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Another automatic radiator air bleeder

Discussion in '308/328' started by Crowndog, Jun 23, 2012.

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  1. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #1 Crowndog, Jun 23, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    I posted this elsewhere in a thread but thought I would post a seperate thread for anyone who may be interested in an automatic radiator air bleed system.

    I read on fchat in a post about these in home radiator bleeders and at the suggestion of a fellow fchatter gave it a try. It is simple takes ten minutes to install and so far works perfectly. In fact I plan on adding one to the thermostat housing. I have a custom radiator and needed to buy an adapter at LOEWS in the plumming section. I believe that with the supplied adapters it will work with the stock radiator as is. You will need:
    1) adjustable pliers
    2) 2 inches of teflon thread tape
    3) Auto-bleeder
    4) ten minutes of time and maybe a little distilledd water in case you lose some during the installation.

    The pictures are self explanitory. It was cool testing this as I could smell coolant but not a drop came out. As the system heated up and pushed out the air I could smell it. The water temp never gets above 1/2 way on the gauge ever!

    The manufacturer recommends 5 year replacement. That would be in constant use but they are so cheap I will do it every minor and major. Well made chromed brass.

    Supplier link: (get the micro, the big one is a micro mounted in a bigger flange)

    http://www.discountedheating.co.uk/shop/acatalog/Aladdin_Auto_Air_Vent_Hygroseal_Automatic_Radiator_Bleeder.html
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  2. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #2 Crowndog, Jun 24, 2012
    Any questions give me a shout.
     
  3. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

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    #3 Steve King, Jun 24, 2012
    Would we assume that the 6mm version would screw directly into the OEM radiator?
     
  4. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #4 Crowndog, Jun 24, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 24, 2012
    YES! It comes with two multi thread adapters.
     
  5. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

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    #5 Steve King, Jun 24, 2012
    Great , thanks . So all we need to do is order the micro on line and do the install.
     
  6. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #6 Crowndog, Jun 24, 2012
    Steve this thing is so "no brainer" even my brief expanation is too long. It's so easy that you will be adding one to the thermostat housing also, so order two.
     
  7. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

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    #7 Steve King, Jun 24, 2012
    I have a 77 so there is no fitting on the thermostat housing. Also is this a one size as when I look at ordering it does not give me an option on the male thread size. How would I get a 6mm x1 thread? Thanks
     
  8. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #8 Crowndog, Jun 24, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    It comes with two adapters. Each adapter has two thread sizes. They are hard to describe but think of the adapter as a tube that steps down in thread size with each step about less then 1/2" long. The tubes are one piece and at the end they attach to the bleeder buy a large 1/2" diameter threaded end. The bleeder has two thread sizes by itself also. Here is my poor diagram that might make it clearer:
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  9. Hans

    Hans F1 Veteran

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    #9 Hans, Jun 24, 2012
    A previous owner has routed a copper tube from that point through the tunnel back into my engine bay and into the top of my coolant reservoir. This also yields auto bleeding. Still wondering why the factory never did this. Works extremely well.
     
  10. Birdman

    Birdman F1 Veteran

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    #10 Birdman, Jun 25, 2012
    How about a place to buy one in the USA?
     
  11. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #11 Crowndog, Jun 25, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 25, 2012
    They are made by Aladin and I suppose there are more radiators in homes in the UK because I have yet to find a supplier here. Still looking, if I find one I will be sure to post. I cannot find any USA distributors or retailers that sell them. Go figure? The one I provided a link to accepts paypal and ships to the US. Not all the places in the UK do that either.
     
  12. Matto

    Matto Formula 3

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    #12 Matto, Jun 25, 2012
  13. Matto

    Matto Formula 3

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    #13 Matto, Jun 25, 2012
    That would work, cool idea.
     
  14. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #14 Crowndog, Jun 25, 2012
    The bleeder comes with the adapters for the various size threads, there are no different model numbers.
     
  15. Matto

    Matto Formula 3

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    #15 Matto, Jun 26, 2012
    Their reply on shipping: "Shipping to this location would be £3.30." (Mooresville, NC)

    So, about $20.69 each, total. Not bad at all, considering the benefits.
     
