D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

When I drive, I believe (and confirmed from APS) that there are pockets in the cooling system, as the temp gauge goes to hot, sometimes drops back down, etc. Was also fine for the first 2 weeks after install.

So today I drained the coolant from the drain plug on the bottom of the radiator to re-do the coolant. Put that back, poured coolant in, less than 4 quarts and it was filled. I am now assuming that the coolant also has to be drained in other places...anybody know where and if this will be impossible to access with the APS TT in? Anybody with the APS TT flush and re-install coolant yet? With the four new quarts, I did the whole process listed from APS install guide, still have the same issues, so the air pockets are still in that 6 or so quarts still in the car.

Any advice would be appreciated!

g356gear

iTrader: (12)

I did a rad change-out and did the same instructions as APS listed. It worked fine but I did it with the front of the car up in the air at an angle on jackstands. This seemed to help the air escape the system a little better. I had only a small amount of air in the motor that I released in a series of steps at the bleeder screw at the pass rear of the motor. Maybe try the front end up on stands??

booger

iTrader: (6)

We used just the bleeder on the back passenger side of the motor . Only took a couple of times to get the air out

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Can you give me more info on what you did to do that? Do you just let the coolant circulate, take it off, put more coolant in until it overflows, and keep doing that?

With the APS TT, that bleeder gets replaced by a T fitting.

GurgenPB

iTrader: (2)

I unfortunately have a little too much experience bleeding this car, given the issues I had after the initial sleeved block assembly.

Here is the bottom line... If your cooling system does not have any leaks (you can test this with a tester, don't go above 20psi) and holds pressure, then the cooling system, even though it has a pretty bad reputation, WILL bleed itself, provided that you did the bleeding procedure at least 2 times (the more the better).

That procedure is outlined in the shop manual, as well the APS install manual, so i won't go into it here. Jacking the front of the car helps (but not necessary), as when you open the bleeder valve in the back, it is guaranteed to be below the level of hte radiator fill cap. This procedure works, but is very tedious.

One other thing that was exteremely helpful during the procedure was squeezing of the radiator hoses, the inbound (top) and the outbound (bottom). It helps to squeeze them synchronously AT THE SAME TIME. You should only do this when the car is at idle (the coolant flow rate through the heater supply hose with the bleeder valve is very low) or off. When you are doing the 3000rpm rev and hold portion of the procedure, do not squeeze the hoses, as this is the time the bubbles are moving through the system, and you want them to clear out of the place that accumulates them, the heater core. One thing that IS helpful is, when you do the 3000 rpm rev and hold, to squeeze and shut off (for a few seconds at a time) the heater supply hose (which has the bleeder valve on it). Since this hose is coming UP from the main metal coolant return pipe (on the p-side), bubbles are likely to go UP into that hose, so pinching it helps them move into the radiator, which is your ultimate goal. You can do the same (pinch) to the bypass hose, which also comes UP from the return pipe, and bypasses the radiator accross the front of the engine and goes into the thermostat housing. Do this ONLY if the car is at normal operating temp, i.e. when the thermostat is open (and functional).

Ideally, you should perform the bleeding procedure as described in the documentation. The pointers I gave above ARE optional. If that doesn't work very well, like it did not for a while, you can try to find one of thsoe funnels that will fit in the radiator filler neck, and use that while you bleed the system (both revving and the let down/cooling stages of the procedure).

Since I couldn't find such a funnel, I made my own bleeding device, that will allow me to fill and bleed (95% of the air) the entire system in about 15 minutes. They are basically fittings that connect to the heater inlet, the heater supply hose (which I modified with an additional tee that is easy to disconnect for this procedure), and the radiator filler neck (with a modified filler cap); two of these (via clear silicone tubing) are connected to the BOTTOM of a one gallon water container (the arrowhead kind). The heater supply hose comes over into the bottle from its filler neck, and this is the hose that will have most of the bubbles. Clamping some of the hoses during the procedure in a strategic manner, and holding the engine at 2300 or so RPM bleeds the system VERY efficiently and very quickly. BTW, this is how i know (clear tubing) that squeezing of hte hoses works!

wow, that was way too long, but let's hope it helps. Let me know if you need any help.

t32gzz

iTrader: (1)

Just fyi, SnapOn makes a radiator evacuation tool that pulls all of the air and coolant out of the system and replaces the coolant bubble free. Jotech used one on my car when they had issues.

xxlbeerZ

iTrader: (8)

The cheapest I could find so far is the one here towards the bottom for $73.25. Anyone find one of these tools cheaper?

