This is so important as subaru's are famous for trapping air in heater core and block and the 2.5 motor also has the head gasket issue, so overheating is what will damage your head gasket or warp the aluminum head. Another other Utube video shows a dude doing this without running the motor, and just burbing the upper hose, but your way while burbing the hose is the proper method. I like to also jack up front of car as well, just to help get the air bubbles to move into radiator. You mention the heater core a few times, but people should know you need to run the heater on high as you run motor to bleed out the air. Great detailed video and that funnel is the ticket for these vehicles.
Thanks for your comment and reinforcement. The reason I mention the heater core is because the inlets for it are actually just a little bit higher than the radiator opening is. By using the spillproof funnel, it raises the highest point in the cooling system so you don't necessarily have to raise the front of the car, but it does make it easier. It's similar to on the STI and WRX where you fill the radiator first, then you hook up the funnel to the turbo coolant reservoir and bleed it through there. One thing I believe I forgot to mention is that OE radiators from Subaru have bleeder screws that help it, but once the radiator is full, it does nothing to help with getting the coolant higher.
Running heater on high is a myth. The heater core is an "always on" type. Meaning whether you use it or not, there's always coolant running through it. There's no valve on it. Check a subaru cooling diagram.
After I replaced my radiator, I didn't want to spend money on a one-time use funnel. I was successful jacking the front of the car, pouring coolant directly in the engine via the upper radiator hose. That still left some air in the system and so I just squeezed the radiator hose and pouring coolant in the radiator cap 'till the bubbles stopped. I repeated this a couple of days in a row. It hasn't overheated for almost 2 years now. I would buy the bucket funnel if I had to do it again, but it did get the job done.
Thanks. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and when it comes to working on my cars, I'm very thorough leaving nothing behind. I hope to bring more good quality videos here in the future.
Dude, I was lost in the sauce trying to bleed my VMount setup. This saved my life, unfortunately I payed 40 bucks at a local auto store cause I couldn't wait for Amazon! Thanks man!!
I found revving the engine slightly to 2-3k helps push out some more air, and I ran the heater on recirc at full heat to try and get any air out of the heater coil. This looks handy.
Revving the engine does help, but I dont recommend it. Once that thermostat kicks open, you're getting 200 degree water rushing through the system being pushed by the water pump. This is supposed to be a closed system so by introducing the funnel, or open radiator cap, your giving that pressure an escape, right onto whatever or whomever is standing there.
Thanks.. Very good point. Yes we were careful not to overfill or rev too high, just held the revs around 2k for a few minutes at a time, and no-one was standing near it at the time of course. You can only really pull this off with a spill-proof funnel without making a huge mess and losing lots of coolant.
@@BoxerTechGarage my mechanic back home just burped my forester (tstat starts to open at 91C, full open at 98C ) with open cap, and waited for fans to kick in (at 102C). Also I was reving at 2-3K RPM till it reached 102C. No funnel. Hmmm maybe I should try the funnel.
@@AchilleasMantzios The open cap and revving method only introduces more air into the system. The funnel does three things: (1) it raises the highest point of the cooling system to the funnel, (2) it increases the atmospheric pressure on the coolant in the funnel to help force the air out of the system when the t-stat opens, and (3) it allows the system to add more coolant as the engine cools when it shuts off.
@@BoxerTechGarage Thank you, pretty nice explanation, I'll try it out at first chance. Those sparse overheating incidents I know are not HG-related. Could air be introduced by a crossover pipe o-rings leak?
Having just spent the last week screwing with my coolant system, make sure to be careful with that upper radiator hose. The inlet on the radiator side is plastic, which is an incredibly stupid material to make this out of. It will crack if you take the hose off too many times or tighten down the hose clamp too tightly. You will have to replace the entire radiator if you do that.
Okay so if your here you’ve probably blown your radiator right so before you buy a new one make sure you replace the TSTAT and o ring then put your new radiator in and you don’t pour your coolant in from radiator bc that’s actually the lowest point so you want to do it by the top mount inter cooler because that’s the highest point and make sure you have your heater running making that core works and on most cars it takes till 205 degrees till operating temperature when fans start kicking on then car will cool down to 178 degrees if everything is installed properly, just make sure when you install a Thermostat that the loose ball bearing thing is facing upwards and not upside down.
