Wait did you also break your bleeder screw? They do become brittle. There are brass replacements floating around I just have not bothered replacing yet. So with your bleeder screw near battery was it broken?
Bleeding Coolant procedure 2014 LR4 how to ?
- Thread starter Angelfaced81
- Start date
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jlglr4
Full Access Member
Here’s the bleed procedure from a manual that I used successfully:
(1) Get the coolant reservoir free and raise it up about 1.5”. You can’t raise it up much, but it doesn’t take much. Just need the rim higher than the highest bleed point. I lifted it a bit, and just put something underneath it to hold it up. Manual says to remove the headlight to get the reservoir free, but I don’t think that’s necessary.
(2) Open all four bleed points. There is one on the front crossover (plug), one near the firewall, one on the tube leaving the top of the radiator, and one on the reservoir itself.
(3) Fill the reservoir all the way up and watch for coolant at the first bleed point (front crossover). Once that starts bleeding, cap it.
(4) Keep filling until you see coolant at the second bleed point near the firewall. Close that bleed point.
(5) Close the bleeder on the reservoir. You now have just the radiator tube bleed open.
(6) Start and run the engine. Continue to top with coolant and watch for coolant at the radiator tube bleed point. Once it bleeds, close it.
(7) Turn the motor off and wait at least a minute. Top up the coolant if needed.
(8) Turn the heater controls (front and rear) to maximum and restart the car.
(9) Hold the RPMs at 2000 until the coolant level in the expansion tank drops.
(10) Increase to 3500 RPM until hot air is emitted from front and rear face vents. Keep an eye on the coolant level and keep topping up a couple inches above the cold fill range. Also watch your temp gauge - make sure something isn’t going awry.
(11) Let it idle until the coolant level stabilizes - hot air should still be coming out of the vents.
(12) Shut it off and reinstall the reservoir. Top it up just above the cold fill if its not already there and check it frequently for the first few drives.
(1) Get the coolant reservoir free and raise it up about 1.5”. You can’t raise it up much, but it doesn’t take much. Just need the rim higher than the highest bleed point. I lifted it a bit, and just put something underneath it to hold it up. Manual says to remove the headlight to get the reservoir free, but I don’t think that’s necessary.
(2) Open all four bleed points. There is one on the front crossover (plug), one near the firewall, one on the tube leaving the top of the radiator, and one on the reservoir itself.
(3) Fill the reservoir all the way up and watch for coolant at the first bleed point (front crossover). Once that starts bleeding, cap it.
(4) Keep filling until you see coolant at the second bleed point near the firewall. Close that bleed point.
(5) Close the bleeder on the reservoir. You now have just the radiator tube bleed open.
(6) Start and run the engine. Continue to top with coolant and watch for coolant at the radiator tube bleed point. Once it bleeds, close it.
(7) Turn the motor off and wait at least a minute. Top up the coolant if needed.
(8) Turn the heater controls (front and rear) to maximum and restart the car.
(9) Hold the RPMs at 2000 until the coolant level in the expansion tank drops.
(10) Increase to 3500 RPM until hot air is emitted from front and rear face vents. Keep an eye on the coolant level and keep topping up a couple inches above the cold fill range. Also watch your temp gauge - make sure something isn’t going awry.
(11) Let it idle until the coolant level stabilizes - hot air should still be coming out of the vents.
(12) Shut it off and reinstall the reservoir. Top it up just above the cold fill if its not already there and check it frequently for the first few drives.
ScottE
New Member
Just adding to this and seconding others from other threads. I've drained and filled the coolant on a few different vehicles the manual way and it is always a pain in the butt. I used the vacuum fill for the first time on my 2016 LR4 when I did the rear heater manifold and the water pump, it was totally painless. I had followed the shop manual procedure which says just drain from the lower radiator hose then refill with the vacuum, heat up and run the heat full blast.
Best part about the vacuum was you can find leaks before filling the system. If it can't hold a vacuum then there's going to be a leak. Likewise if it holds a vacuum, you can have some confidence in refilling the system. First time I pulled a vacuum, it wouldn't hold and I easily found I had a leak at the little plastic elbow (was cracked) on the front of the cooling pump. With it being a Saturday, had to find the only open LR dealer and buy the whole hose assembly to get that little elbow. But that was much better than filling it and pouring coolant out of the front of the water pump and having the car out of commission until Monday afternoon.
Anyway I used this system from Amazon, I'm sure others work well too but this was recommended:
OEMTOOLS 24444 Coolant System Refiller Kit
Also a video explaining how to use it, which is similar for most cars:
Saved many hours of time, refilling, putting the car up on ramps, holding the reservoir up high while running the heat hot, etc, always carrying a bottle of coolant and checking level at every stop.
Only caveat I found is the shop manual says use the vacuum filler to fill to the max line on the reservoir. That wasn't nearly enough, I filled it much higher, probably 1.5" from the top, and then still had to add coolant after the initial full heat up and engine run. But after that initial run and fill back to the max cold fill line, I haven't had to add any more.
Definitely worth the cost for a one time job, and if you expect to drain and refill coolant more than once (typical on these vehicles) it's a no brainer.
Best part about the vacuum was you can find leaks before filling the system. If it can't hold a vacuum then there's going to be a leak. Likewise if it holds a vacuum, you can have some confidence in refilling the system. First time I pulled a vacuum, it wouldn't hold and I easily found I had a leak at the little plastic elbow (was cracked) on the front of the cooling pump. With it being a Saturday, had to find the only open LR dealer and buy the whole hose assembly to get that little elbow. But that was much better than filling it and pouring coolant out of the front of the water pump and having the car out of commission until Monday afternoon.
Anyway I used this system from Amazon, I'm sure others work well too but this was recommended:
OEMTOOLS 24444 Coolant System Refiller Kit
Also a video explaining how to use it, which is similar for most cars:
Saved many hours of time, refilling, putting the car up on ramps, holding the reservoir up high while running the heat hot, etc, always carrying a bottle of coolant and checking level at every stop.
Only caveat I found is the shop manual says use the vacuum filler to fill to the max line on the reservoir. That wasn't nearly enough, I filled it much higher, probably 1.5" from the top, and then still had to add coolant after the initial full heat up and engine run. But after that initial run and fill back to the max cold fill line, I haven't had to add any more.
Definitely worth the cost for a one time job, and if you expect to drain and refill coolant more than once (typical on these vehicles) it's a no brainer.
HuskerBred
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the bleeding instructions. This was super timely for me. I had my car in a couple weeks ago to identify an oil leak and the tech must have moved a coolant clamp out of the way and forgot to reinstall it properly. Yesterday i got the engine overheat warning as I pulled into my drive and found the hose was disconnected. After reconnecting it and the clamp, I found this post and after finding the bleed points on my 5.0, I'm all done and rolling again. So to recap, in the last 2 weeks I've installed lower control arms, vacuum pump, front air struts, replaced the battery and now bled the coolant system. Much more and my wife will be making me sleep in the garage.
Exped make an inflatable mattress that fits the rear very nicely, the megamat duo 10. If your garage isn't level, add in an XLifter and you can sleep in comfort.
