North American Turbocoupe Organization



"burping the Radiator"
oldone Offline
Member
#1
I keep reading about people "burping" the radiator. What is it, and how is it done. I am currently battling some borderline overheat problems and would like to ensure the cooling system is working properly before looking elsewhere. Thanks

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oldone
88 Maroon TC 5 speed
K&N Filter
Gillis boost valve
oldone
88 Maroon TC 5 speed
K&N Filter
Gillis boost valve
220,000 Miles
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GaryS#2 Offline
Posting Freak
#2
I do it by squeezing upper rad hose randomly with engine running and warmimg up, cap off.
When thermostat opens you will get a rush of fluid, sometimes overflowing out, but blip throttle a bit too sometimes helps.
Top up rad, after this you shouldn't have any air.
I can give you another method of eliminating overheat probs if you can't sort it out.
Grocery Getter/Rice Cooker.
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oldone Offline
Member
#3
Thanks. I'll give it a shot and let you know if i need any more help.

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oldone
88 Maroon TC 5 speed
K&N Filter
Gillis boost valve
oldone
88 Maroon TC 5 speed
K&N Filter
Gillis boost valve
220,000 Miles
Reply

Asimov Offline
Senior Member
#4
Just to put in my two cents worth on a very old post, I've had VERY good luck with my method. Maybe this would be a good subject to get a few more opinions on and add to the FAQ

1) Park on a hill with the radiator cap being at the highest point. If finding a hill is a problem, jack up the front drivers side and slip a ramp under that wheel (ramp like you drive up, but just use the one -- don't try to drive up on the single ramp though, use a jack for safety)

2) Turn on engine and fill radiator

3) wait for thermostat to open. You'll see waterflow in the radiator then, and level will probably drop drasticly)

4) add water to top off while reving the engine to 2500-3000 rpm.

5) stop adding when it won't take any more without overflowing while still reving the motor to 2500-3000rpm (a 3rd hand helps)

6) fill overflow tank to about 1/2 way between the full line and the top (overfull, in other words)

7) drive for a day, allow it to cool down and see if the coolant level has dropped in the radiator while sitting on flat ground.

I can't recall mine ever needing to be topped off following this procedure; though most of the time the overflow tank will be down to the "full when hot" line instead of overfull. I'm not positive if this is being leaked out from overfilling, or is replacing small airpockets in the motor. Either way, it works for me Smile

-asi

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1986 TC, k&n, [email protected], timing set at 12.5 (spout out) Very restrictive exhaust at the moment (sloppy cat delete by prior owner)
-asi

1986 TC, 132k pretty well taken care of miles. k&n, gillis@16, timing @ 12 (spout out), A/C delete. 3" Downpipe (no other exhaust... Whoever described that sound as a "pissed off tractor" hit the nail on the head)

[email pics to asimov at forced-induction org for sales/id/showoff purposes (free hosting)]
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TCorBUST Offline
Member
#5
I spliced in a piece from the coolant flush kits to one of the heater hoses at the fire wall. That seems to be a high point the cooling system.

After you put it in you can unscrew the cap and top off the cooling system. You can also let trapped air out by just loosing the cap and then retightening it when liquid comes out. Similar to bleeding a diesel.

You can buy the adapter at AutoZone without buying a whole kit for a less than a dollar. They keep them behind the counter.
'88 TC 5sp, K&N cone, t3.60/.63, ported head, Felpro 1035, Walbro 255 hi pres., Kirban FPR., 3g Alternator
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#6
I've used what TCorBUST did in several other cars.
Pete Dunham


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Asimov Offline
Senior Member
#7
Quote:Originally posted by TCorBUST:
I spliced in a piece from the coolant flush kits to one of the heater hoses at the fire wall. That seems to be a high point the cooling system.

After you put it in you can unscrew the cap and top off the cooling system. You can also let trapped air out by just loosing the cap and then retightening it when liquid comes out. Similar to bleeding a diesel.

You can buy the adapter at AutoZone without buying a whole kit for a less than a dollar. They keep them behind the counter.

