need help, filling coolant

SC UL8R1990

SC UL8R1990

Registered User
i just let the cooling system drain and then opened up the tube thing by the thermostat that says "remove during coolant refill" so i removed it and added the flush treatment and then as i was adding water from a gallon jug it was already full!! after only 1 gallon of water and little bit of flush treatment!!

so i put the radiator cap back on and the other plug back in, started it up and thought it would circulate through the system. shut the SC off. Theres nothing in the overflow resivoir.....and when i popped of the radiator cap there was barely any pressure after running for 2 minutes............Heres what gets me........i unscrewed the plug thing by the thermostat this time and foam is coming out!!!?!?!!? not oily or anything like that......just white foam??!!???

whats goin on here?
 
i have the sc started again and its not showing any signs of overheating or anything.....the heater blows hot air constantly

why only 1 gallon of fluid?
 
Walter - you've probably got a lot of air in the system mixed with the liquid flush. Don't forget when you only drain the rad. you're removing about 50% of the total coolant. So about a gallon should fill you up again. The tube with the plug, on top of the thermostat housing is supposed to help vent the air as you refill the rad., but doesn't work that well. So you can either warm the car up with the rad. cap off (to vent the air), top-up the reservoir a couple of times over 2-3 days or use the vented (burpable) rad. cap. Also if you put a 'liquid flush' in the system, unless you back-flush (until clean water comes thru) or open the engine block drains, some of that liquid will stay in your coolant mix, which is not a good idea. Try using distilled water as well, to help avoid minerals from regular faucet water (depending upon where you live) eventually clogging the rad.
Hope that helps,
Jim.
 
First of all, how much drained out? Second if it was just a radiator drain that is not all the coolant. Now, when you start a car after filling the radiator you need to leave the cap off the radiator so your pump gets suction and doesn't just cavitate besause all the air in the system at this point. The level should go down when you start it and let it run for a while. You should also have the heat setting on high when you start it. After it goes down add extra coolant until it goes down no more and you should be fine.
 
The cooling system does take about 2 gallons.
Sounds like you filled the radiator but didn't get any coolant out or flush into the engine block till your ran the motor.

When filling the radiator I usually;
  1. Fill radiator then put on the radiator cap leaving the high point vent off (the bolt near the thermostat).
  2. Squeeze the top radiator tube a few times to work the water though the block.
  3. Pull the radiator cap off and top off the radiator again. Cap radiator again and squeeze the top tube again.
  4. I repeat that till coolant starts coming out the vent tube near the thermostat I will close it off and check the radiator one more time.
  5. Fill the reservoir and run the motor for a few minute.
  6. After letting the motor cool, I check the radiator level again.
  7. Keep an eye on the reservoir and radiator level for a few days.
    [/list=1]

    After a few days, without any heat problems I am satisfied that the coolant system doesn't have any air in it.

    Doing this I am usually able to get just under the 2 gallon capacity into the system

    Hope this helps
 
35th T-bird SC said:
Just for your information, the SC takes about 11.9 quarts which is about 3 gallons.
Click to expand...

:eek: Oops. Well no excuses for me. Thanks 35th.

Sorry for the mis-information SC UL8R1990.
 
i have another problem...... now my brand new thermostat and thermostat gasket is leaking like crazy. I was filling the radiator and it came out of the bottom of the tstat housing. It was perfectly fine before. I tried wiggling it around to get it to sit right and retightened it a bunch of times but to no avail. I had absolutley no problem with it before hand

any suggestions? maybe silicone everything togetheer then bolt it on
 
Seems to me that this is a common problem, but usually with the wrong gasket. I would suggest you drain enough coolant out that you can take the housing off and get the surfaces completely dry. Then take some forma gasket #2 and put a 1/16" thick layer around where the surfaces mate. Let it set for a few minutes and bolt it back together.
When I replaced my SC snout seal, I had to take the housing off. I reused the old gasket and some of the forma gasket stuff and it never leaked.
 
I just replaced my t-sat on my 95 and was givin the wrong gasket. Because I live on an island, I couldn't really wait any longer for the right gasket. I simlpy cut the excess gasket off, and opened one of the holes a little bigger with an exacto knife, and used a generous amount of RTV sealer and let it sit for 24 hours since it was so friggin cold. Holding up great.
Tom
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top