Coolant burping process

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2012 12:08 pm

I have the infamous leaking water pump around the bolt housing. The bearings seems find. So I'm going to replace it with an OEM pump this weekend. What is the process to burp the cooling system of air?

In most cars, I would just remove the T-Stat housing and fill it up from there and then fill up the reservoir tank and call it good. But the Liberty is a different. It looks like their is a bleeder screw on the upper rad hose. I assume this is the preferred method?

TurboGoKart · **Posted:** Wed Nov 21, 2012 2:51 pm

Don't use the bleeder screw. They are horrible on every vehicle I've touched, and ironically they're almost never the highest point in the coolant system. Normally, the easiest way to actually burp the coolant is to remove the radiator cap, start the car, and let it idle until it comes up to operating temperature (aka, the fan will kick on, signifying that the thermostat has opened up).

You HAVE to leave the cap off until the thermostat opens. Why? Because of the pockets of air that get trapped in the hoses before the coolant has a chance to completely cycle through when the t-stat opens. On the KK, you can do the method I just described. I'm not sure where the cap is on the KJ radiator, or if there's a remote filler neck for those. Wherever you fill it, this is the process to use to completely rid the system of air.

You can help the process along by 'massaging' the two main coolant lines in/out of the radiator to help squeeze the air out. Make sure to keep the radiator full during this process to avoid air being sucked back in to the system.

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:07 am

The radiator on the KJ is sealed and the filler neck/cap is incorporated into the expansion tank located on the firewall. From other articlse I've read. It sounds like it's just a matter of filling the tank, running it for 30 minutes with the heat on and the thermostat opens. This will then force any air into the tank. Let it cool for 30 minutes and then top off again.

TurboGoKart · **Posted:** Thu Nov 22, 2012 9:04 pm

Yup. Since that resoirvoir is the highest point and connected to the sealed radiator, you are correct.

99_XC600 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 23, 2012 4:13 pm

Just finished up. Everything went well and no surprises (Or Leaks). I went ahead and burped it like discussed and had no issues. Overall, the job was a piece of cake. I was waiting for something to go wrong or give me some grief. Thankfully it never did.

TurboGoKart · **Posted:** Fri Nov 23, 2012 7:05 pm

Awesome!! Great to hear!

If you (in the future) notice your temp gauge rise above normal, then back down to normal without changing anything, it's most likely there's an air bubble trapped in there and it would need re-burped. Not at all saying that you'll have that because you bled it like this, only saying it as something to store away in the vault. Lol. Glad it went smoothly! I hate coolant leaks lol.

Coolant burping process

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