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CBaez	Need some Help!!I was Giving my kat a check up yesterday for fluid levels ,oil,break fluid,power steering fluid and Radiator. everything ok!! But now My Temp guage is starting to run hot!! I did add some water to the radiator when I was checking all the fluids. I had absolutely no heating problems until I did this. Could adding a little water to the radiator do this? Some advise Please!!
pumpkin	Is the cap on tight.
butchcee	If you had to add fluid, maybe there's a leak somewhere. If the system isn't burped from all the air, you could have an airpocket in the system. Do a search on this site about cooling systems etc.
CBaez	The Cap is tight! I did read the past post on burping the air out. Seems a bit confusing to do. My kat is not overheating its the temp gauge is now reaching to the center and just above. It never did that prior to me adding a little water. I should have just left alone
ALLEY CAT	CB - if the temp needle is just above the center point,,,,you don't have any problem. In Az,,,,,we see the needle at 3/4's many days during the summer months.
CBaez	Hmm! I guess this is a normal thing in Az, I will keep an eye on my guage hopefully this doesnt get any worse.
NIKKI	Sounds normal mine runs half to just a little above half on a 90 degree day with air on, I wouldnt worry about it unless it gets above 3/4 point.
GRROWL	quote: Originally posted by CBaez: I did read the past post on burping the air out. Seems a bit confusing to do. Jump down to "THE TRICK:". -GRROWL quote: Originally posted by GRROWL on 05-11-2003: Some postings had me a bit concerned about doing my own coolant change on several counts, most especially, the reported extreme difficulty in bleeding air from the system (and the consequences of not doing it correctly). As I posted elsewhere, I tried to do a "closed-system" replacement, but that went by the wayside early on when I unscrewed the petcock too far. So, more or less a conventional coolant replacement followed. For the "trick", jump down to "THE TRICK". For the whole process that I used, read on. I did catch the original coolant - no grit, no slime, nothing other than a slightly brownish tinge which I would attribute to Bars from the factory. All in all, it looked pretty good for 3 years/36,000 miles. Since I was doing the MTD 2.2 air intake at the same time, I had the passenger side-panel off, airbox and coolant tank removed. BTW, I would recommend to anyone replacing the stock airbox to remove the coolant tank - I can't imagine doing this job otherwise (and this probably accounts for the reports of original airbox breakage upon removal). The steps I followed: 1. Removed the coolant tank. 2. Opened petcock, attached clear hose to bleed valve and opened, removed upper end of radiator hose from radiator. 3. Hose-flushed throuch larger hose (5/8"?) at coolant tank, hose-flushed through radiator. 4. Jacked car on opposite side as petcock to assist draining and also blew into coolant hoses, bleed valve, and radiator to force out as much flush water as possible. 5. Reassembled, filled with distilled water, brought to temperature. 6. Allowed to cool, removed pressure cap, opened bleed valve, detached upper end of radiator hose, opened petcock, tilted car to drain distilled water (blow, blow, blow again). 7. Installed 5.5 quarts Prestone green and distilled water to fill (about 3.5 quarts), brought to temperature, checked for leaks. THE PROBLEM: I noted that when the car reached temperature (after both steps 5 and 7), I could not feel any coolant in the upper radiator hose. I believe that this is the airlock problem. This seems to be confirmed the next day since there was no air at the bleed valve when totally cold. THE TRICK: WHEN COLD, loosen the upper radiator clamp and move the hose halfway off of the radiator. Screw an air needle (like you use to fill a basketball) into the clear bleeder hose and slip the needle between the radiator hose and the radiator sleeve. Seal it with a couple of small strips of duct tape and suck on it. I WAS ABLE TO ADD OVER A QUART MORE COOLANT THIS WAY. I believe the trapped air problem now has a simple solution. Comments, please. -GRROWL P.S. - Running the math, it looks like all but 1 quart of coolant is drained as a result of tipping the car sideways and blowing into the hoses.
dpena	Brake Bleeding Kit You can get one for under 40 bucks to suck out the air with a basketball needle ------------------ --> My Latest Dyno Video (Prowlerexcitement.com DVD Video Vault- Get it Today!) by: Prowlerexcitement.com (Watch Me Burn Rubber) (Need a Banner, get the Details) (Visit My other Sites) This message has been edited by dpena on 08-10-2005 at 05:23 PM
CBaez	Well I drove from Fullerton to Pasadena and it was pretty warm today. I also had the Air on and my temp gauge pointer did not get passed the center although it did stay there. I am just not used to seeing it there, I drove all summer and it never even got close to the center. But I guess if it stays at the center I shouldn't worry about it. Thanks for all the replies guys!!
Gene	My Kat has always read just past half summer or winter driving.Summer driving here is 90+ each day,really to hot for top down until after sunset.It does not sound like you have any problem at all.Just enjoy.
quincy	If your cooling system is intact (not leaking) and your electric cooling fan is operating (should cycle with A/C on), and your coolant is fresh (not over 3 yrs/36,000 old), try this fix. Dust, dirt, salt, bugs, etc. can, over time, clog up/coat the cooling fins in the radiator. With the engine off, take your garden hose with the hose end sprayer installed, and from the back side of the cooling system radiator flush/wash the radiator for a couple of minutes. Try to get the most area coverage possible, but try not to soak the electric fan motor to bad. This has helped me in the past!
ALLEY CAT	While I agree with Quincy's point of view,,,,,I use my air compressor to blow high-pressure air from the back side of the radiator through it,,,instead of water. jmo
quincy	I have seen the high pressure air work as good or better than the water. Problem with the air method is you need a high quality, high volume air compressor, and not every home owner has one. Most home owners do have either a well or city water hook up. Also, the water flushes out the clingy salt residue a bit better than compressed air.
ed monahan	To add water you should just be putting it in the plastic reservoir/overflow and not the radiator. I don't think you have a problem, however.
kees	I agree with Ed. No need to open the cap on the radiator. I personally would never add any 'water' but the appropriate radiator fluid. Adding water evaporates and will put corrosion into your radiator and engine in the longer term. Kees