I have just finished rebuilding my carbs and will shortly reinstall and tune them. Anybody who has done this will know that while the carbs are out, there are a couple of coolant hoses coming off the water pump that are relatively easy to get to. Therefore, I've decided to take advantage and replace them. I haven't worked on the cooling system before, so have a couple of newbie questions: 1) Because my system was flushed and refilled last fall, I assume it's only really necessary to drain off a few litres of coolant rather than drain the entire system? 2) In previous posts I thought I saw a thread saying that when you refill the system you should bleed it at both ends. However, as far as I can tell there is only one bleed valve, and that's on top of the radiator. Am I missing something? I believe it is also wise to keep the water heater valve open during the refill procedure. Thanks for your patience. I know that I ask the most basic of questions!
There should be one bleeder screw on top of the thermostat housing as most later 308 models do, if yours don't have it, try to replace it with the one that has the bleeder screw on top. Also when bleeding the system make sure the heater is set high or max, you might need to bleed the system several times before you can get all the air out.
The cooling system should be bled: * Every 10-12 times the car is driven. * After sitting for long periods. * Whenever the cooling system "acts up" Procedure: 1. The coolant must be cold 2. Remove radiator cap 3. Open radiator bleeder screw (top right hand of radiator) 2-3 turns to allow air to escape. Close the bleed valve when coolant starts to escape. 4. Inspect the coolant level in the header tank. Normal "full" is about an inch down from the bottom of the neck. Add coolant as necessary. 5. Replace radiator cap.
