[frogg320]

I, for one, would like to say that even if you have a high mileage car, if things don't need replacing, I don't think they need to be replaced. Sure, things like the water pump which have a bad reputation and are hard to inspect might be a very good idea--I upgraded to a Stewart pump myself based on just that concern. But hoses, for example, you should be able to manually inspect for wear and age. If they're fine, there really isn't any point in replacing them. When the thermostat goes bad, you'll know about it, just stay on top of inspecting your car and reading codes regularly and I think you can save a lot of money by not replacing perfectly good parts. Just my two cents!

That said, good writeup, thanks! I'm a big fan of your site.

 

[frogg320]

^^ I agree, I replaced the thermostat, water pump and expansion tank and cap this past weekend, hoses were in perfect shape, I double checked the orings inside and all fine so I reused them .. I am all up for replacing hard to reach parts while doing something else, like on this case I was doing the thermostat so why not the water pump? but hoses? you can access those without removing anything else on the car

Good point. If it's impossible to reach without taking everything apart and you're already in there, might as well if you're not sure.

 

[frogg320]

I, for one, would like to say that even if you have a high mileage car, if things don't need replacing, I don't think they need to be replaced. Sure, things like the water pump which have a bad reputation and are hard to inspect might be a very good idea--I upgraded to a Stewart pump myself based on just that concern. But hoses, for example, you should be able to manually inspect for wear and age. If they're fine, there really isn't any point in replacing them. When the thermostat goes bad, you'll know about it, just stay on top of inspecting your car and reading codes regularly and I think you can save a lot of money by not replacing perfectly good parts. Just my two cents!

That said, good writeup, thanks! I'm a big fan of your site.

So, my expansion tank just popped, luckily I was only a couple miles away from home and some duct tape and cold weather managed to get me home safely! I took out the old one to inspect damage and found I also had a bad radiator cap (the bottom O-ring section broke off) and I have a hose going bad connecting to the expansion tank...also a bad idler pulley.

Anyway, in light of this, I think it may make sense to preemptively replace the expansion tank. It fails because it gets brittle over time and heat cycles (NOT because of overfilling, as lots of people will say...you basically can't overfill this system if the cap is functioning properly, it will just overflow to the right level).

It's a $40 part online (autohausaz is my shop of choice), and it is kind of a PITA but it's probably worthwhile. Now, I have 152k on the clock, so I think replacing it every 60k might be excessive...that said, some will break earlier, and perhaps it's hard to prevent that. Maybe replacing it every 100k is a good policy--hoses I still believe you can inspect/feel and watch for signs of failure, but brittle plastic is hard to tell from new plastic, and that's why I'd replace it early. I'm driving from GA to NJ next week, and I'm lucky this didn't happen then.

This has got me thinking, though...there are plastic end tanks on that radiator, which is probably the same age. Is this a good time to replace that as well? Hmmm. It costs more like $140, so I'm a little less eager to do so, but perhaps I should learn my lesson. On the other hand, expansion tanks have a much worse reputation, and the end tanks look a little better-designed (reinforcing ribs and such)...

...shall we find out? :jab:

 

[frogg320]

Your heater core isn't bled--make sure you follow the instructions about opening the valve when you're bleeding. This is what I did:

(starting with a cold car)
-Turn key to ignition position (position 2?), but do not start engine
-Move dial on vents to full hot
-Set temp control to max (it goes up to 90 something, I think)
-Select foot mid and defrost blowers
-Set fan to LOWEST setting. You could run higher, but there is no point.

One or more of these steps may be unnecessary, but since you have to kind of trick the temp controls into doing what you want I felt like I should cover all the bases...anyway, this worked for me, and definitely gets the car trying hard to use the heater core.

Now with this going, open the bleeder screw and then open the radiator cap and start filling until it pours out of the bleeder screw without bubbles. As it's pouring out, close the screw, then put the cap back on. Start her up, get up to temp, check for issues. At this point sometimes I crack the bleeder screw again, and hot coolant will start spraying out...be careful! Perhaps not necessary. You can skip right to the last step, which is waiting a really long time for it to get all the way cold again and then repeating the process.

After 2 of these you should definitely have it overfull, and you'll see some dried spots where it flows out of the cap afterward. This is healthy, do not listen to the stories about expansion tanks cracking because someone overfilled them, it's not true.

For me, the best test to see that I had gotten every bubble out (besides the big signs: normal temp, hot air blowing) was that I didn't hear any gurgling from the heater core in the cabin when I revved at a stop. Before it was bled all the way, I would.

Good luck