Joe5.0

Whats the best way to get the air bubbles out once the icebox is installed, and is it 100% neccesary?

NiteQwill

To prevent any damage to the engine, yes, of course it is necessary.

Open your radiator cap and start your engine.
Let it warm up in idle (needle at normal op-temp).
Open up the heater core by turning the heater on in the car on full temp and full fan.
You will see the coolant level drop, now squeeze the big upper hoses until you see all the air bubbles escape.
Top off coolant and overflow bottle. Enjoy

phipark

I just took the radiator cap off and squeezed all the hoses until bubbles stopped coming out. I didn't start the engine though.

Slimey

According to the shop manual, the car is considered 'warmed up' after the radiator fan cycles twice.

umcp

why is this necassary?

and how would you know if you have to do this ?

thanks.

phipark

It's possible to trap air inside the radiator, which can lead to heating over.

NiteQwill

You need to open up the heater core to circulate the coolant. What you did was just squeeze the hoses with standing fluid = the same as not bleeding at all.

darrinb

u get the ice box in yet joe??

phipark

hmmm...didn't know that. I haven't been having any problems though even after I installed the Mugen cooling mods.

Joe5.0

Yep Darrin installed it last night. I squeezed the hose as the engine was running, but I was afraid that the coolant would overflow too much, and I didnt have someone to sit in the car and turn it off quickly if it needed to be. I'll finish it off tommorow morning.

Install was pretty straightforward, but the stupid plastic clips in the fenderwell were the biggest PITA. It didnt help there was a thick layer of road salt covering everything.

I couldnt really tell a difference in hp, and it sounds I would say 95% the same as stock. I'm gonna dyno it within a week or two and see if I gained anything. If not I'll just sell it, and put the $$ towards some new tires. I'm sure it takes a little time for the computer to adjust, so I'm holding my judgement on it till i dyno it.

umcp

would this procedure be needed if i installed an aem cai?

thanks.

NiteQwill

Yes

Joe5.0

Niteqwill has anyone that has NOT done the bleed had any adverse affects from it? Just curious, since I cant ever recall reading about anyone having cooling problems.

phipark

I installed the AEM and never bled the coolant. No problems whatsoever.

sxsublime

i installed it without bleeding it and the engine temp meter would go up and show an over heat while idoling for a long period of time, it wasn't actually over heating, it was causing a false read.

NJTypeS

I've had my CAI installed for 4 years, never bled the radiator and never had any problems. I do have my radiator flushed every 2 years though

Slimey

I'm not aware that anyone has documented any problems, however for such an easy manuever, it makes no sense to me to ask for a problem.

If you have a air pocket in a coolant line as it travels around the cylinder head, you can be asking for trouble.