jason62

iTrader: (2)

Hi guys,

Happy boxing day to you all, it's not a good Boxing Day for me!!!
Just done my rad change, got a oem rad from p1 junkie ( thanks mate. )
He's also got one sick scooby!!!!!



Anyway I have a 56 plate hawkeye Sti spec d, I done the change, reconnected everything.
Put coolant in from small black reservoir to make sure no leaks.
Started car and put heaters on, and kept my eye on reservoir.
I also filled the expansion tank to level, when car was hot it started to spit out coolant from reservoir, I pumped the hoses a few times and heard a few big glugs.
The expansion tank was down to empty, so refilled that and reservoir.
Car was still blowing out cold air, and bubbled up again so I gave up as it's used up my 5L of coolant!!!
It has a high flow thermostat in it, and have never seen the temp gauge go over the first mark after C.
But today ( after fitting other rad ) it's going In between the second mark and H.
Also top hose was hot, bottom hose was not!!
Also fans are kicking in as normal!!
It's only afterwards that I though I should of flushed out the rad with water before fitting it??!!

Any advice much appreciated as, I need my car back

p1junkie

iTrader: (5)

hello mate
youve made the cardinal mistake of letting the expansion tank get to empty and my guess now is youve airlocked it which according to more knowledgable people than me is vittually imposs to clear

1/drain coolant into bucket so as not to loose any
2/have both heater controls set to max
3/refill coolant slowly through the expansion tank to turbo hose it needs 2 hands one to hold the funnel in place and another to pour the mixture in
4/once you have coolant entering the expansion tank and its stable reconnect the hose th the expansion tank
5/half fill the coolant overflow bottle
6/start the car again with both heater controls on max
7/Monitor closely the expansion tank and top up if needed(cap off at this point to allow any air to escape)run like this till up to temp


the bottom rad hose doesnt get hot as it isnt like conventional engines as in the thermostat opens to allow cooled water back into the engine not allow hot water out and as such the temp will be much cooler on the bottom rad hose,,did u check operation of the thermostat

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the reply, I didn't check the stat.
I threw away what was in the plastic expansion tank, as I didn't want to mix different coolants.
But can't remember if I filled it before starting the car ( still feeling a bit rough from yesterday!!

So there's no way to get the air lock out???

ZaKv1

iTrader: (8)

don't think so I spent 3hours trying to get air out one day. then I was told the proper way to doit that still took just over a 45min


drain it all out and follow P1junkie's guide step 3 is very important that's where I was going wrong

p1junkie

iTrader: (5)

from my limited knowledge no
i am a heating engineer and airlocks are the bane of my life and can be a nightmare to get out
be patient and get a second pair of hands and whip the thermostat out to check its operating correctly .when you say its a high flow i assume its been changed before but aftermarket stats can be a bit hit and miss
for a normal road car the orig oem stat is fine
as i said fill from turbo pipe and ensure coolant overflow is half full as well and have heater controlls fully on and at max and dont start car until coolant has appeared in the expansion tank on top of the engine
then attatch hose and start car and be ready ro add any coolant before tank sucks in any air
by running it with expansion tank empty you have sucked a bucketfull of air into the system

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Thanks guys, can we just be clear as to expansion tank, and reservoir??
I was calling reservoir the small black one on off side of vehicle, and expansion the white bottle on near side next to the rad, with yellow cap.

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Zakv1

Did you manage to get the car running properly in the end???
And thanks p1, I hate mechanical work.
Give me body work any day lol.

forgedmarco

iTrader: (10)

Plus it sounds like you haven't put enough coolant in as it should be about 7l when fully drained which I done on my bug the other week If it the same as hawk? I put the funnel in the turbo hose and cable tied it to the bonnet then really slowly poured until header tank started to fill killed my legs lol. Like said above reconnect hose fill up header tank and overflow bottle start car with header tank cap off heaters on full think I set mine to feet then top up/ mop up when necessary.

forgedmarco

iTrader: (10)

Once that's done take it for a spin, check for leaks and let it cool right down then top up when cold if necessary.