I just changed my thermostat recently and my car started to over heat. Search the web and found this video. I ordered the kit today. Will do my cylinder 4 mod and use this kit when it arrives. Looking forward to it
I do a lot of Subaru’s one trick while the car is running squeeze the upper radiator hose then put the t handle plug in the coolant funnel and you can then let the hose go and remove the funnel with no mess then you can put the radiator cap on and your done
i read another comment on another video and it said if you raise the front of the car higher it will help to bleed the air out of the system that gets trapped under the dashboard
An easy way to do this is to also make your own burp point in the exit line of the heater core. You can get the T style conncetors that have a screwable cap on them for coolant systems. (Prestone flush and fill kit, like 4 bucks) Install one of those so when you fill the radiator put on that burp funnel and fill it up with the stopper in. Unscrew the cap on the t bracket and open the plug to let coolant come rushing in when coolant comes out of the bracket cap it off keep filling and start the car up as usual. Itll take way less time to get the air out.
My 08 Outback 2.5 doesn’t want to cooperate. I seem to have done everything and still hear gurgling behind dashboard. This is after timing belt/water pump replacement. Went from overheating to not getting hot enough. Got thermostat from NAPA, 170 degrees. I have a Subaru thermostat on the way. I have no oil in coolant, no coolant in oil, not blowing anything out exhaust. Can it still be a HG without those symptoms? Thanks for the video…
When you change a radiator on a Subaru ej251 motor with the thermostat on the bottom of the block, does the coolant even run out the block or does it stay inside the motor? Seems to me like it stays inside the motor I just changed the radiator and there wasn't much burping going on.
I went to other vids when you said,at 2.37 ' first thing we guna do is start up the car'! to run the engine without any coolant will not be good for the coolant pump!
Terry Thai k so I watched al the vid, it seem he has air in the heater core, he needs to hav the heater on hot, on maximum heat, so the coolant can flow to the maximum , and carry to air bubbles out.. From what he said at the start, there was no coolant in the system..
Awesome video brother.. I have a question.. I have the same no spill funnel. I did all the steps u did but after 32 min fans ever came on??.. I think all the air is out. ( had no heat then burping the system I got heat) I finally closed it up and drove it no issues. I got out and looked, the fans come on. Temp gauge right in middle… I’m at a lost.
Just for future reference you can jack the front of the vehicle up a little when your doing it, make sure the funnel is the highest point on the car. Will help force the air bubbles out better
Just finished second coolant change on 2008 Outback without fancy funnel and did fine. You do have to run engine for 5 min at 2-3k RPM, as mentioned, then top up coolant once engine cools down. Have found if I check it next day, may have to add second time, which is no big deal.
The difference between a front facing thermo & a downward facing thermo is if it has a turbo. Your front facing are for turbo applications while the downward facing are non-turbo.. There is also a difference in the thermo's themselves. From what I've seen, the thermo's W/O a gasket are for turbo while the ones with the rubber surround are non-turbo. Just a few nuggets I found.
Use blue coolant made for Subarus or universal Valvoline blue coolant, but I would recommend the Subaru coolant because they put a special seal conditioner in it for the head gasket.
that's only for phase two EJ25's, which had external coolant HG leaking issues. the phase one EJ25's had internal HG issues, which can not be solved by the Subaru coolant conditioner.
If you cut a water bottle cut the bottom off of it stick it in your radiator and use a spool of stretch wrap like Saran wrap but they come on spools for packages seal that bottle onto your radiator that way it won't leak and it'll work fine.
I have this same funnel and it was burping really really good until the thermostat opened the. The bubble got bigger and bigger. And splashed everywhere
Drain the overflow prior to coolant flush, Remove the radiator cap, Go underneath vehicle, and remove the lower radiator hose allowing it to drain fully, If you also would like there is a 14mm Hex drain plug on one of the side of the block by the manifold that can also let out coolant from the block. When coolant is done flowing out reinstall the lower hose and drain plug if you took it out. Grab your funnel and go fill up your radiator with whatever coolant your using (50%antifreeze/50%water or prediluted) SIDE NOTE: I've found it helpful to pour real slow and more towards the outwards of the funnel to make sure the coolant was trickeling down through the neck with less air pockets popping back up at me. When the funnel starts over filling go start your vehicle Turn on the heat to MAX and vents to Face only and for the first 5 minutes let your vehicle idle as is. Keeping an eye on the funnel making sure you fluid never runs, After 5 minutes go back in the car and hold the accelerator down and hover over 2.5K Rpm for about 7 to 8 minutes this will help open up the thermostat (The fans will kick on hard) and allow for more air to burp out of the block. I do this at least 2 times till my coolant level has remained steady and I don't see excessive foaming and or bubbling. While at idle hover your hand over ur vents and if you can't keep your hand there due to heat you've done your job right. Cap your radiator , top off your reservoir and go test drive and see if your heat remains in vehicle after if not you either still have air in the system or you have worse things to look into
@@PRYRA when revving to 2.5Rpm, did coolant in funnel geysered/gurgled? should i keep repeating the process till coolant stays stable even i rev to 2.5rpm?
