*help* (how to correctly bleed the coolant system)

[dang]

greetings!

i've got a 1990 legacy 4WD wagon, 5-speed, with 203,450 miles. this car is probably the best purchase i've made, as it still doesn't leak a drop of anything and continues to run flawlessly.

i just finished upgrading all sorts of goodness for this car, including:
timing belt, A/C, power steering, alternator belts
plugs, wires
oil, coolant

except, i know there is a specifc way to bleed the coolant system so that the car doesn't overheat... but i don't know what it is. can anyone help with this procedure?

thanks!
dang

[dang]

this is as close as i can find to the info i need (its a quote from another post on this board):

"It's very likely air in the system. When I removed the radiator from my wife's 2.5GT to install the Perrin pulley, it got hot real quickly and I had to purge air from the top air release screw 3 times before it settled down & ran fine at a normal operating temp. Are you aware of the location of this screw? If not, I can take a picture to help you locate it."

but i couldn't find the picture...

any ideas?
thanks very much!
dang

[ooberdoob]

no i don't know, i just didn't want you to feel abandoned in your first 2 posts here :wink:

[strat81]

i'm pretty sure it's similar to bleeding any cooling system...

remove the radiator cap, squeeze each radiator hose until you don't see air bubbles coming up through the radiator. start with the bottom hose and work up. it also helps to have the front of the car lifted so that the trapped air closer to the block can easily make it's way to the front of the car. you will probably have to add coolant as you bleed the system.

[backpack09]

Back from the dead.

Does anyone know the thread size on the bleeder screw? The Dipshit PO of my car stripped it to crap and used silicone to seal it up.

I would like to run a tap through the radiator hole and seal it up with a brass plug if I can find one the same size.

Thanks,
Dan

[Plays_with_Toys]

Not sure of the thread size, but if its stripped you would probably have to go a little larger anyway, so you could switch to a metric/standard of your choice.

[backpack09]

For Future reference. It is M12x1.5 Thread.

But I ended up just going to the junk yard and finding a new bleed screw.