Need support. Just found out my radiator is leaking

[Doubeleive]

ok and lastly... i imagine using a video for a 2007-2014 silverado is ok yea? any major diffrences? i like watching trq becasue they get right to the point... 10 minute video as opposed to 30 min to an hour one

2014 was a change over for the silverado but yes 07-13 are the same thing

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I’ve always just used a funnel without any issues. Refill is through the overflow tank which has good access.

As far as antifreeze and pets, a bittering agent has been added to antifreeze since about 2012 to make it taste terrible so pets don’t drink it. A taste or three by licking your finger won’t kill a human either, you’d need to drink a small amount. You can try it to see what I mean if you feel brave- it now tastes terrible. Normal glycol is sweet and it used to actually attract animals because it tasted so sweet. There are laws in the US that forced the mfrs to add bittering. I do not take chances though and dispose of as much as I can and the rest that hits the ground I use a hose and make sure to use lots of water to dilute it as it washes away, just in case.

Im just worried bout air bubbles, after installing the new radiator, I fill the reservoir up, start it… now do I leave the cap off the reservoir until im done burping and topping it off ?

 

[15burban]

Leave the cap off while burping the system. That's where that no spill funnel works nice as sometimes once the air starts coming out, the coolant level will drop fast and you won't have to worry about introducing more air bubbles into the system.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

Leave the cap off while burping the system. That's where that no spill funnel works nice as sometimes once the air starts coming out, the coolant level will drop fast and you won't have to worry about introducing more air bubbles into the system.

So does it just like keep burping it until the right amount is in the cooling system? Or how exactly does it work?

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

fill reservoir, start it, top off, run to temp and squeeze hose for air bubbles in the process, shit it off let it cool down and than top off again

 

[Just Fishing]

I assume this has been mentioned, but trust nothing plastic on an older vehicle.

I had replaced everything except for a single fitting at my heater core/firewall.
New engine, fancy $$ cylinder heads, and on hottest day of the summer.
That fitting blew, and I didn't notice it until the tahoes warning lights started flashing and dinging at me.


That was like at 190k, the only fitting I didn't change out, I felt so dumb.
It gave me warnings before hand, I kept smelling coolant.
I didn't see a drop so I just dismissed it.

Like a year afterwards I remembered I never changed the overflow bottle either, so that's done now.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

I assume this has been mentioned, but trust nothing plastic on an older vehicle.

I had replaced everything except for a single fitting at my heater core/firewall.
New engine, fancy $$ cylinder heads, and on hottest day of the summer.
That fitting blew, and I didn't notice it until the tahoes warning lights started flashing and dinging at me.


That was like at 190k, the only fitting I didn't change out, I felt so dumb.
It gave me warnings before hand, I kept smelling coolant.
I didn't see a drop so I just dismissed it.

Like a year afterwards I remembered I never changed the overflow bottle either, so that's done now.

You’re scaring me man ha. I just grabbed the same style. It’s what I can afford. From OSC

 

[15burban]

What I do, I'm sure there's a couple of ways, with the funnel attached to the overflow bottle. Fill the radiator full and probably 1/4 of the funnel full. Run engine til it gets up to temp and thermostat opens. Once that happens air pockets should start escaping and your coolant should start going down. Just keep adding fluid til make up for what's going into the system. Give the motor a couple of revs. Nothing to serious just up to 1.5k or so. See if any more air bubbles come out. If it's been a few minutes without any air bubbles coming out and the coolant temp has stayed consistent for awhile. I call it good and shut the motor off and let it cool down. Keep an eye on the coolant temp throughout to make sure something doesn't happen and it overheats. Once the motor is cooled back down. I remove the funnel. Fill the overflow up to the cold mark line. Then I took it for a short drive to get the motor back up to temp and make sure their were no coolant temp spikes or anything abnormal. Keep an eye on the coolant level the next few drive cycles and you should be good to go. There might be a few small air bubbles that get "dislodged" on the first drive so you might have to add a little coolant. That's what I did when I changed my mom's radiator. I've done it a handful of times that way also without that funnel but coolant almost always gushes out at some point and makes a little mess.

After a few warm-ups and cool downs your still finding yourself adding coolant then check again for leaks.

 

[iboughtatahoe23]

What I do, I'm sure there's a couple of ways, with the funnel attached to the overflow bottle. Fill the radiator full and probably 1/4 of the funnel full. Run engine til it gets up to temp and thermostat opens. Once that happens air pockets should start escaping and your coolant should start going down. Just keep adding fluid til make up for what's going into the system. Give the motor a couple of revs. Nothing to serious just up to 1.5k or so. See if any more air bubbles come out. If it's been a few minutes without any air bubbles coming out and the coolant temp has stayed consistent for awhile. I call it good and shut the motor off and let it cool down. Keep an eye on the coolant temp throughout to make sure something doesn't happen and it overheats. Once the motor is cooled back down. I remove the funnel. Fill the overflow up to the cold mark line. Then I took it for a short drive to get the motor back up to temp and make sure their were no coolant temp spikes or anything abnormal. Keep an eye on the coolant level the next few drive cycles and you should be good to go. There might be a few small air bubbles that get "dislodged" on the first drive so you might have to add a little coolant. That's what I did when I changed my mom's radiator. I've done it a handful of times that way also without that funnel but coolant almost always gushes out at some point and makes a little mess.

After a few warm-ups and cool downs you’re still finding yourself adding coolant then check again for leaks.

ok thanks. And tbh I’m gonna skip the funnel. I read the manual and it says the overflow tank it actually for letting air escape when filling it?

 

[Rocket Man]

ok thanks. And tbh I’m gonna skip the funnel. I read the manual and it says the overflow tank it actually for letting air escape when filling it?

Yes. And the system is a self burper. You don’t really need to do anything special other than what’s been mentioned, leave the cover off while running the engine for awhile. Once it’s been driven a bit, double check the hot level.