lumina coolant

[wucka]

Hello, I have a '97 Lumina 3.1L and I replaced the water pump...No problem. But, I am not sure how to bleed the coolant properly. Can anybody help?
Thanks, Ben

[maxwedge]

Bleeder on the crossover pipe front of engine and thermostat housing, open them up engine running till you get a nice stream of coolant, careful not breaK them off.

[cf1]

Originally Posted by wucka

Hello, I have a '97 Lumina 3.1L and I replaced the water pump...No problem. But, I am not sure how to bleed the coolant properly. Can anybody help?
Thanks, Ben

theres a pipe that runs along the top of the engine with bleeder plugs,,

[wucka]

I opened the bleeders, but unable to get steady stream.

[maxwedge]

Run the engine up to 1500, keep adding coolant to the radiator as necessary.

[jeffcoslacker]

I have the best luck filling it with the motor off, bleeders open. Fill until it flows from the bleeders. Close everything up, start the motor and let it warm to operating temp. Then shut it off and wait about ten minutes or so, then carefully remove the cap and open the bleeders again. Fill as before, close when coolant runs from the bleeders. Road test.

You HAVE to road test, with air they can sit there and idle cool all day, then suddenly spike as soon as you start driving it...I've even seen some sit in the shop running at 2000 rpm for 20 minutes running cool, and overheat within a few blocks when driven...bizzarre...

for some reason filling while running seems to complicate the process for me...

I really like the way they did the 2.5, where you pull the 'stat out and fill it from there...great idea...wish they'd done others that way.

[Luminut]

Originally Posted by cf1

theres a pipe that runs along the top of the engine with bleeder plugs,,

I found the bleeder plug on the thermistat housing but I can't find the other one!

[travelair]

You found the harder one to find in my opinion. If the other one was a snake, you'd be dead. It's above the water pump. Follow the long black metal line across the front of the engine toward the passenger side. It turns 90 degrees and connects to the water pump housing. The bleeder screw is on top.

[wafrederick]

I found it much easier this way and do without the engine running.Remove one side of the bypass hose and start pour in coolant until it runs out slowly.Reinstsall the bypass hose and secure the clamp.This does work and I do this way on lot of vehicles.

[RotorBalls]

I just did this job on sunday on my 90 lumina. I couldn't find either of the bleeder plugs. I just kept starting and stoping it with and without the rad cap. I removed the hose from the pipe that comes out of the water pump for a bit as well but didn't get a steady stream. After a handful of tries the system finally cleared itself out. Someone really needs to post pics of these bleeders. I saw something on top of the thermostat housing that could have been it, but didn't know and didn't want to unscrew it.

[jamesmetairie]

don,t drop it. = on one of my previous 3.1 engines i dropped the little bleeder screw and couldn,t find it for a while . the dealer price was my incentive to search till it was found.

[Luminut]

Originally Posted by travelair

You found the harder one to find in my opinion. If the other one was a snake, you'd be dead. It's above the water pump. Follow the long black metal line across the front of the engine toward the passenger side. It turns 90 degrees and connects to the water pump housing. The bleeder screw is on top.

Found out my son-in-law routed the belt wrong workes fine now.
New problem: developed a rattle in the rear head, tore the engine apart & pulled the lifters. How do I get them checked to see if they are collapsed or not? Thanx.