Refill coolant failed to add to normal volume?

Tiny
XJSHEN
  • MEMBER
  • 2003 PONTIAC MONTANA
  • 3.4L
  • 6 CYL
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 95,000 MILES
I replaced coolant sensor, intake air temperature sensor (IAT), TSP sensor, and thermostat. And rpm return normal from 2000 to 750. P0113 code now Was cleared automatically, desk board thermometer gauge recovered to normal, coolant fan also recovered to normal. But when I refill coolant, open radiator cap, startup engine, air and coolant flow out from cap endlessly, and main air coolant hose expanded with much air. Open right bleeder burst out of air, then ant coolant; but left bleeder no coolant but air.
How can I resolve the problem?
Sunday, October 23rd, 2022 AT 6:35 AM

5 Replies

Tiny
AL514
  • MECHANIC
  • 5,214 POSTS
Hello, there looks to be two coolant air bleed locations on this vehicle. The one you know about and then one above the coolant (water) pump. I'll post a diagram of the instructions. There are also vacuum kits you can buy for helping to make sure all the air is out of the system. But I think trying to bleed the system by having both bleeders open when the vehicle is cold in the morning will help..

These steps are not in the exact order only because the steps in between are just the different coolant types and closing the drain on the bottom of the radiator.
but I usually do this when the vehicle is cold, that way there's no opening things when the system is under higher pressure and comes shooting out all over the place.
With the system filled, it is still cold and both bleeder screws have been opened and closed in order after the cap is on (and make sure you put the cap on correctly with the arrow facing the overflow tube).

You shouldn't have too much air building up like that. If you still do, I would wait until it cooled down enough that it's not going to shoot hot coolant everywhere, maybe the next day, and run the vehicle with the cap off, and watch for any bubbles or sign that there may potentially be a head gasket issue. That would be the next concern if pressure is building up so high that the coolant hoses start to expand so much.

Here are a couple guides to help:

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolant-flush-and-refill-all-cars

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/head-gasket-blown-test
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Sunday, October 23rd, 2022 AT 9:17 AM
Tiny
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Great instructions on the coolant refilling and air bleeding problems!
If there was a coolant pump dysfunction? How to test pump is working normal? If pump out of order, cannot coolant circulate to whole system. Ot thermostat bad also could not circulate coolant through whole s system. But I just replaced it with a new thermostat. My question is, that why two side bleeder resulted in two different status, pump side deleterious looks ok, but thermostat side bleeder only durst out a lot of air, means coolant circulation was blocked either of pump bad or thermostat bad.
I will refill coolant in the morning when the weather is cold, and test system pressure, if there is any leaking. And also want to test brown gasket test.
Thanks a lot for your instruction!
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Sunday, October 23rd, 2022 AT 12:21 PM
Tiny
AL514
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It depends on the height of each bleeder, it looks like by the service information they need to be done in that order, as for why there was a pressure difference, I am not exactly sure.

A bad coolant pump will not cause a buildup of pressure like what you are describing. If you had a bad coolant pump the vehicle would overheat while it's sitting still idling.
If the coolant has not been changed in a very long time, there could be some build up around or in one of the bleeders. In the coolant system after so long there will be a type of sludge build up from a reaction that's pretty technical. I'm not sure how the old coolant looked when you drained it, but if it has been in there for years sludge will build up. But an over pressuring issue (if the air is properly bled out) points more to a head gasket that might be starting to leak into the coolant system.

There is a chemical test you can buy at an auto parts store that will test the coolant for any combustion gases. It has a funnel type tube that goes into the radiator opening and the testing fluid in it will turn a certain color if there are any gases from the cylinders being pushed into the coolant system. It's the easiest test to do. Without having to spend a lot of money. Here is a link to one, so you can get an idea of what it looks like. Harbor Freight has a cheaper one for $25 and the fluid for $10 is a purple fluid.
Hopefully it's not a head gasket problem. But if the coolant temperature sensor was bad, you may not have known it was over temperature.

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/BK_7001006?cid=paidsearch_shopping_dcoe_google

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Sunday, October 23rd, 2022 AT 1:25 PM
Tiny
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I forgot the works on the car and just put it in the garage until now. As you analyzed that “In the coolant system after so long there will be a type of sludge build up from a reaction that's pretty technical.” Before I used coolant leaking stop several times and without coolant completely replacement that caused sludge build up. How can remove these sludges and clean coolant system? Thanks a lot!
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Saturday, January 25th, 2025 AT 4:44 AM
Tiny
AL514
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Hello, this post is a few years old now, are you saying you used some type of leak stop additive in the cooling system? I find leaks and replace the component that is leaking instead of adding any leak stopping additives, the reason I dont use them is they can end up clogging up components such as an air bleed hole on a thermostat or other parts, if thats what you are referring to here.
If you want to clean out the cooling system, you can do it section by section, such as taking the hoses off the radiator and flushing it with fresh water, allow it drain completely once youre getting clean water back out and you are sure any build up has been cleared out. But something to keep in mind if you use a water hose to flush these systems out is the cooling system is only designed to run at usually 15-18psi max, it will say the max pressure on the radiator cap most times, so you dont want to over pressure it or you will end up with leaks in either the radiator or heater core. I regulate the water pressure way down when flushing a heater core for example. And when flushing the engine block, you will not always be able to get all the water out that you flush with due to sections of the water jacket in the engine block not always the lowest point, so its good to have a coolant tester that will tell you the ratio of coolant to water once you start to refill it with fresh coolant. That way the mixture is not too much water or too much coolant.
Heres a picture of one that has different colored markers in it which will float at various levels to indicate the correct amount of coolant to water ratio. And a guide to flushing and refilling the system. But I would avoid those stop leak products, finding the leak and repairing it will prevent future issues..

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/coolant-flush-and-refill-all-cars
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Sunday, January 26th, 2025 AT 9:14 AM

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