I totally forgot about the heater core being the highest point, but when reving the motor, i can't imagine an air bubble being able to stay in pipes that small, with that much flow trough them. Well, i guess it all comes down to what works for you Smile

btw: i'll probably be sticking a coolant flush kit on it next time i have it apart, thanks for the info Smile

-asi

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1986 TC, k&n, [email protected], timing set at 12.5 (spout out) Very restrictive exhaust at the moment (sloppy cat delete by prior owner)
-asi

1986 TC, 132k pretty well taken care of miles. k&n, gillis@16, timing @ 12 (spout out), A/C delete. 3" Downpipe (no other exhaust... Whoever described that sound as a "pissed off tractor" hit the nail on the head)

[email pics to asimov at forced-induction org for sales/id/showoff purposes (free hosting)]
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Ryan H Offline
Posting Freak
#8
IMO, the flushing kits suck. I've used a couple different brands on different cars and none of them did a damn thing.

I think I'm going to try what some people over at TF did and use vinnegar. I remember in grade school when they showed us how vinnegar eats stuff off of soft metals very well by putting a cup of pennies into two cups of vinnegar and shaking them. They came out looking like new!

I'm going to try a 25/75 of vinnegar and water and see what happens. If nothing, I'll try a 50/50 but I don't wanna overdo it. I have also tried an off-brand CLR ripoff and letting a radiator soak in it a few days, didn't work [Image: frown.gif]

If worse comes to worst, just take the radiator to a shop and have them boil it. I hear it is like $25-$35.

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Ryan Harris

1988 TC, 5 speed, all options including sunroof Smile

1987 3.8L V6, C4, 160K miles, no options (winter car, when it works)

RIP 1987 TC, "Built" A4LD, 119K miles, all options except sunroof Sad

My Audio Mixes
'88 TC Smile Walbro 255HP, Stinger FMIC, PIT BOV, Pro 5.0, Kirban, RR cam, FRPP strut tower brace, T3
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Asimov Offline
Senior Member
#9
Quote:Originally posted by Ryan H:
IMO, the flushing kits suck. I've used a couple different brands on different cars and none of them did a damn thing.

I think I'm going to try what some people over at TF did and use vinnegar. I remember in grade school when they showed us how vinnegar eats stuff off of soft metals very well by putting a cup of pennies into two cups of vinnegar and shaking them. They came out looking like new!

I'm going to try a 25/75 of vinnegar and water and see what happens. If nothing, I'll try a 50/50 but I don't wanna overdo it. I have also tried an off-brand CLR ripoff and letting a radiator soak in it a few days, didn't work Sad

If worse comes to worst, just take the radiator to a shop and have them boil it. I hear it is like $25-$35.



Well, adding any extra joints into a cooling system is yet another point of failure, so maybe I will stick with my "use the hill so the radiator cap is the highest point" method.

I'm going to do the 50/50 vinegar thing soon, i'll let you know how it turns out.

You run straight vinegar through coffee makers to clean the same type of deposits off. I can't imagine the vinegar hurting anything in the engine itself... what's it going to come into contact with? aluminum, cast iron, maybe some gasket material, rubber.... any of those would be found in your normal kitchen coffee pot except the cast iron, which I certianly wouldn't be concernecd about. I don't see any danger in trying. Will do it in the next week or so and let you know how it goes.



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1986 TC, k&n, [email protected], timing set at 12.5 (spout out) Very restrictive exhaust at the moment (sloppy cat delete by prior owner)
-asi

1986 TC, 132k pretty well taken care of miles. k&n, gillis@16, timing @ 12 (spout out), A/C delete. 3" Downpipe (no other exhaust... Whoever described that sound as a "pissed off tractor" hit the nail on the head)

[email pics to asimov at forced-induction org for sales/id/showoff purposes (free hosting)]
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Pete D Offline
Administrator
#10
I use 50/50 white vinegar in the coffee pot. Does a nice job
Pete Dunham


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