I've read the thing about drilling a hole or two in the thermostat for years but never brought myself to try it. Dunno why.
If you're going to do it 'my' way, it shouldn't take much more than 10-15 minutes, assuming you start with a relatively cold engine. Stick your hand by one of the heater vents -- once it has been blowing some hot air for a few minutes, the thermostat should be open and it has probably vented all the air pockets out. If you have a temp gauge, just watch that instead. Watch the liquid in the radiator -- if there are still air pockets, you'll see it bubbling. This is how my dad used to do flush-n-fill jobs, and I seem to remember doing it this way at the service station, too. -Dave -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Wayne Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 5:10 PM To: The Chevelle Mailing List Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Getting rid of an air bubble in cooling system Gram... Dave has a GREAT methods for eliminating most if not all the air captive in your cooling system.. but PLEASE.. Drill a small hole in the thermostat mounting flange.., I drill a 1/8 .125 dia. hole just outside the seat . During spirited driving.. with the pump at High RPM's it tends to cause cavitation, when the thermostat is closed. This traps air in the open and closing cooling ... my .02 Wayne ----- Original Message ----- From: "Graham Wooden" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 10, 2005 2:44 PM Subject: RE: [Chevelle-list] Getting rid of an air bubble in cooling system > Thanks Dave. The car is not quite drivable, but I can perform that > procedure in > my driveway. Any estimate on how long I should run the car with the cap > off and > when do I put the cap back on? Sorry for the lame questions, I am trying > to make > sure I don't get rid of one air bubble just to introduce another - since I > am > not sure how they come about in the first place. Maybe because I did not > have > a overflow hooked up - and it sucked in air while cooling? > > Thanks again, > > -Graham > > Quoting Dave Studly <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > >> I think the best way for getting rid of an air bubble is to simply get >> the >> car up to temperature, heater on full hot to allow max waterflow, and >> leave >> the radiator cap off. Cool water is sent into the engine via the lower >> radiator hose and hot water exits at the upper radiator hose. >> >> Once the thermostat opens, any hot air should be able to escape into the >> radiator, and out the cap. >> >> If you haven't done this before, just let the engine warm up with the >> radiator cap off. Don't go for a drive and then try removing the cap. >> 15psi behind a couple gallons of 200-degree liquid can hurt. I did that >> once when I was in my teens. Ouch. >> >> -Dave >> >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Graham Wooden >> Sent: Sunday, January 09, 2005 4:44 PM >> To: The Chevelle Mailing List >> Subject: Re: [Chevelle-list] Getting rid of an air bubble in cooling >> system >> >> That seems to be what my cooling system is exhibiting - gauge showing >> real >> hot but no water really flowing out. Everything is new and pretty quality >> (BeCool alum radiator/elec fan) - so I am pretty sure once I get this >> bubble >> taken care of, it will run at a decent temperature. >> I think I will try that little bypass hole. >> >> Thanks Brian! >> >> -Graham >> >> >> On 1/9/05 4:30 PM, "Brian Knight" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> > Graham, never had an air bubble myself, so I may not have the best >> > description of the symptoms. You would get a hot/overheat reading on >> > your >> > gauge because the air is trapped at the stat. Hot air will not heat up >> > and >> > open the stat the same as water. I have always drilled a small (5/32 or >> so) >> > hole in my stats to allow a small flow of water, eliminating the >> > potential >> > bubble. Sort of like a bypass. It also will allow a slightly hot >> > running >> > engine to be a few degrees cooler if you can't afford aftermarket >> > pumps/fans/radiators. >> > >> > Brian >> > >> >> From: Graham Wooden <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >> >> Reply-To: The Chevelle Mailing List <[email protected]> >> >> To: The Chevelle Mailing List <[email protected]> >> >> Subject: [Chevelle-list] Getting rid of an air bubble in cooling >> >> system >> >> Date: Sun, 09 Jan 2005 15:09:01 -0500 >> >> >> >> Hi folks, >> >> I believe I have an air bubble in my cooling system. What are the >> symptoms >> >> (I want to make sure I have one) and what it the best way to get rid >> >> of >> it? >> >> >> >> Thanks all, >> >> >> >> -Graham >> >> 67 SS >> >> http://projectchevelle.com/ >> >> >> >> >> >> >> > >> > _________________________________________________________________ >> > Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today - it's >> > FREE! >> > http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ >> > >> > >> >> >> >> >> > > > -- > Graham Wooden, RHCE > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > >
