DIY Overheating K24a2 or K20Z3 Bleed process

[K4nuck]

Disclaimer****Please note this DYI is to solve overheating issue due to air pocket(s) trapped in the motor****Not responsible for any problem you could encounter or any losses or any health issue or...you get the point !

Hello Ephatch'ers,

Does your freshly K24A2 swap Ep3 is overheating or is overheating after a maintenance or an upgrade ? You've been trying to solve this issue for a while, right ?

Mine was overheating after a maintenance/parts upgrade but not anymore. Here's my story :

I've recently been dealing with an overheating (up to 220F) issue with my K24A2 after I changed my radiator and Thermostat and waterpump ( wp was still good so I did'nt change it). K24a2's are known to be hard to bleed and according to a google search, many have their tricks but sometime it just does'nt suffice. I even checked the compression of the cylinders in case I had an issue. All good and Still overheating.

I Bled the motor in so many ways. I've used many methods to ''Burp'' the coolant system without any results. I used the ''Nose up'' technique, nose down (car on all 4 wheels), parked the car on a hill with radiator cap open, Lisle Funnel with nose up, nose down... And always making sure I massage hoses (I massaged these god damn hoses longer than I played with my d!ck for the past year). Then, I bought the Airlift Uview 55000 tool since it is so awesome but I still had some air left in the coolant system ( not my video btw : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQnfUe6P5VI )

SO, I pm'ed one guy (Elosong) on a Canadian forum (http://forum.clubcivicquebec.com/) and he provided me the Key to BLEED any K24a2's and K20z3's in order to get rid of any air pocket trapped in the motor.

Here's the trick how to Bleed your K24a2 or K20z3, the proper way (empty cooling system / no coolant in the engine, using a Lisle Funnel):

First, make sure your knob temperature is at full heat, this will make the the water valve open in order to be able to fill up with coolant as far as the heater core. Jack the car, Nose Up. Open radiator cap, then, fill up the cooling system with Prestone (Please do not use cheap stuff, Use Honda Blue Prestone). Start the car and let it Burp, NOSE UP, for a good 10-15 min. You can massage the hoses to help the burping process. After 10-15 minutes of burping, remove the funnel and dispose of the extra prestone in any way you like ( I put it back in my jug). Then close the radiator cap.

The following part could be MESSY (#coolant spill/geyser) :Unplug the hose circled in the picture below, let it ''Burp'' a good 5 min OR to the point the Prestone is flowing out without air bubbles (constant flow). Replace the hose in place, tighten the collar and Voilà !




Now, you should have HEAT, your car should NOToverheat and have a nice and steady temperature and IF NOT, BLEED AGAIN !!!(Please refer to your data in the Kpro). If you don't have a Kpro, turn off the car as soon as the needle moves over the half of the temperature gauge, it is overheating... BLEED AGAIN !!!!!


Before and After:


Hope this Helps !

Regards,

Rémi

[usedep3]

Really? Did you average ~204? How long ago did you do you swap?

[K4nuck]

My swap was done 2+years ago. It only started to overheat after I installed my new radiator and Thermostat In february.

I barely drove the car, only from my house to my friends house to work on the car. When the temperature was rising, I was turning it off, wait 10-15 minutes to cool off and then start the car and drive for 300 meters! The 204 is not an average, Only to show that the car was overheating before I bleed from that tiny hose and burped the motor properly.

[differentK]

There is another trick that works just as well. Before filling the rad with coolant- pull the upper hose off the rad and fill the engine until you can see the coolant backing up in the hose. If you angle the hose upward- you make it the high point in the system and as long as your heater valve is open- it should fill your heater core as well. Once the level is almost to the top of the rad hose- pop it back on the rad and fill the rad. Either park the car on an incline or jack it up and start it with the heat on full blast. It might take a little bit- but it will burp out any remaining air that is trapped in the rad rather than the motor since you filled that first.


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[monjarassi]

so what would be the result for a car that has no heater core and no thermostat on a z3??

im having a lil issue here too.3

[K4nuck]

no, you should bleed again !
K24a2's and K20z3 are pretty similar, head whise. I suggest you do a ''leak''test of your coolant system. then, bleed again.

[beeasy253]

Do you have a better picture of that hose? I'm running a k24a1 btw..