@@tumendalaimunkhdalai1233 I fill the funnel do the rev to 2.5k for 5 minutes then let idle for 5 minutes. repeat 3 to 5 times till u notice the level in the funnel has dropped anymore and that the heat is hot(hot enough to burn ur hand if hovered over for a brief moment)
@@tumendalaimunkhdalai1233 and yes itll bubble and burble thats why u make sure u fill it enough so that air bubbles travel up the funnel enough to escape the radiator fully
when u idle the last time for a bit watch the coolant in the funnel it will be hot and steaming but u shouldn't see a steady stream of bubbles coming out of the radiator neck
Can u do this with full coolant in radiator than put the funnel add more in the funnel start the car and the heat high just wait until the normal temps on the motor all the bubbles are gone
Nice! Ordered a funnel kit off amazon will be burping my 05 sti when it comes. My sti needs a tune but when I had the car idling I noticed the radiator was very hot already. (Had my longblock swapped) Im sure it has air in it.. it hasnt been burped. Hopefully it will give me better results, heating wise.
Good video! I was burping my coolant system as soon as today on my WRX 07 as it was starting to run hot...again. I have had issues with the upper coolant reservoir being empty, probably due to air being trapped in there as it is the highest point, I hate it more and more for every day that goes by just because it keeps happening again and again. Last winter it was running just fine, even though I had problems with it running hot as late as back in October. Now I have bought a spill free funnel just to bleed it througly but it feels like it will be the same thing all over again. Today I kept squeezing the upper radiator hose(never done before) as I was burping the coolant system and alot of air made its way out, so I hope it helps. Do you have any other tips to get rid of these air bubbles? I begin to lose all hope as I have had problems for over a year now. Maybe its the same problem as you had, having the head gasket blown and all that.
Symptoms point to a head gasket failure. I bled mine 4 times the first time before I realized I had an internal engine failure. I was able to determine it with a block test, but there are other ways. On the WRX with the upper coolant reservoir, pinch off the feed and return line from the upper reservoir to the radiator and open the cap at the radiator. Hook your spillproof funnel to the radiator and feed the funnel til it is about 1/4 full. Have someone crank over the car but stand back from the funnel. If you see it spurt up like a geyser, it's got an internal failure in the engine, most likely head gasket. If you look in my video carefully, you can see micro bubbles. This video was taken before I realized the head was leaking again. The microbubbles that appear are exhaust gasses leaking into my coolant. If you see those, it's a good indicator of head gasket failure. I believe on the 02-07 WRX the full capacity of coolant is 7.7 liters, or just over 2 gallons..
Boxer Tech Boxer Tech Thanks for reply! Yeah I already have one of those Block Testers that changes color but I haven’t had any luck with it yet. I tested it out a while ago when I had alot of bubbles in the overflow tank, but as I said it came back negative. Maybe I should try it out on the upper reservoir. If that doesn’t work I definitely will try out your tip, which wasn’t bad at all. Again, thanks for your reply - I will keep you posted on my progress.
Yeah after I replaced the head gasket. In the video you see tiny bubbles coming up to the surface. Those bubbles were exhaust gasses escaping and causing coolant to leak
Boxer Tech ok where u losing antifreeze before this test or video thanks again because am losing a little bit but not overheated so if I do what u said on the video if have bad head gasket the coolant will started boiling bubble up a lot right or no thanks again for reply
Hello, I know this is an old video, but I have same issue, I did the block test and there is not head gasket leaks, my 09 forester start overheating when I put a thermostat on it, I tried to burp the cooling system but it starts to boiling coolant over the funnel (small funnel), only with no thermostat the car runs fine, I saw a little cooling leak on the top pipe that connects with the upper radiator hose, I don't know if that little leak it's sucking air through the cooling system, causing bubbles inside the cooling system.. there is no oil on the cooling system, and there is no antifreeze on the Oil, my Forester burns maybe less than 200ml oil after 6k oil change, it's not leaking oil, it's not oil on the spark plugs. Just that little antifreeze leak over the top cooling pipe. Any idea what can I do? Thank you
Watch my series on diagnosing the Foz with similar issues. That one happened to be the heater core clogged. Bypassed the heater core and no more overheating.
