Help bleeding my rad.....

[petex19]

I'm cautious on what I am about to say as I will knock on wood but I have never bled my rad. I've had my engine pulled out of the car on more then one occasion and have replaced everything from thermostat to coolant bottle which all involve loss of large amounts of coolant and my X has never overheated. I've read on more then one thread that you must bleed your rad everytime you do any of those mentioned tasks as air enters the system. I'm sure you are all exactly correct but I've tried bleeding my system but the hex bolt on the top of the rad doesn't line up nicely with the access hole in the front trunk so my allen key sits on a 45 degree angle and I can't get it to snug in to be able to open the bleed bolt. I've thought about either removing the front grill and seeing if someone could pull the rad forward by hand an inch or so and I could get the allen key into the bleed screw or I've thought about enlarging the access hole a little bit which I'm not very keen on doing.

Has anyone else ever experienced this? I don't know exactly why my rad doesn't line up with the access hole like it should?

'PeteX1/9

 

[JimD]

Sounds like the radiator isn't in the top bracket

Hi Pete,

Here is my guess: When the radiator is installed, it can end up missing the upper bracket. This leaves it titled forward or back, depending on which direction the installer missed.

There is a "button" on the top center of the radiator that should stick through a hole when properly mounted. Check in the center of the same panel the bleed valve and see if you find an empty hole, I think it comes all the way into the trunk. This "button" lines up with the bleed valve across the top line of the radiator. If the button missed its hole, the bleed screw will also not be lined up.

If the radiator is misaligned, it is a fairly simple fix. There are two bolts that hold the rad cross member to the frame. Remove those bolts and you can drop the whole assembly. You do not need to disconnect the hoses or remove the rad support for the radiator to do this, but a floor jack (to support the rad) and another set of hands can be quite helpful.

Support the bottom center of the rad cross member with a floor jack. Undo the bolts holding the cross member to the frame and then slowly lower the rad till you can see up to the top center bracket. Look for the hole for the button, line the rad up and carefully lift it into position. Check the alignment of the bleed valve and if you are happy, put the frame bolts back in and call it good.

To paraphrase something Papa Tony has said in the past: There are 3 ways to install the radiator in the X and only one of them is right.

 

[petex19]

I'm trying to visualize....

I'm sure you are right about it not being alligned. I wonder if anyone has any photos of the rad crossmember that I would be removing. I guess if I jack the front of the car up and get underneath it I will probably see what you are talking about and with my compressor I can do the re-allignment that you are suggesting.

'PeteX1/9

P.S Regarding the fact that I have never done this bleeding, how critical is it as I just finished reading about an Xmember that just broke his bleed screw off. My car is rust free and lived most of its life in my garage but it is 26 years old and I've owned it for 17 of them and that bleed screw has never been touched.

 

[JimD]

Manual page

I wonder if anyone has any photos of the rad crossmember that I would be removing.

Here is the manual page with a nice exploded shot of the parts:
http://www.midwesternmedicalmachine.com/~damonfg/X_FSM/PDF_Files/X1-9_104-01_10-121.pdf

P.S Regarding the fact that I have never done this bleeding, how critical is it as I just finished reading about an Xmember that just broke his bleed screw off. My car is rust free and lived most of its life in my garage but it is 26 years old and I've owned it for 17 of them and that bleed screw has never been touched.

TonyN will tell you : "If you haven't touched it in 17 years, don't touch it now!!" At least... I think he is talking about the bleed screw. At his age he could be talking about another drain valve.

Seriously though. The bleed screw has been know to be stuck. I have never had one stick on any of my Xs... yet. Just be patient and if it feels like it isn't going to turn easily... don't force it.

 

[steve]

that would be me!

I broke the the fitting which is welded into the radiator, not the bleed screw.
I went the whole way -- removed the radiator, had a 1/8" NPT female fitting welded into the radiator, and just finished re-installing it today. The reason for the special fitting is that I installed a push-button bleeder which has 1/8" threads into the fitting. Now I never have to face this issue again. To bleed --- just push the button! I don't know how to put the link to the web page here, but the web site is:
www.jegs.com. Search for "Moroso 710-63765" in case you are interested in doing the same thing. If you have A/C, like I do, removing the readiator is more difficult due to having to detach the A/C condenser.
I'll be happy to go into more detail if you wish -- let us know.