Stupid Question, stupid answers might make me laff

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

Ok, so i need to know how to burp the cooling system in my car, i tried beer last night, patting it on the back... everything. but it just seems to be shooting nothing but steam out of the bleeder valves (for 15 mins straight) i checked and the rad is full. the reserve tank is sitting on the cold line, and the car is almost over heating according to the dash gauge. BUT no heat from the vents, and i had both bleeders open for 15 straight mins with the engine at 2k rpm and still nothing but steam. the one on the front rad hose kindof got a little bit of a drip. but i hear it should shoot a stream of coolant out.
what am i doing wrong? or is my water pump not pumping water? the engine had no thermostat before, and i had to ask a couple people to find out that it goes springs towards the motor (is that right?) or springs to the rad? either way, its on the hose by the coil packs. i have no idea which way the coolant flows but it makes sense if it comes out that hose i guess, but yes... no heat, no stream of coolant... no nothing. just steam and a really high coolant temp gauge.

thanks in advance for any help or advice

[robertisaar]

quite a few things here: lack of heat after 20 mins would have pointed to a bad heater core, but since there is no shit STEAM flowing out of the bleeders for that long, i'd say your water pump is done: the coolant thats getting heated up by combustion isn't moving at all, so it keeps building temp and eventually turns to steam, which rushes the fuck out of wherever it wants after it builds up, it goes to the bleeders. you may have warped heads now due to them heating VERY unevenly. i would quit driving that car until this is taken care of...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

ok, so i was taught a little lesson today from my old man. he told me to rev and let it drop a bunch of times, that will get things fllowing if your pump isnt doing the trick. i thought the same thing (dead water pump) but when i took his advice and revved it up and let it drop suddenly i had a GOOD stream of coolant shooting out of both bleeders at once. it held steady when i didnt rev it so i closed em off and now i gotta wash all the antifreeze off the garage floor and my engine!! haha but i still think i have a weak water pump. it is putting out heat, LOTS of it. and the temp gauge stays in the middle (BANG on in the middle) so i think its gonna be ok. it doesnt seem to be burning any funny coloured smoke and it can haul just as much ass as it did before.



BUUUUUUUUT maybe its because its getting up to normal running temp now, but it sounds different. i have 2 3/4" open pipe with two cherry bomb type mufflers, and one resonator. no cat. now, when i rev it up to sporty style it, it sounds different. im not sure how to explain it. but ive been told since the engine is warmer the computer wont try flooding it so bad with gas. could this by why it sounds different?

[robertisaar]

yes, possibility. if you ever get the chance to play with an ECM that can use mode 4 commands, when its at full temp and closed loop, try commanding the AFR to 12.5 at idle. BIG difference until the command times out. the ECU also adjusts the spark quite a bit depending on coolant temp, something else that can change the sound a little...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

if a guy has a shitty water pump, would removing the tstat help his problems without replacing the water pump?? i think this may be what was done to the motor before i bought it.

[robertisaar]

makes sense, less restrictions in the path of the coolant means it flows easier... so technically a weak, worn out pump could be used a little longer by just removing that stat...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

yup, i think thats what they did... it wont over heat if i drive it hard. but i got stuck in a bit of construction traffic and she got just past the 3/4 mark on the heat gauge. i think my water pump is pooched. if i rev it up it drops after a bit (hold at 3k for 10 seconds it drops INSTANTLY to half) i think it builds up just enough pressure and pops the tstat. dumping in the colder coolant from the rad. too many of these and i bet i get a cracked block. so the car is parked till i get my smelly hands on a water pump... any other opinions?? could there be another cause to this? like maybe a blown head gasket and when it revs up it builds up just enough pressure to dump the T stat? but at idle the leak is enough to de-pressurize the system? an air leak or air bubble? i think i got the air out though. i was revvin it pretty good with the valves open, and with both open even while revving up i cant make enough pressure to get ANYTHING let alone steam or a stream of coolant out of them. so i have to do them one at a time and kinda go back and forth.

im really betting on the water pump though.

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

i was just suggested to check out my rad cap. if its bad then it wont pressurize. old guys are full of useful knowledge when they can shut up about the old days and talk about something were willing to listen to

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

isnt the rad cap... could it be that i put the thermostat in backwards? it goes on the lower hose, right?

[robertisaar]

read...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

if thats what i think it is, i love you and thank you so much

[robertisaar]

if thats what i think it is, i love you and thank you so much

i'll say this: it is NOT goatse...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

i <3 you robertisaar. if you ever need a reach around, just let me know.

Edit: never listen to your old man boss about where things go when youre damn sure they go somewhere else...

you guys can all laugh your asses off at me. but i was trying to put the tstat in on the lower rad hose. and i got mine in without taking off my torque strut mount, fuel lines or anything, just the air cleaner and a lot of luck. oh and i dont mind so much when my hands or fingers get smashed in shit and bleed. i just hate when my head bleeds. lol

[robertisaar]

i <3 you robertisaar. if you ever need a reach around, just let me know.

maybe when the wife isn't watching...

never listen to your old man boss about where things go when youre damn sure they go somewhere else...

always trust your gut, more often than not, its right...

[SofaKingWeToddDid]

i hears ya... sometimes when you hear that overbearing voice of someone confidently bullshitting like they know what theyre talking about and you blindly follow thinking its going to get the job done quicker... im mad at myself because i knew it was there. i dont wanna say it but i did. and i just wasnt thinking. i was pissed off because of how long it took my shop to let me do it there when i have been working on someones trailer for 3 days (who works there also and isnt paying for my time, the shop is) and i could have brought my car in and taken my time doing it instead of rushing to get it done in 1 hour on friday. thinking that was enough time, and it would have been, had everyone else had fucked off and let me do it myself. i NEVER fuck up on my own. when other people start stickin their dick in the other hole shit gets really fucked up. why cant they just let me do it on my own??? ive had a few drinks... had to rant. i got the job done but i still think i have an air bubble.

easily dealt with. when sober.