ampiifire Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 this has been a long project. just tryin to start the car and the latest problem i've had to face is now i'm running in to my conscience telling me it's probably not good to have air in the system when i start it for the first time. my original idea for getting coolant throughout was to run the car with no thermostat and add a 50/50 dexcool/water mix to the recovery tank as it sucks it in and burps the air out and let everything sort itself out.. then i started thinking about how far coolant has to go from the recovery tank before it actually hits the water jacket and now i'm not so sure my method is a good idea. my mind keeps flashing back to breaking all of the test tubes in my first chemistry set when i ran them under cold running water after being heated on the stove. i don't want to screw anything up this late in the game... was my original plan the way to go or is there a way to force coolant in the engine? (maybe not coolant.. water from a garden hose may work but i'm scared of putting all the minerals that have been building up all winter long through the newly polished aluminum chambers) please help.. took an adderall like an hour ago and i fully intend on starting this car tonight... i'm pretty darn anxious to get the new rings and bearings broken in thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 With the engine off. just fill the surge tank until it won't take any more. Then start the car and continue filling it up. You won't damage anything - the engine is not a glass test tube..LOL. The proper coolant leven is 2-1/2" below the neck of the surge tank. The more important thing is to disable the ignition module and crank the engine for 30 seconds to prime the oil pump. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick7997 Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 KHE is right. (as usual) Just fill it up. You are filling the whole system, through that surge tank... I did notice once, refilling my 97 Eldorado, that I got a phone call, and when I came back, it was down some, without running it. so if you're reeeeellly really worried, fill it to the neck, wait ten minutes, if it's down a little, fill it to the neck again, and start it.... You will not have to add much more when you start running it.... And if I may, the engine will be COLD when you first start it, so this is a very different situation from the test tube deal you are describing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ampiifire Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 ya i realize it's a bit different and now that i think about it i can kind of see that it probably wouldn't hurt anything to have the jackets around the combustion chambers flooded so shortly after the car started.. but i read in a couple of places that there was serious danger of air locking the engine and upon closer inspection, the water pump housing is fed by a y pipe connecting the outlet from the heater core and the recovery tank.. i was also worried about getting a strong flow through the heater core. just because i did spend all of that time searching through the bowels the internet to not find a thing, i wanted to have a written record of what i did for the next schmo in my situation :] with the entire system connected aside from the top radiator (cold) hose, i poured about a gallon of dex/distilled mix down the cold pipe holding it skywards. that filled the radiator completely and brought water straight to (slightly past?) the t-stat. while the top whole was open, i siphoned another gallon and a half straight in to the water pump housing until it almost wanted to drip out and connected the hose. cleaned the air purge hole in the mean time and filled the recovery tank to the max. there is still plenty of air in there but i'm confident it will work its way out - and now i don't feel so bad about starting it dry i love this forum and you guys that are here.. i know i don't spend a lot of time here but it seems like whenever i have a caddy related problem caddyinfo.com pops up on google's search. i appreciate everyone's help.. and if the the g'dam thing starts when i get home from work tonight, i would owe a lot of it to you guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Also put in a full dose of the GM cooling supplement tablets (6), you can get them at the dealer. I have never had difficulty in refilling the cooling system. If you want to eliminate ANY problems remove the BOLT WITH A HOLE IN IT while the cooling system is dry and put a DRILL through it to clean it out. Here is the location of the 'bolt with a hole in it' it is the point at which the NS allows air to escape The bolt with a hole is circled in the upper right hand side of this photo Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 After you fill the system and it goes down a bit and you top it off. Close the cap and rev to 3 - 4K a few times. That will purge any air left in the system. Then check and top off as necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Put the coolant sealing tablets ini the lower radiator hose, not in the surge tank. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 if the ignition is disabled the motor will not start but the fuel system will be operating? will you get excess fuel in the cylinders while you crank than? i know getting oil pressure before starting the motor is good but you also will probably get a lot of lifter noise once the motor starts. it took my motor awhile to quiet down after i had the heads off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I believe if he holds his foot to the floor as he cranks, the PCM will detect that and go into FLOOD mode and turn off the injectors Someone confirm this thought Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHE Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 I believe if he holds his foot to the floor as he cranks, the PCM will detect that and go into FLOOD mode and turn off the injectors Someone confirm this thought I just tried holding the accelerator pedal to the floor and cranking my '97 STS. It started right up and began to rev up. I wouldn't do this starting a rebuilt engine for the first time. The shop manual states to unplug the ICM and crank for 30 seconds. Kevin '93 Fleetwood Brougham '05 Deville '04 Deville 2013 Silverado Z71 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BodybyFisher Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 I believe if he holds his foot to the floor as he cranks, the PCM will detect that and go into FLOOD mode and turn off the injectors Someone confirm this thought I just tried holding the accelerator pedal to the floor and cranking my '97 STS. It started right up and began to rev up. I wouldn't do this starting a rebuilt engine for the first time. The shop manual states to unplug the ICM and crank for 30 seconds. Kevin this is what I was thinking of the "FLOOD MODE", this is in the ENGINE CONTROLS section of my FSM. Depressing the accelerator to the floor shuts off the injectors. I recall the guru mentioning this mode, and when I read my FSM, I highlighted it a while back. I really need to sit down and read this manual there is so much interesting information in it. I always get weird looks when I read it in public however, Pre-1995 - DTC codes OBD1 >> 1996 and newer - DTC codes OBD2 >> https://www.obd-codes.com/trouble_codes/gm/obd_codes.htm How to check for codes Caddyinfo How To Technical Archive >> http://www.caddyinfo.com/wordpress/cadillac-how-to-faq/ Cadillac History & Specifications Year by Year http://www.motorera.com/cadillac/index.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeb Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 i am not certain what i did when i started my car. i think i pulled the pcm fuse and cranked the motor for a bit and than put it in and started the car. it started with an uneven idle and than settled down. after having the heads off and timing chains off i was a bit wary. the whole chain tensioner bits seems somewhat delicate but gm knows what it is doing. its not the design group i am worried about. its the last guy who assembled it that worries me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted February 19, 2009 Report Share Posted February 19, 2009 ....its not the design group i am worried about. its the last guy who assembled it that worries me. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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