Hey guys, does anybody have a link to some good instructions on bleeding air out of my cooling system? I hit a deer last year and ever since I got it back the heat hasn't worked quite right. I took it back to the dealer and had them work on it and it greatly improved the problem, but I think there's still air in it. I helped my friend work on his cooling system on his BMW and learned that any air in the system will give the symptoms I'm currently having on my G35.

Instead of go back to the stealer again, I'd much rather just bleed the system myself (if you want it done right....) so if anybody has a DIY or just some simple instructions, I'd appreciate it!

 

Unscrew the air bleed screw to the right of the battery. (Large phillips) its plastic
Remove the radiatior cap and fill.
Fill the reservoir in between Low and Full.
Leave rad. cap and bleed screw off and start car, turn heat on full blast.
Let car warm up, put towels under rad. cap and bleed area to catch overflow.
When coolant is visible at bleed screw, put the screw back on tight.
When thermostat opens up coolant/bubbles will rise out of rad. cap. Cap it off now.
Check the level in your reservoir, make sure its in between Full and Low.
Let it idle for a minute or two then turn off heater. Let it idle for another minute and shut off car. Let car cool then check coolant level at radiator and reservoir. Fill to previous mentioned levels.
Should be good to go. Repeat steps if any air is suspect in system.

Since you hit a deer I would check for damage/leaks at the radiator, hopefully your dealer already did this.

 

thanks so much man, i appreciate it!

yeah the shop that fixed it replaced the radiator since it was damaged.... amazing body work but not experts on bleeding the system lol

 

I hit a deer two years ago, it took a year to finally realize why I wasn't getting hot air while the car was idling.

The body shop replaced the radiator and the car didn't have heat while idling. I brought it back to them, they filled the coolant lines again...worked a little better. Summer came so I forgot about it. Next winter, I smelt coolant through the heater vents, got under my car and saw the bottom of the radiator was leaking.

The radiator was faulty from the beginning, so I brought it back to the shop and had it re-sealed. Been toasty in my car ever since!

 

Just an afterthought, I dont think the heater has to be on full blast- low or med should be fine..turning the heater on should run coolant to the heater core, but the Haynes manual says turn it on full blast.. Full blast could take the car considerably longer to warm up wasting time. When I did it I just turned the heater on medium and it bleed just fine. Good to hear your up and running, my biggest fear is hitting a deer, something which is not driver error but can cause major damage..

 

yeah this time of year is the absolute worst for deer. after hitting that one i basically won't drive any long distance at night anymore (this time of year). i hit the bastard hard enough to blow the airbag

 

It is traumatizing!!!

 

can somebody help me out and post a picture of the bleeder valve please? I have the service manual picture but honestly it doesn't help me at all.

thanks!

 

It's right next to the battery. Not hard to find. Look for the black plastic screw on the silver metal pipe running right next to the batter and engine.

 

u sure it's the same for the coupe?

 

Yes, a flashlight would help!

 

ok i think i found it.... on mine the valve faces the engine and isn't at the highest point in the hose, which seems strange

 

I filled the radiator to the neck and the reservoir to the MAX line. Then started her up, turned the heater on full blast, and held the throttle around 3,000 RPMs for 30 seconds or so. Turned off the engine and allowed it to cool for a couple of minutes and then slowly unscrewed the radiator cap - while keeping pressure with a towel, don't want to burn yourself - and allowed the air to escape that way. Repeat.

I tried using that bleeder screw, but I couldn't get the air out of the system and my heater was blowing cold air. Only took me two times with the method I just posted. I'm sure that's not the right way to do it, but it was definitely much easier for me and I've had no problems since. Just thought I'd throw that out there for next time, or if anyone else needs the help.

 

Just a thought.. make sure your OEM radiator doesn't have crack. I just changed my radiator about two days ago because I found out there's a thin hair line crack on the top of the radiator (plastic part). I noticed it because there's no hot air blowing on my ac and my car started over heating.

 

http://infinitihelp.com/diy/gcoupe/p..._procedure.htm