Pontiac: Coolant backup in '94 Pontiac Grand Am

What kind of car? Some GM cars have bleed screws. You run the engine and
open the screws to bleed it.
"D.M." <com> wrote in message
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Once it 

If you could clarify what you mean by this...

I had a similar problem on a '90 Bonneville, and I think the answer is
pretty universal: The cooling system won't fill completely just by
gravity. There will be cavities in the block, etc, where it just won't
flow on its own. You can fill the system as full as you'd like, and the
engine will get quite hot or even overheat a bit (if you let it).

On the Bonneville, what I do after draining the cooling system for
whatever reason, is to fill the system as much as it will take, fill the
reservoir overfull, and run the engine until the radiator fan comes on.

I shut off the car and let it cool down. As it cools, it 'inhales'
coolant from the reservoir. At first, it'll be quite a bit. I refill
the reservoir again and repeat. Usually, by the 2nd time, I'll start
getting heat inside the car, which means the coolant is getting where it
needs to be.

In fewer words, the cooling system won't fill until it gets hot and
cools back down, inhaling from the reservoir as it does.

Try that.

RB

Fill the radiator as full as you can first!

Here is GM's filling procedure.
------
1. Refill the cooling system with GM Goodwrench® DEX-COOL® or Havoline®
DEX-COOL®. To ensure sufficient engine cooling, freezing and corrosion
protection, maintain the protection level at -37°C (-34°F) lower. Use a
solution that is no more than 70 percent antifreeze.

2. Place the heater and A/C control in any A/C mode except Max and the
temperature in the highest setting.

3. Allow the engine to continue idling until the lower radiator to
coolant pump hose is hot.

4. Cycle the engine speed up to about 3000 rpm and back to idle five
times. Slowly open the bleed valve on the rear of the thermostat housing
for approximately 15 seconds to expel any trapped air in the cooling
system.

5. After the air has been expelled, fill the radiator. Install the
radiator pressure cap, making sure the arrows on the cap line up with
the coolant recovery tube.

6. Allow the engine to cool to outside temperature. Check the coolant
level in the reservoir.
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In article <Q5kIb.16281$news.prodigy.com>,
forharvest says... 

Thanks for the tips guys. For some reason, GM decided to omit the
bleed screw from the thermostat housing on my 95 Grand Am 2.3L. So I
combined the following steps with a couple of suggestions from the
radiator shop I bought the radiator from.

1. Filled the cooling system up again

2. turned on A/C normal at full heat setting

3. warm up engine, cycle the idle

4. pulled the upper most resevoir bottle run-off line. nailed the
throttle a few times. (shop guy says this helps release some air)

5. replaced the removed line. took it on the street and nailed the
throttle again (like you used to for those thunderbirds to get the air
out).

6. now I have heat in the vent again and the engine stays below the
mid point of the temp guage

thanks again and happy new year.

DM

Bon·ne·ville <sp@m.b.gone> wrote in message news:<woh.rr.com>... 

are you sure there is not a cap on the radiator? there must be one
someplace! if not splice into a heater hose with a flush kit, hook
your garden hose onto it and let it run for about 20 minutes with the
drain cock open

http://community.webtv.net/bwclaypool/doc

Yup, no radiator cap. You can only fill it via the cap on the
resevoir bottle. The radiator itself only has the upper and lower
hose connections, a small overflow hose at the very top and the
obligatory trans cooler connections (why must the lower one always
rust out and break when I'm removing them???). That's it, no radiator
top cap (would be nice though). I think my 2.2L Sunfire is the same
way IIRC.

Thanks for the splice tip. I found if I remove the very top small
overflow line, it does the same thing.

Best wishes,
DM


net (B C) wrote in message news:<bay.webtv.net>... 

B.C

There are many cars on the road that do not have a radiator cap on the
radiator. I had an 89 Chevy Cavalier convertible, Z-24, 2.8V6 that had
the pressure cap on the overflow bottle.

I believe a Caprice I rented in Albany, NY in 1993 had the pressure cap
on the overflow bottle.

My car has the radiator cap where it belongs, thankfully.

=========
Harryface
=========

1991 Pontiac Bonneville LE, 3800 V6
_~_~_~_~275,068 miles_~_~_ ~_~_