Thread: catastrophic coolant 'leak' (more like a pouring out)

so the bit that came out of the hose you put back in?

Originally Posted by clubagreenie

so the bit that came out of the hose you put back in?

Nope, didn't use it. Somehow I just managed with shaving ever so slightly that lip off to "screw" in the brass one.

Worth mentioning though was that I used a "screw extractor" tool to shave off a smidge of the lip. Perhaps that got things started with a thread of sorts for the brass bleeder screw to get screwed in????

I explained to my husband what I wanted to do and he said it wouldn't work using the screw extractor tool... and that he didn't have a tap n die set - guess he was wrong on that one.... gosh, hope that makes sense!! Eitherway... it worked... maybe a fluke on my part ??

while I know the thread needs something to thread into (which is the bit that fell out or equivalent)... didn't want to risk it so used the clamp as a precautionary measure to hold it there!!)

Cheers,
Lp

I held my broken bleed screw in with a cable tie as temporary measure, are you planning to replace the top hoses? It would be more reasuring to replace top hoses and install the brass screw in the plastic tee piece. Hopefully soon I will look to install an enginesaver alarm on my V8.
Cheers Matt

Originally Posted by imatt

I held my broken bleed screw in with a cable tie as temporary measure, are you planning to replace the top hoses? It would be more reasuring to replace top hoses and install the brass screw in the plastic tee piece. Hopefully soon I will look to install an enginesaver alarm on my V8.
Cheers Matt

I am planning on replacing for sure, however... some have the bleeder screw in the T piece and mine is in the top hose... do you know if they come standard in the T piece now or are there varying types???

Out of curiosity.... - is there any reason why a bleed screw is needed at all? I know the radiator doesn't have a cap (like older cars)... but wasn't that just for releasing pressure... which.... isn't that what the OAT reservoir does??? Are there any folk that drive around without a bleeder screw in any hoses???

Cheers,
Lp

btw - great use of the cable tie too :-D

You need the bleed screw as that's the highest point of the system (until you lift the reservoir to fill, as in the manual) and you need to let the air bleed out. So it is kinda necessary.

Originally Posted by clubagreenie

You need the bleed screw as that's the highest point of the system (until you lift the reservoir to fill, as in the manual) and you need to let the air bleed out. So it is kinda necessary.

Hello,
Hope you are enjoying your afternoon :-)

Thanks for the reply...

... So everytime I put coolant into the reservoir I need to release the bleed screw to let air out??

Isn't that the same as unscrewing the cap off the coolant reservoir and slightly reving the engine to expel any air pockets?

When I took it to the mechanic a while back he did the latter - my 'assumption' was that it was to get rid of any air pockets.... ???

Please correct me if I am wrong - confused now....

Thanks,
Lp

the bleed screw isnt really required if you know how to bleed the cooling system without it. I usually use the coke bottle method and either a jack or a hill to get the vehicle on the right angle.

since I havent done a post up on the coke bottle method and I just happen to have a tdi300 that needs its cooling system filled and an empty coke bottle I'll do up a thread on it.

DO NOT use those T clamps on the thermostat, heater, radiator or expansion tank hoses, its quite easy to torque them around and snap the fitting off of the parent item or to crack it by over tightening. Good quality screw clamps are more than enough and with the correct preparation Ive not had those one use spring clamps leak yet.


reving the engine increases the coolant flow once the thermostat is open and assists in purging the cooling system of air. Due to the fnaegalry in the layout of the cooling system in a modern vehicle they sometimes need a bit more than that.

fnaegalry???