nova xe having trouble bleeding the cooling system

[turnipheed]

hi ive got an xenova which ive just built and got running on 45dcoes only problem is it seems to be badly airlocked and keeps boiling out has anybody else experienced this problem, ive recently done the head gasket and had it skimmed and theres no emulsion in the oil or steam from the exhaust so i cant see it being an engine fault, any comments would be appreciated
regards stui

[mowgli]

fill the bottle right up & slowly undo the top hose to bleed it out? i know its a bit rough, but xe pipes always seem complicated to me. maybe the 2 bleed hoses are too long & aren't letting air back to the bottle

[MattBrown]

Start it up fella, take the cap off the expantion tank, then let it warm up, ensure it gets to temp etc, and it should sort itself:thumb:

[craig green]

Start it up fella, take the cap off the expantion tank, then let it warm up, ensure it gets to temp etc, and it should sort itself:thumb:

i'm sure he's done that.. however jacking the font up to encourage the air lock to rise might help, as would using the bleed screw on the thermostat housing.

[Nobby]

imo you should bleed it with the engine turned off take the pipe at the top of the rad and on the inlet if it has a water pipe

[Benn]

Fill to where needed, take it out for a drive to get nice and hot. Come back remove cap slowly and carefully till out air is out.

[turnipheed]

ive had it running a few times and tried to let it warm up but as i say it boils out, when i swith it off theres water going through the matrix but when its run it stop going through, another point to consider is i have an sbd manifold wit the water pipe in the corner of the manifold i have blocked this off as its original purpose is for the heated manifold but im wondering if im going to have to get a nipple on it ivebeed looking for pictures of people with xe novas with dcoes so i can see if they are the same but no joy

[tom reid]

These engines generally don't need bleeding.
Do you know that the impeller on the water pump is ok?
Is the thermostat fitted?
Are you sure the rad is in good condition?
The small return pipe on the corner of the head should be connected to the header tank.
It's not a carb'd engine issue, it's a simple cooling problem that is undiscoveredlol

[Graeme]

What inlet manifold are you using? Does it have the fitting in the water jacket as per standard manifold to self bleed?

[turnipheed]

What inlet manifold are you using? Does it have the fitting in the water jacket as per standard manifold to self bleed?

its an sbd manifold it came wi the drilling for the water jacket but ive put a bolt in it as i could see no use for it, maby my down fall,tomorow im goin to get the car sitting a bit better as its on stands at the moment which may be one reason as the engines sitting a bit lower than matrix, never had this much bother bleeding before :mad:

[turnipheed]

These engines generally don't need bleeding.
Do you know that the impeller on the water pump is ok?
Is the thermostat fitted?
Are you sure the rad is in good condition?
The small return pipe on the corner of the head should be connected to the header tank.
It's not a carb'd engine issue, it's a simple cooling problem that is undiscoveredlol

thermostat is in, unsure of water pump other than turning it by hand when i done the belt( felt good looked good sorta theory), radiator seems ok getting water thru it anyway, just cant seem to get it to bleed up into matrix, as for the small return pipe ive seen 45 manifolds that come with the return completely blocked off as in no machined hole so i thot it was an option, never mind tommorow is another day :wtf:

[tom reid]

Check the thermostat is not stuck in the closed position.

[bmw156]

one option if you think its blocked somewhere to to take every pipe off and make sure they are not blocked.

maybe take your rad off and pour water in one end and see how quick it comes out of the other, maybe blocked in there.

[turnipheed]

Check the thermostat is not stuck in the closed position.
brand new thermostat but ill have a look

[turnipheed]

job done got the sod 400 litres of water and some steam burns later

[blue_peg_16v]

tbf blanking the water jacket off shouldnt make any difference ive done that in the past with no problems

[turnipheed]

aye thats what i thought got it now though i seen manifolds on the market without that drilling so i though it would be ok

[bungle117]

Mine did the same im running 20xe on 45dcoe i had 2 of the coolent pipes wrong way round, now corrected all sweet circulates fine will post pics later