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Re: "burp"

To: Kramer <kramer@subzero.iceinet.com>
Subject: Re: "burp"
From: Bob Lang <LANG@ISIS.MIT.EDU>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 1999 11:17:14 -0400 (EDT)
Cc: triumphs@autox.team.net
Hi,

Well, burping is something that you do when you've consumed beverages 
that are carbonated - naturally or artificially.

With respect to burping the cooling system of you car, I offer the 
following.

First the "why". Air expands a lot faster than liquids. In the case of 
your cooling system, the air pockets allow formation of steam. This is 
bad.

Now the "how". As you pour coolant into you radiator, careful observation 
will reveal that that top of the radiator is below the thermostat 
housing. Now, don't get the brilliant idea that all you need to do is 
fill the system from the thermostat housing... you might be able to do 
that, but you really don't want to cooling system full - you want it 
mostly full.

Note: your TR6 cooling system is not one of the super-modern low 
capacity, high efficiency systems found in modern cars - note that new 
cars have a sealed radiator and you fill them via the overflow tank.

At any rate, even if you fill to the top of the radiator, there may still 
be air bubbles in the system. What you need to do is circulate the fluid 
a bit and then carefully release system pressure and check the raidiator 
level and repeat until the fluid level doesn't change. To circulate the 
fluid, replace the radiator cap and run the car 'till the temp guage 
starts to move... this usually indicates that thermostat is opening. At 
this point, shut the car off and carefully release the cap pressure and 
then the cap and then check the level.

If you get too much fluid in there, it should boil out to the overflow 
tank, if you get too little, you'll probably experience erratic 
temperature indication and possibly have boil-overs.

Some folks squeeze the upper and/or lower radiator hoses to push the 
fluid around a bit when initially filling. If you do this, do it gently 
so the overflow goes into the overflow bottle and not all over your floor.

And don't forget that it's okay to have some coolant in the overflow tank 
as this fluid _should_ syphon back to the radiator as the system cools.

And don't forget to dispose of ant-freeze spillage in a safe manner.

regards,
rml
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