@@rapidfirest the heater core is essential to the proper flow of the cooling system. If there's a clog, it'll put air in the system and make it impossible to bleed. It also doesn't push any of the hotter water back into the engine and just builds in the upper block area
@@BoxerTechGarage Should I buy a funnel like yours to try the correct burping process?? with my little funnel, the bubbles started boiling over the funnel and the coolant level start rising splashing over the funnel.. Iam thinking about taking out the thermostat, until I get the right funnel
@@rapidfirest first check your heater core and make sure it's not plugged. Blow some air inside the inlet (passenger side) and see if it is clogged. If so, get a 1 foot piece of heater core hose and bridge the upper coolant crossover with the recirculation pipe on the engine side and bleed using the funnel. The funnel creates an airtight seal on the radiator cap and stops it from dangerously boiling over while running. Dont use a standard parts store funnel, get one that specifically attaches to the radiator. Removing the thermostat tells me there is an air pocket causing it to not build the proper pressure to circulate the hot coolant around to open the thermostat. This is caused by a blockage or massive air bubble. Get the spill proof funnel and bleed. If you've bled and still overheats, you have a blockage or defective thermostat. Also only use Subaru OE thermostats. I have a video showing you why on my channel.
Oh it was so much worse. Those micro bubbles signaled that I had either cracked heads, warped heads, warped block, or combination of all three. Luckily it was just a warped block. After the block was decked, all was well.
If I recall, it was straight coolant because there was a gallon of water added to the system beforehand. I've done full drain and refills so much that I know exactly how much is needed of each before I fill it. Rarely do I ever use my coolant tester anymore unless it's a vehicle with unknown history
What was the outcome? Any more overheating /coolant gurgling after doing this? I have a similar issue in my ‘01 Forester and would like to try this before embarking into a HG change
I watched a bunch of videos where they just leave the cap open and it worked for them, but on my forester the coolant started to splash all over when my thermostat opened like you said. Im going to purchase this and see if it does the trick i also did a complete flush.
any ideas on whats happening with my 98 subaru with the 2.2 l engine. everytime i bleed the system i run a few cycles, when there isnt much bubbling i put the rad cap on and let it cool and come back to top it of from the overflow tank. but i still have stiff hoses on my lower and upper rad hoses and my heater core hoses as well. my heater works and my temperature guage is at normal temp no over heating issues whatsoever. but when i bypass the heater core with a connector my hoses are not stiff just a lil. so i replace the heater core but still i have stiff hoses. no headgasket, thermostat no blockage. i dont know whats the problem.????
It sounds like you have a leak, either internal or external. My recommendation is to first do a coolant system pressure test. This will tell you if the system has a leak. If so, do a block test to determine if it's an internal leak. To determine if you have an external leak, get some UV coolant dye and check for external leaks with a black light
What frequency were the bubbles rising? Was it like water boiling? At any rate, it should have not bubbled for that long. It takes at most 20-30 minutes to completely bleed the system, even without jacking up the front end. I suggest doing a cooling system pressure test.
Yes. If you're doing a fluid drain and refill, hook up the spillproof funnel to the radiator and fill until it stops about 1/4 way up the funnel. Start the car and as the coolant circulates in the engine, it will pull the coolant in. Allow the car to completely cool down before removing the funnel, as when it cools, it pulls even more fluid into the system.
I just put my vehicle on some ramps. Leave the radiator cap open. And take my time. I bought into a lot of gimmicky tools. This one seems cool. But I have enough shit to look for.smh
Just go to Mr. Subaru1387 on YT. Much better procedure and information. Also uses spill free funnel kit. Other commenters already suggested squeezing rad hoses carefully, use gloves and don’t let your fingers touch serpentine belt or accessories. Be very careful doing that.
the problem with cars is that the thermostat is in the bottom hose , because that traps air bubbles to easily in your cooling system. if you take out your thermostat in your bottom hose and put the thermostat in your top hose {at least 160 degree thermostat} then it will run a little bit cooler and have less problems with air bubbles in the cooling system.
That wouldn't work because it is an all aluminum engine and having the coolant flow in the opposite direction would cause hot spots on the cylinder heads and on the cylinder walls causing detonation. The Boxer pumps colder coolant into the top of the engine and pushes the hotter coolant into the radiator. When the thermostat detects the cooler coolant it shuts to prevent the hotter coolant from re-entering the engine
@@BoxerTechGarage wrong, the coolant does not go in the opposite direction , because heat goes up not down . does not matter what way the water pump turns. because the water pump only aids in circulation of the coolant.
also good idea to turn on heat while doing this to get air out of heater hoses as well.
How do blower and baffle controls effect heater hose coolant flow?