ZaKv1

iTrader: (8)

good tip





Yes cars running perfect now mate..


just drain it all and start again .do it step by step using p1junkie,s guide and you should be ok forgedmarco had a good tip for you to

p1junkie

iTrader: (5)

coolant overflow tank is attatched to rad and takes overflow and feeds back to system as water cools

tank on side of engine is expansion tank and remains full at all times

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Hi guys thanks for all the advice, it's very much appreciated.
I've just had a look at a photo of my engine, as I'm on the bus on my west to work.

What pipe of I need to use??
Sorry for all the silly questions, but I got use to my my 99 classic turbo 2000.
And knew my way around the engine bay, but I ain't spent any time getting to know this one.

forgedmarco

iTrader: (10)

3 pipes on top of header tank fill the rear most one

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Thanks forged Marco,

Thought it was that one, as the other two come to the front of the rad.
Didn't wanna start looking when I get back from work.
Really need this done tomorrow, with the cold weather coming!!
Can't be doing public transport!!

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Still haven't managed to get on with the job, but hope to tackle it today (Sunday)
I had to drain from the bottom rad hose, as I dropped the car from the drivers side on Boxing Day. Then it started to pour down, so left the passenger side up!!
Then realized someone stole my axle stand, as I forgot to put it away!!

Anyway not sure how much coolant is left in the system, but I know my 5L bottle I got is nearly full.
So just need a few more pointers guys!!

1: should I flush the system with a hose? If so from where and how?
2: I noticed a little bit of rust fragments in the bucket of drained coolant, I'm going to strain via one of the wife's old tights before using it.
3: I'm going to follow p1's guide along with the input from the rest of you, but should I extract what I can see in the black tank before I start the pouring?? Also how slowly should I fill via turbo hose???
4: should I pour in a single stream at a slow pace??
Or is it ok to pause while filling?

Once I see the coolant in the black expansion tank I will reconnect the hose, check and fill overflow bottle.

Should I also open cap on rad to make sure it's full??
I'm guessing this filling procedure will fill from the bottom up?
And will push air to the top while filling?

And the idea is to keep expansion tank topped up so no air goes in??

Thanks again guys for the advice and input, I hope I can return the favour via body work or ICE knowledge one day!!??
Wish me luck, coz I miss having a car.
Plus my legs hurt coz of all the walking, and running for buses!!

forgedmarco

iTrader: (10)

I had the radiator out, put a hose in the top header tank and let it run for 5 mins to get all the crap out. New radiator in but if there is an old radiator flush that too.

You have to fill slowly not allowing it to gulp, I did pause and had no problems. You're right it fills from the bottom up pushing air to the top. Once header tank fills you can reconnect hose and fill straight into the tank. Top up expansion tank to full line.
With it running and fans on full leave the cap off and some small air bubbles might come out. I had it idling for 15 mins or more. No issues for me in a month just a couple of loose jubilee clips that needed tightening a little more.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

You are filling with 50/50 coolant/water aren't you?

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Yes alcazar, I thought 5L would be enough! But it wasn't, but I'm going to be using the halfords ready mixed coolant, as it's supposed to be mixed with distilled water, and not tap water.

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Thanks forged Marco

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

The distilled vs tapwater thing is a bit of an **** myth.

the coolant isn't used, so why should it deposit anything? And with only 7ltr the amount deposited will be insignificant, even if you boiled it dry.

STI8Dave

When I had an airlock on my STi, I took it for a 10 min drive to warm it up with the heat on full and aiming at the floor. Once stopped and cooled down, I took the cap off of the expansion tank and left it overnight for the air to rise to the top. Topped it up in the morning with a pint of water and has been good as gold ever since.

alcazar

iTrader: (2)

Lucky break.

jason62

iTrader: (2)

Guys,

thanks for your advice, and a very big thanks to p1.
Wish I had done it your way in the first place, peace of **** that way.