rad. flush-- 2.5gal out only 1.5 in???

[jfz80]

what, did the green comment offend everyone? i know i know sorry for the impatience but closing in on departure time if im gonna make the trail ride.

Another member suggested squeezing the heater pipes to try and force air though the system. Should the hoses be "firmer" to indicate pressure as well ? or is this solely for burping the system. They do get warm to the touch as it runs w/ heat on but dont necessarily seem pressurized or turgid.

topped off the tank as pipes were still full. after 90 seconds +/- the overflow begins to emit 4-5 steady drops for a one-one thousand count.

 

[cpg]

you need to get the pump primed once it gets going in a circuit it will be fine. Squeezing the hoses usually works sometimes creating suction on a heater hose is all you need.

 

[MARLIN375]

.

Another member suggested squeezing the heater pipes to try and force air though the system..

NEVER squeeze your heater hoses, unless you know exactly how old they are.

they fail from the inside and you will open cracks that you will not see untill they are spewing coolant.

To make myself feel better about removing any trapped air in the freshly flushed system I take my truck to the first good steep bank and stick the nose up hill, shut the truck off.........wait a minute and drive away.

 

[CJF]

jfz80,

I really think you're fine.

If it's coming up to temp., and you can feel hot water/coolant flowing into the top of the rad. as it warms up, then that's really all there is to it. As I said in an earlier post: It'll just burp out the excess air through the overflow over a few drive cycles, and then you can top off the overflow as needed.

Do keep in mind how the overflow system works: As the cooling system reaches operating temp. and 13lbs of pressure (due to heat expansion), coolant starts heading into the overflow. (Yes, the hoses should feel pretty firm/pressurized at this point; i.e., 5min or so after startup.) While driving, this extra just sits there, and then after you turn off the rig, the coolant slowly gets sucked back into the rad as the engine cools. Basically the overflow has two levels: Engine cool, and engine hot (which is a couple inches higher).

Now grab some extra water and coolant, and go wheeling!!

 

[CJF]

To make myself feel better about removing any trapped air in the freshly flushed system I take my truck to the first good steep bank and stick the nose up hill, shut the truck off.........wait a minute and drive away.

I don't quite get this; what does shutting the engine off have to do with it, and what is it you think is happening during that minute?

Curtis

 

[concretejungle]

I told him IMHO he should take some fluid with him and watch the temp gauge on the way down. I think he's fine. The only thing that is strange to me is that fluid is not filling in the overflow bottle but dripping out the overflow/overflow tube??? THat's strange. He said he blew compressed air through that hose to make sure it wasn't clogged and it wasnt.

 

[jfz80]

Have coolant, will travel...

thanks guys gonna go for it. I was begining to believe it was fine but was more curios about the overflow. Im gonna stop after first few miles and make sure its not still overflowing.

Concrete... if you look at the cap to the overflow tank it makes sense. its not really a 't' fitting but rather a 90 in and a separate 90 out. it looks like once the pressure builds (13 lbs as mentioned above) it forces the fluid up the tube and out

thanks guys hopefully i wont be posting up my 3600 dollar bill w/ no visible difference Doug, do a HG dance for me, and Dan keep your needles away from my doll.

 

[CJF]

The only thing that is strange to me is that fluid is not filling in the overflow bottle but dripping out the overflow/overflow tube??? THat's strange. He said he blew compressed air through that hose to make sure it wasn't clogged and it wasnt.

Ah.

Something's definitely off there. Need a close inspection of the overflow cap along with a good understanding of how it's meant to function: Blow air in this port, where does it go? Suck air back in, where is it pulling from? etc. (I assume the tube extending down to the bottom of the reservoir is in place?) Keep us posted...

Curtis

 

[CJF]

if you look at the cap to the overflow tank it makes sense. its not really a 't' fitting but rather a 90 in and a separate 90 out. it looks like once the pressure builds (13 lbs as mentioned above) it forces the fluid up the tube and out.

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

You're starting to convince me you've got the res. cap reversed somehow. 90deg IN from the rad. should have the res. tube attached, so coolant is deposited at the BOTTOM of the overflow bottle, and just AIR escapes from the top of the bottle through the 90deg OUT.

CHECK THIS ASAP!!

 

[MARLIN375]

I don't quite get this; what does shutting the engine off have to do with it, and what is it you think is happening during that minute?

Curtis

Just thinking that if the waterpump is circulating coolant in one direction and the air is trying to get out in the other direction, shutting down the pump will remove the little vortex that is trapping the air.......this may be taking place entirely in my imagination and Mr T may be (most hopefully) way ahead of me and is circulating the coolant in a bubble removing direction.

 

[CJF]

I got no problem wit dat!

Cheers,

Curtis

 

[jfz80]

WAIT A MINUTE!!!!

You're starting to convince me you've got the res. cap reversed somehow. 90deg IN from the rad. should have the res. tube attached, so coolant is deposited at the BOTTOM of the overflow bottle, and just AIR escapes from the top of the bottle through the 90deg OUT.

CHECK THIS ASAP!!

FAWK.... you were only five minutes behind me, but you were dead on. Good news, it didnt blow up; bad news the cap assembly was reversed. This was one of the last things i checked so it should not have played into any part of my original volume delima; However what might i have risked over the weekend?

I checked the overflow and radiator levels often and kept an eagle eye on the guage. it never climbed above half on the road or trail. the overflow was just under the full level w/ the exception of sunday am (so i topped it off 50/50). the overflow was lower when running and would overflow after shutting it off as the engine cooled. having the cap backward makes perfect sense of this scenario.

 

[Romer]

As long as it didn't overheat you have nothing to worry about.

 

[CJF]

As long as it didn't overheat you have nothing to worry about.

I agree.

With the way you were (I'm sure) keeping an eagle eye on things, there's no way you hurt anything.

As an example: Assuming the cooling system is in decent shape, you could easily run with a few inches of air in the top of the rad. without overheating and/or damaging anything. (NOT that you ever should...)

Now that you've got the overflow system working properly, you should seldom have to pull the rad. cap. (I probably pull mine less than twice a year.) Just keep an eye on the overflow levels/fluctuations; that really does tell you all you need to know.

Cheers!!

Curtis