannot really fill that. The radiator is full and I filled the system through the top heater pipe until it was just filling the header tank.

 

Will run for a while and keep an eye on it.

 

Am I correct in assuming that any air will work its way into the expansion tank?

 

Edited by - Garth on 6 Sep 2012 20:22:30

 

Edited by - Garth on 6 Sep 2012 20:38:43

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

If it is a small pocket of air, then yes. If an airlock, it may not move. Sure you will be ok.

[Garth]

Thanks - run it up to full temp fan kicks in ok, temp and coolant level stable.

 

Is it usual for the coolant to flow into the top of the expansion tank when revving?

 

Edited by - Garth on 6 Sep 2012 21:03:00

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

As it warms up, the water expands, thus runs into expansion bottle. As it cools, it settles back down and the levels falls again.

[Garth]

Thanks for the help - had a great day at Goodwood with no heating problems!

[Stationary M25 Traveller]

Hurrah