# Bleeding the system, overheating car



## chokko (Apr 2, 2007)

Well my car is overheating heavily, steam(or smoke) coming from under the hood. I was thinking of bleeding the system first, then replacing the thermostat and then the water pump if all else fails. My heat does not work as well. I was wondering if some one can tell me how to bleed the system? How to check if the water pump is still good and the thermostat


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## internetautomart (Mar 8, 2004)

to bleed the system you need to raise the front end of the car so that the radiator cap is higher than the dash board.
t-stat is checked in a pot on the stove with water and a thermometer
waterpump :gotme:


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## Jennerz_Dad (Jan 19, 2008)

Raising the front end is a seriously good reply. I had way too many instances of the heater blowing hot and cold (even after the engine was fully warmed up) after any work that involved draining the coolant. Actually, it's called "burping" the system, but I found a website somewhere that described how this wasn't a design problem per se, but rather the natural result of having the radiator cap lower than other parts of the coolant system. Air rises, so.... bubbles form and stay in the system. To fix: I let the engine cool, drove the front up on some blocks so the radiator cap was higher than any of the hoses, opened the radiator cap, started the engine and let it run until the coolant was visibly running through the radiator (Watch Out For HOT radiator fluid), ran the interior heater full blast, and squeezed the upper hose a few times (CAREFUL!) to "burp" out any bubbles. Problem Gone! You may spill a little coolant but hey, when the temperature is about -1 F, I want heat! Good Luck.


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