Shop Press is the news and idea hub for everything related to working on cars and trucks, focusing on repair, technology, and wrenching lifestyle.

From the creative minds at:

FEATURE STORY

Hot Off the Press

ICYMI: Secondary hood prop positions

Today’s article might score a little lower on technical difficulty and higher on automobilia esoterica, but I make no apologies. In my salad days, I worked as a dismantler at a salvage yard. Pulling motors was commonplace, so I learned quickly about this tip I’m sure...

Automotive terms that differ in other English-speaking countries

As a public service to all of our readers, we thought it would be helpful to take a look at some of the common (and not so common) differences between everyday automotive terms used in different English-speaking countries, as this can easily come up when reading or...

LT-series vs. P-series tires

The truck and SUV have never been more prolific than they are today. These vehicles need remarkably different tires depending on a few different factors. Be honest: are you selective about what tire you offer your customers who qualify as “fringe cases?” P-series...

If you have a soldering iron, you need a solder sucker (VIDEO)

Description When an automotive repair involves solder, it often involves desoldering too. Removing old solder is a crucial part of preparing a component for a new soldered connection, and a desolder pump (often called a solder sucker) is the ideal tool for the job. It...

The very best way to remove grease from auto upholstery

I try to keep my customers’ cars at least as nice as they keep them. You probably do, too. The only problem is that I am perpetually filthy. I have a trick I’ve used for a long time on the occasions I’ve sullied a nice interior with grease or dirt. (I will never...

Airbag direction – ASE practice questions (VIDEO)

Description When placing an airbag on a workbench, which is the safest direction for it to face? A) Up B) Down C) To a wall D) Away from a wallMore ASE Practice Questions

A different type of timed event: the Bobby Bosch Relay Race

I’ll hazard a guess you’re familiar with the 24 Hours of Lemons. If not, it’s endurance racing for Joe Sixpack on a severely tight budget ($500). Ridiculous paint jobs are de rigueur. Costumes are encouraged. Everyone sandbags and cheats and tries to fudge the budget...

How to use a lockout kit (VIDEO)

If you work on cars for a living or you’re a diehard gearhead, odds are excellent that people look to you when some basic automotive snafus need to be handled. I’m sure those who know you have asked you to help with the following items: Reviewing an estimate Jumping a...

Wrenching

A simple tip for burping a radiator

by Lemmy | Dec 7, 2021

12 Comments

Ever drain and fill a coolant system and watch the temp gauge spike afterwards? Air trapped in there can cause a car to act like it has a cooling problem. It’s annoying to let the car cool so you can work on it, then re-bleed and possibly still have the same problem.

This minor inconvenience is so prevalent that many cars include a little hole (with a jiggle valve) built into the thermostat housing, which should be the highest point in a cooling system.

Burping (so named because of the noise made by the bubbles of coolant exiting the radiator filler neck) is done with the radiator cap removed on cars without a valve. You wait for the car to warm up so the thermostat opens, and then the pressure of the expanding coolant being heated drives the air out. Or at least that’s how it’s supposed to work, anyway.

I learned a trick from an old racer that works real well to bleed that rarely leaves me repeating my work.

Take a screwdriver and manually open up the thermostat. Wedge an aspirin – the old white kind you can get at the drug store for 97 cents – in between the thermostat frame and the mechanical valve itself. It will keep the thermostat open, allow coolant to flow wide open even in the coldest of temperatures, and will dissolve in fifteen minutes – plenty long enough to get the system purged of air.

The articles and other content contained on this site may contain links to third party websites. By clicking them, you consent to Dorman’s Website Use Agreement.