  16. Steve King

    Steve King F1 Rookie

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    #16 Steve King, Jun 26, 2012
    I ordered one yesterday and with shipping it came to about $25. I'll let you folks know how long it takes to get it.
     
  17. andyww

    andyww F1 Rookie

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    #17 andyww, Jun 26, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 26, 2012
    I am rather confused by this. What is the problem which exists requiring this to be fitted? Why not just bleed the system manually which takes about 30 seconds?
    If the system constantly needs bleeding then air must be getting in somewhere and that needs to be fixed. This is the same for home heating systems, these things are a plumbers fudge when they have not installed a system properly. They don't work very well after a few months either.
     
  18. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #18 Crowndog, Jun 26, 2012
    I agree but I also understand that the expansion tank design is really not that good and can allow air to be sucked back into the system upon cool down? I have only read this as it pertains to 84-85 year cars. I do know that there is no exhaust gas in my cooling system. Had it tested for that. As far as leaks, well nothing drips out, don't know if anything can get sucked in a hole that it wouldn't leak out of. But, certainly good points as the system was designed to be bled once and that's it. Another 308 mystery.
     
  19. Ferraripilot

    Ferraripilot F1 World Champ
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    #19 Ferraripilot, Jun 26, 2012
    uber
     
  20. PhilB

    PhilB Formula 3
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    #20 PhilB, Jun 26, 2012
    Here's what I did on my '84 to address air in the system. I'm running like this 10 years now, maybe longer.

    I added a cylindrical aluminum tank beneath the expansion tank. It has it's own overflow hose coming out of the top so that if there is ever a serious overheating issue, the coolant has a route to escape down behind the driver's side rear wheel. At the bottom of the cylindrical tank is a hose that connects to my expansion tank overflow port . In this manner, as the car heats up to operating temps, and the coolant expands and pee's out of the expansion tank a bit, it runs into the aluminum tank. Upon cool down, the coolant that flowed into the cylindrical tank get's sucked back into the expansion tank, rather than air getting sucked back in.

    So I no longer need to bleed air from the system except annually when I change the coolant. And the car no longer pee's coolant onto the floor after a spirited drive on a hot day.

    Couple of photos here of my setup:
    http://ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=74789
     
  21. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #21 Crowndog, Jun 26, 2012
    Certainly a well thought out and executed plan. Interesting solution working from the other end. I like it!
     
  22. Matto

    Matto Formula 3

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    #22 Matto, Jun 28, 2012
    Placed my order with Eco Green Store UK last night and it's already been mailed. I am looking forward to installing that little gem.
     
  23. fastradio

    fastradio F1 Rookie
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    #23 fastradio, Jun 29, 2012
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    There is no mystery here. The system works perfectly, as designed. If you "always" have air in the system, you have leaks. Leaks can be under pressure or vacuum. Just because you can't detect combustion in the cooling system doesn't mean that the headgaskets aren't seeping externally. The two most common reasons for air to be sucked back into the system are due to malfunctioning caps and the return nipple on the coolant branch being rotted away. This will lead to air being sucked in on the cool-down. If you're seeing crusty stuff at coolant hose to nipple connection, you've got air leaks. Replace all those 25 year old hose that "look fine" and these bleeding problems go away. And, as an added bonus, the cars will run about 5 dF colder to boot!

    Take a look at the photos...No external leakage, or not? Care to see the mysteries solved or Internet folklore debunked? Follow my adventures at http://www.facebook.com/fluentinFerrari
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  24. Crowndog

    Crowndog F1 Veteran

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    #24 Crowndog, Jun 29, 2012
    Last edited: Jun 29, 2012
    Those are some nasty looking pictures. Is that first one under the plenum? If not where exactly are those nipples? I checked out the facebook. To tell the truth I rarely use it and now with all the changes that they made they lost me. I will stick to fchat.
    As far as leaks, I have looked and looked but have not seen these nipples and will check them out once I know where to look. I hear you Dave and after the rebuild and all the hose issues are addressed maybe I won't need it but in the meantime this auto bleeder is still a neat little device, one less thing to do when changing coolant also.
     
  25. mike996

    mike996 F1 Veteran

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    #25 mike996, Jun 29, 2012
    If a coolant system needs bleeding other than when it is drained/refilled, there is a leak in the system. ;)
     
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