Bleeding cooling system

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djkaosone

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scott schmerge

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Took most of the night. Got alot more coolant in it this time. That bleeder screw on the heater hose broke as I unscrewed. JB Weld Kwik to the rescue. Did not have another screw that would fit. Uncouple the quick disconnect directly in front of port an used that as the bleeder. Runs good now. I did fill all of the hose prior to starting the LR4.

Good deal! On the screw, you can find plastic ones at local auto parts stores. It’s technically a bmw bleeder screw but is the same size. I’ll see if I can find the part number.
 

stl8grey

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I may never dig the JB Weld out of that port. I doubt it will ever come out as the lower half of the bleeder screw never turned. The top half just broke off as I tried to unscrew it. Up in the mountain terrain type vehicle with brittle type parts.
 

ryanjl

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I've been using this for all my cars and it's pretty awesome. https://www.ecstuning.com/b-schwaben-parts/coolant-refill-air-purge-tool/003466sch01/

Basically, you bleed the system and it'll hold a negative pressure. Then using that negative pressure to remove all the air and fill it up with the proper coolant. Genius design.

Here's the manual for it, Coolant Refill / Air Purge tool.

Has anyone used this when the coolant system is already full to make sure it is fully bled, or is it required that you start with a drained coolant system?
 

djkaosone

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Has anyone used this when the coolant system is already full to make sure it is fully bled, or is it required that you start with a drained coolant system?

Yup, there's different valves on this specific unit where it will vacuums out all the coolant. This same unit will also input the exact amount back in.
 

ryanjl

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Yup, there's different valves on this specific unit where it will vacuums out all the coolant. This same unit will also input the exact amount back in.

So it vacuums out all the coolant and then puts it back in?
 

djkaosone

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So it vacuums out all the coolant and then puts it back in?

My unconventional way of using it, yes. I use it to vacuum it out through the purge tube, because we don't have butterfly drain valves like normal vehicles.

Once the coolant is out, this is how you're suppose to use it.
 

mbw

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Just take the lower radiator hose off and let it drain for awhile, then put the hose back on and use the vacuum refill tool to fill the system. It doesn't fully drain the system but it does fill it and keeps air out.

I've drained my coolant and had it filled back up in like 10 minutes not counting the drain time. I can't believe anyone would try to manually bleed these things.

$80 and be done with it. (oh and you need a decent air source, shop air.)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BW39HJS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
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ryanjl

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I bought one from ECS tuning a few months back, when I still was planning on doing all the coolant pipe and water pump stuff myself. So I've got it sitting on a shelf.

Wound up taking it to a mechanic to have the coolant part work done. Mechanic indicated he did all the bleeding the old fashioned way. I picked my Rover up on Monday afternoon, and that night saw that the reserve tank was a little low. Mechanic just advised to put a little more coolant in the tank, and that it must have burped up another air bubble. No problems since then, though, including some short cautious highway driving.
 
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