Do you really need to flush/bleed the coolant system as per directions?

Thanks

 

no. i have no idea what they are talking about.

 

Good to hear, it would have been another step that just a PITA to deal with

 

i think once you remove the VSA tube and breather tube you will have some coolant come out so be careful!

sidemarker

 

With this, it still doesn't need a flush/bleed, correct?

Just trying to get my steps right before I install.

 

i just installed my icebox and no coolant came out. again, i have no idea what they mean about flushing/bleeding the coolant system. this is the 3rd intake i have installed on my cl-s and i have never had a problem.

 

Yes, you should bleed the air out of your system after you change the tubing. A large air bubble in the system is not going to be effective to cool the cylinder/block.

It's a pretty easy process - at least my poor man's version of it. If you are really anal you may want to do a complete coolant drain/refill procedure, but this'll do.

First off, you will lose some coolant when changing the tubing, so buy some Honda Type II coolant (premixed) before you install the IceBox as you may need to top off the system. It's good to have a jug of this in the garage as it is. Now is the time to buy some.

After the install you'll want to get the air bubbles out of the system. Remove the cap to the radiator. Turn on car and warm it up in idle about 10 minutes (IIRC, I think technically it's warmed after the radiator fan cycles twice). Turn up heater to max (IIRC, set auto to 90ºF) to open the heater core so the coolant circulates freely. During this process tap/jiggle the the coolant hoses (especially the large upper one) to move the larger bubbles to the top. Don't hurt your fingers -- be careful. You should see several large bubbles percolate through the opening that the cap goes too.

After a few minutes of this the bubbles should stop. You have now bled your system of bubbles. Top off any lost fluid in the radiator or reservoir, put on cap, turn off engine.

Enjoy the IceBox.

 

interesting. certainly not necessary imo.


steve, what do you think?

 

Just to be sure:

 

i better go and burp my cl.


actually i have a gallon of coolant and a bottle of water wetter waiting to go in. you don't have to use the honda brand coolant though, right?

 

I did but there is a Honda dealer near my house so it was convenient.

 

No, I see no reason in real life as to why this is even suggested. I didn't do it either when I put in the low temp t-stat & fan switch. This is the only car I have ever heard of doing such a thing.

 

Huh, all cars should have their cooling system bled if air is potentially introduced. This is standard for all vehicles, domestics and imports and is common knowledge.

Count your self lucky that you are not experiencing any cooling issue; or maybe your system is not operating at peak efficiency.

 

Good info! Well, being anal retentive, I'll bleed the coolant system, shouldn't take more than 15-20 minutes anyway.

 

Last year, when I searched how to do this, I think I got like 1000 hits from a bunch of auto forums on all makes of cars.

Burping the coolant system seems like a pretty common process to me. In fact bleeding our system is easier then some other cars. Some cars have bleeder valves on the radiator that need to be open and purged during the process making it slightly more complicated.

When I did this after installing the IceBox, I saw several decent sized bubbles percolate out -- I'd hate to have those locked in some of the finer tubing of the cooling system.

 

Don't know where I've been then. I never heard of it. Good to know.

 

MattG. I would use the Honda coolant. A couple of years ago there was a high percentage of water pump failures w/gold wing motorcycles. Cause was traced to silicates (think sand and glass) present in other than Honda coolant.

 

Do you have to reset and re-train the ECU after the IceBox install?

 

Yes. Here is how you do it:

1) Turn car on.
2) Drive.



The ECU is constantly 'learning'. There is no need to disconnect the battery or fuse. Steve (scalbert above) has debunked this myth with his ECU monitoring data.

 

thanks for the info BC.