Hey Woody, Hi All,
Gotta say, all I do is to pressurize my coolant system to 20 psi.
I don't even lift the front end etc.
Bleed the radiator, bleed the thermostat ( if you have a bleeder on it ),
turn on the heaters if you must :o)
That's it.
drive, rinse & repeat.
Never have a problem
best,
JC...
PS: This is also a great time to slide under the bus
& wriggle hoses around to check for leaks and weak connections & parts!
If there's a near problem, under 20 lbs it will more than likely show !!!
On Thu, Dec 24, 2009 at 2:56 PM, Woody Halsey <WHalsey@sya.org> wrote:

>
> Well, I finally found a moment when the sun was still somewhat in the
> sky, the temperature was up and my bro-in-law was willing to keep his
> foot on the accelerator. Here's what happened. Explanations and
> suggestions will be more than welcome!
>
> 1)     Started the engine and drove up onto ramps, raising the nose
> about 8".
> 2)     Opened front and back heaters.
> 3)     Opened bleeder valve on new radiator; took cap off expansion
> tank.
> 4)     Filled expansion tank with water (it was pretty low).
> 5)     Noted serious gurgling, burping and splashing from expansion
> tank, but only
> 6)     Minor hissing from the radiator.
> 7)     Then some coolant escaped from the bleeder valve on the radiator
> ... then....
> 8)     NOTHING more from the radiator -- no air, no liquid -- while the
> expansion tank continued to bubble like a witch's cauldron.
>
> The heater under the back seat was blowing hot air; the front fan blew
> only cold air. I added a total of about two quarts of water.
>
> After about 15-20 minutes I gave up and invited my brother-in-law in for
> a drink by the fire, saying I would not try again until I had received
> the combined Wisdom from The List, hoping that maybe the air bubbles
> will work their way towards the radiator overnight.
>
> Some additional facts:
>
> 1)     Mechanic added fresh coolant with the engine raised, not the
> nose; so clearly the system is in need of bleeding.
> 2)     Thermostat, sensors and radiator are all new.
> 3)     Gauge pegs as soon as the engine is turned on ... but then,
> sometimes, goes back to normal readings. This afternoon it ended up
> looking pretty normal after intitially pegging and flashing.
> 4)     Couldn't find the bleeder valve in the engine compartment. I
> think it was eliminated years ago for some reason; maybe it broke and
> the hoses were just spliced together.
>
> Merry Christmas to all, and thanks in advance.
>
> Woody
> 83.5 V'gon
> Haverhill, MA
>
>
> P.S. Now I am going to mix a cocktail, print out the tree ornament and
> try to pry my kids away from the ginger bread  house project to help me.
>