[DeTomaso] Bleeding the cooling system

[MikeLDrew at aol.com]

In a message dated 4/1/13 8 56 19, demongusta at me.com writes:


> Both tanks full? Radiator AND overflow? 
> 
>>>No.   Well, if you do that, when your car heats up, the overflow tank 
will overflow and pee coolant out onto the ground.   Eventually it will find 
its happy spot and stop doing that, but in the meantime you are embarrassing 
yourself every time you stop.


> >I thought the overflow tank was kept about 1/3 full. 
> 
>>>I would suggest half full.   The manual says 'partially', but I have 
always interpreted that to mean halfway.
> 
> 
> >Best with the warmed up, or cold?
> 
>>>You can't really do it when it's cold as the thermostat won't be open 
and you'll have gobs of trapped air.

I love this graphic:

http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=12282

If you don't have access to the shop manual (which I think is an invaluable 
resource), here is the relevant section:

http://www.poca.com/index.php/gallery/?g2_itemId=39204

They make it sound fairly simple and painless, but it's a bit more involved 
and messy than they would lead you to believe.   When you run the engine at 
1500 rpm, the supply tank cap is removed.   As air bubbles work their way 
through the system, and you top the tank off, it will blurp and spill coolant 
all over the sides of the tank and onto the exhaust, making a steaming 
mess.   Although, now that I think about it, the procedure has you run the car 
for awhile and THEN top off the tank; I've always seen people just top off 
the tank immediately, which might be what causes the mess.   I suppose that as 
long as the supply tank never gets low enough so that the bottom fitting is 
exposed and sucks air, having it half-full during the 1500 rpm run would 
suffice, and prevent a mess.   I might have to try that next time.

The manual also doesn't indicate that this is an iterative process.   The 
first time you do it, you'll likely get about 95% of the air out.   Letting 
it cool completely (overnight) and then repeating, two or three days in a 
row, will perhaps get you closer towards the 100% goal.

Years ago, somebody (Jack DeRyke I think?) turned us on to a fantastic tool 
that uses shop air from your compressor to create a vacuum in the cooling 
system; that vacuum is then used to suck fluid from a bucket/jug into the 
system.   It enables you to completely fill the system, cold, with none of the 
engine running/bleeding/blurping process needed, and the vacuum removes all 
the air.   It works unbelievably well!

http://www.amazon.com/550500-AirLift-Economy-Cooling-Refiller/dp/B000IHK1VI

If you have an air compressor, I would give that a serious look.

Good luck, and let us know how it turns out!

Mike