What am I doing wrong?????
 

I just replaced my thermostat to a 180 degree, and I am having trouble with the coolant. I'm refilling the radiator (I completely drained the system to install the thermostat), but I can only put 8 quarts total in (1/2 water, 1/2 anti-freeze). The capacity is 14.1, and I realize that some remains in the engine, but I should be able to put about 12 total in. I let the engine run with the heater on for about 10 minutes, and the level in the radiator never dropped, so I can't put any more fluid in.

Am I missing something here? Any assistance will be greatly appreciated......Thanks in advance!

Mike

You need to let it run long enough to let the thermostat open up. Leaving the heater running will act as another radiator and keep the coolant cool.

Andy

Fill it as far as you can on the radiator, then start her up and let her idle until the engine reaches operating temp. Then shut her down, watch the reservoir to see if a bunch of steam comes out as she cools a bit, then fill the resevoir to the very top. Next morning she should have sucked in most of the resevoir. Just pull the cap, fill it, set the resevoir at normal and drive another day.

You may need to refill the resevoir one more time as more air is expelled by the engine. On my motor, I have an air vent plug that I use to fill the engine cooling passages to full. Then I just pull it the next day when it is cool and re-top the coolant. This gets all the steam out of the engine.

Hope this helps.

I started drilling a VERRY small hole in the flange area of my thermostats for this very thing. It allows the air to "burp" out the top and cuts a lot of fill time.

so why are you using a 50/50 mix anyway?

I think a 30/70 mix is good for warm weather, 40/60 is good for cold climates and 50/50 is good for the North Pole.

I am going to experiment with redline 15% coolant and 85% water next week. They claim it will reduce temperatures by 10-20 degrees. HA we will see!

50/50 mix
 

Thanks for the feedback...I'm going to reduce the mix to 30/70 and since it has been overnight, I'm going to check the level again, and then get it to running temp again, and re-check.

I'll post again with the results. Thanks again

Mike.

aluminum catch can
 

I forgot to mention that the aluminum catch can does not have any venting at all that I can see. Would drilling a small hole in the top of the resevoir help? It seems to make sense, so that the air can vent off.

Or you could just buy your next one from Ford. The OEM t-stats come with a tiny hole for that very reason. They're also the most accurate.

:)

Take care,
~Chris

Actually, the Ford t-stats gave me the idea. Ford house=58 miles away, Autozone=12 miles away.

I see. Texas math. lol. Makes perfect sense! I'm glad someone else actually pays attention to the little details like that. You are wise, Grasshopper.

Take care,
~Chris