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Thread: Need to constantly bleed coolant

  1. #1
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    Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Hey guys, as the title states I need to bleed my coolant every week or so otherwise my car won't start up.
    if it does manage to start and warms up and I turn it off, it will not start back up again.

    I assume it is because the air pocket in the coolant is making the car think it is cold upon start up even though the car is warm so it gives it too much gas and floods the engine. this is extremely troublesome when I go to get gas.

    Do you guys have any ideas as to why I have to bleed it once a week?
    when I do bleed it there is a ton of air pockets coming out of the bleed bolt.

    Thanks in advance.



  2. #2

    Dr_Snooz's Avatar
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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Check for coolant leaks first, of course. Low coolant can cause a lot of funky issues on these cars. Also, you might check the fifty or so temp sensors on the car (okay not really). There is one on the back of the block that we've discussed here at some length in another thread. It's possible that it could go bad and impact starting. I think there is another temp sensor on the coolant neck going into the head, but I'm not sure. Someone with a carb car will have to help me out.

    Otherwise, I would guess that something else is going on that is completely unrelated. Fiddling with the bleeding takes just long enough for the other issue to reset or otherwise resolve itself, allowing you to start again.
    Dr_Snooz

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  3. #3

    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    i think you may have coolant leaking into the cylinders and you are hydrolocking it
    Eric
    3geez member since October 12, 2000
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  4. #4

    2ndGenGuy's Avatar
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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Air pockets in your coolant? I'm going to say that you could have a blown head gasket.

  5. #5


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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Before changing your headgasket and rebuilding your engine i would look at the temp sensor on your intake.over rich on warm start up is usually this. There are several threads on it in this section.


    Wp
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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    I assume you are adding coolant back?
    Check for leaks as was said.

  7. #7
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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Quote Originally Posted by Oldblueaccord View Post
    Before changing your headgasket and rebuilding your engine i would look at the temp sensor on your intake.over rich on warm start up is usually this. There are several threads on it in this section.


    Wp
    I would think that the temp sensor(s) are fine considering it only has trouble starting ONLY when air pockets are present. Which makes sense because the air pocket blocks the sensor from sensing the real temp of the engine. This means the temp sensors work.

    I do not see any leaks anywhere.

    With regard to head gasket leak:
    I checked my engine oil to see if it looks milky (in case the coolant is mixing with it) but it looks fine.

    No trail of white smoke behind my car either.

    It seems as tho when I drive the car everyday, there is almost no air pockets.
    But if i leave the car sitting for a week then drive it...there is tons of air getting into the coolant system and need to bleed it again.

    If it were a head gasket issue, wouldn't there be more air pockets getting into the system when im driving it as opposed to having the car sit??

    Hmm..when I did my EFI conversion, I recall a sensor on the back of the engine by the firewall that was used by the carb...but is no longer there after the swap since the EFI doesn't use it. I don't think i put a bolt back in there to cover that hole...could that be the issue??
    Last edited by DemonicAngel; 10-19-2012 at 06:54 PM.

  8. #8

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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Let me get clear, are you losing coolant?
    I can't picture any coolant taps on the block backside, and you would have swapped manifolds for the efi. There is that pipe though bt if you left one of those fittings out you would be gushing coolant.
    It sounds like a small leak like radiator, heater core or thst housing.. Maybe even water pump issue. Need more info

  9. #9


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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    You need to perform a pressure test. Look for traces of mineral deposit around potential leaks. If you are losing coolant and then have to bleed air out of the system.

    Seems like a hot leak. They can be a pain to locate. Bring car to operating temp, raise RPM and look for leaks.
    Phil

  10. #10
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    Re: Need to constantly bleed coolant

    Quote Originally Posted by nswst8 View Post
    You need to perform a pressure test. Look for traces of mineral deposit around potential leaks. If you are losing coolant and then have to bleed air out of the system.

    Seems like a hot leak. They can be a pain to locate. Bring car to operating temp, raise RPM and look for leaks.
    you were exactly right. warmed up the car, revved the engine and noticed a pinhole leak coming from one of the hoses from the coolant t splitter.
    I couldn't locate it before because it doesn't leak when idling...only when revved.

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