QuestionLong story made short. The coolant expansion bottle in my 89 IL6-cyl, 4.0L, no air conditioning, 4x4 Comanche has started to overheat and blow its lid after about 13 minutes of idling. Recently replaced a thermostat and put in new coolant mixture. Have learned that it must have developed an air pocket.
Have tried 160 and 180 degree thermostats, have tried parking it nose up and a steep incline and then again, nose down, but it still overheats before the thermostat can open and circulate the coolant through the radiator.
My question to you is this: there is a local mechanic who says he has a machine that can suck all the coolant and air out of the engine, right down to collapsing all the tubing too - and then it will shoot the coolant back in and that gets rid of the air pocket. Have you ever heard of such a thing? It seems like it could rupture my gaskets, plastic coolant bottle, and maybe ruin my radiator.
Otherwise, do you know of anything I can do that would purge this air pocket from the block?
Any advice you can offer sure would be most appreciated.
Daryl
Benton, Arkansas
AnswerHi Daryl,
I have never heard of it, but it might work. I doubt the sucking the tubes flat...hoses maybe.
But the air is going to the highest spot in the system usually.
A leaking head gasket can put air back into the cooling system.
A water pump not working can also have similar symptoms.
Van