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/TTW388.html

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Think any local places (sears, autozone, etc) would have something like that?

GurgenPB

iTrader: (2)

I've searched all over...they don't.

You honestly don't need the evac kit (you would need a compressed air supply for that, you do know that right?). Just use the basic nissan procedure and you'll be fine.

350zDCalb

iTrader: (21)

i had the issue of my coolant overflow tank overflowing last time around...this time, when filling the coolant, we jacked up the front of the car and filled the coolant with a coolant funnel...
i repeated this process three nights in a row, opened the bleeder valve on the passenger side just a bit...and after this process, i have yet to have the coolant overfill tank spill over..so this process worked!

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Thanks for all of the help guys! I took it to the dealership and they bled it out using that pump tool for $60. The guy that did it though said that he didn't get as much PSI as normal. He also said the engine compartment just smells like burnt coolant and thinks I have a leak somewhere...couldn't see anything though. I've never had coolant dripping...so not sure what I can do about this? The smell is definitely very strong, and I've noticed it for the past 2 weeks or so as well after driving.

On the upside, the temp gauge didn't go to hot on the drive home, went into boost and all....so far so good on that....hopefully he got enough of the air out.

But any ideas on what I can do about that smell? To me it sorta smells like the same kind of way when I opened up my carbon fiber hood for the first time...so I thought maybe because it was getting so hot....but the dealership said def. smells like burnt coolant.

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Actually my buddy just brought up a good point. I've had coolant come out of the bleeder hole on the res. tank a bunch of times recently, and also from the bleeder piece in the back, as well as some overflow on the radiator cap when I pulled it off once. Think it's just burning that off, and that's causing the smell? If so, eventually that should just all burn off and all shoudl be good, correct? Again, just re-iterating that we could not find a leak anywhere and there are no drips.

Thoughts?

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

Another little trick, is to fill the cooling system from the heater release valve near the passenger side firewall, while the car is jacked up as high as possible. This will get the coolant to, hopefully, fill towards the heater core, and the work its way to the radiator.

After that, you have to use a combination of the various methods to get it perfect. Oftentimes, you have to drive the car for a few days, and try again...even if you think you got all the bubbles out.

g356gear

iTrader: (12)

Agreed. Even after a few days I was still topping up the radiator with distilled water.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

Interestingly enough, we were doing some more tuning on the car last night, and I decided to purge the system again. We tried some new techniques, and I swear, there was a fountain of foam and bubbles visible as we bled the system. It was really disgusting...but after 2 more hours, we finallly got everything out. The car runs remarkable cooler. Full throttle load based dyno pulls never saw more than 208F!! We were used to seeing 220-225F prior to the most recent purge. At idle...the temp was 190F on the dyno.

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Wait so what do you do the bleed the system? You have to pull the coolant out and put it back in right? Where are you saying the bubbles at?

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

You dont need to drain the coolant. Draining it is like starting all over.

While the car is running, we cracked open the heater core valve, and let the coolant bubble out. You oftentimes will need to open the radiator cap as well, and bubble it out from there as well.

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

Got pics of the heater core valve? Want to make sure it's what I'm thinking.

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

I don't, but you cant miss it. Is close to the fireall on the flexible rubber hose on the passenger side of the engine. It is made of plastic, and you will need a large philips screwdriver to open it. It is very distinct.

D@ActiveTuning

iTrader: (17)

That was replaced with the APS TT with a t-fitting. So in order for me to bleed air out of there, I'd have to take one of the coolant hoses off....probably not a good idea to run the car like that lol.