Some vehicles have a valve that shuts coolant flow through the heater core off when the heater is turned off
Not on subaru
You can also squeeze the hoses a little bit to help get air out
This is so important as subaru's are famous for trapping air in heater core and block and the 2.5 motor also has the head gasket issue, so overheating is what will damage your head gasket or warp the aluminum head. Another other Utube video shows a dude doing this without running the motor, and just burbing the upper hose, but your way while burbing the hose is the proper method. I like to also jack up front of car as well, just to help get the air bubbles to move into radiator. You mention the heater core a few times, but people should know you need to run the heater on high as you run motor to bleed out the air. Great detailed video and that funnel is the ticket for these vehicles.
Thanks for your comment and reinforcement. The reason I mention the heater core is because the inlets for it are actually just a little bit higher than the radiator opening is. By using the spillproof funnel, it raises the highest point in the cooling system so you don't necessarily have to raise the front of the car, but it does make it easier. It's similar to on the STI and WRX where you fill the radiator first, then you hook up the funnel to the turbo coolant reservoir and bleed it through there. One thing I believe I forgot to mention is that OE radiators from Subaru have bleeder screws that help it, but once the radiator is full, it does nothing to help with getting the coolant higher.
Running heater on high is a myth. The heater core is an "always on" type. Meaning whether you use it or not, there's always coolant running through it. There's no valve on it. Check a subaru cooling diagram.
After I replaced my radiator, I didn't want to spend money on a one-time use funnel. I was successful jacking the front of the car, pouring coolant directly in the engine via the upper radiator hose. That still left some air in the system and so I just squeezed the radiator hose and pouring coolant in the radiator cap 'till the bubbles stopped. I repeated this a couple of days in a row. It hasn't overheated for almost 2 years now. I would buy the bucket funnel if I had to do it again, but it did get the job done.
Yes that does work
Lots of these vids out there......this is one of the good ones. Good clarity etc !
Thanks. I'm a bit of a perfectionist and when it comes to working on my cars, I'm very thorough leaving nothing behind. I hope to bring more good quality videos here in the future.
Dude, I was lost in the sauce trying to bleed my VMount setup. This saved my life, unfortunately I payed 40 bucks at a local auto store cause I couldn't wait for Amazon! Thanks man!!
Josh Higinbotham Lol this comment is hilarious
Patrick Brooks more like helpless
the plug to relieve the pressure? wha... it's to plug it when you dump the excess out man
ya fail on that end
I found revving the engine slightly to 2-3k helps push out some more air, and I ran the heater on recirc at full heat to try and get any air out of the heater coil. This looks handy.
Revving the engine does help, but I dont recommend it. Once that thermostat kicks open, you're getting 200 degree water rushing through the system being pushed by the water pump. This is supposed to be a closed system so by introducing the funnel, or open radiator cap, your giving that pressure an escape, right onto whatever or whomever is standing there.
Thanks.. Very good point. Yes we were careful not to overfill or rev too high, just held the revs around 2k for a few minutes at a time, and no-one was standing near it at the time of course. You can only really pull this off with a spill-proof funnel without making a huge mess and losing lots of coolant.
@@BoxerTechGarage my mechanic back home just burped my forester (tstat starts to open at 91C, full open at 98C ) with open cap, and waited for fans to kick in (at 102C). Also I was reving at 2-3K RPM till it reached 102C. No funnel. Hmmm maybe I should try the funnel.
@@AchilleasMantzios The open cap and revving method only introduces more air into the system. The funnel does three things: (1) it raises the highest point of the cooling system to the funnel, (2) it increases the atmospheric pressure on the coolant in the funnel to help force the air out of the system when the t-stat opens, and (3) it allows the system to add more coolant as the engine cools when it shuts off.
@@BoxerTechGarage Thank you, pretty nice explanation, I'll try it out at first chance. Those sparse overheating incidents I know are not HG-related. Could air be introduced by a crossover pipe o-rings leak?
Having just spent the last week screwing with my coolant system, make sure to be careful with that upper radiator hose. The inlet on the radiator side is plastic, which is an incredibly stupid material to make this out of. It will crack if you take the hose off too many times or tighten down the hose clamp too tightly. You will have to replace the entire radiator if you do that.
Lmao I just did that yesterday
Okay so if your here you’ve probably blown your radiator right so before you buy a new one make sure you replace the TSTAT and o ring then put your new radiator in and you don’t pour your coolant in from radiator bc that’s actually the lowest point so you want to do it by the top mount inter cooler because that’s the highest point and make sure you have your heater running making that core works and on most cars it takes till 205 degrees till operating temperature when fans start kicking on then car will cool down to 178 degrees if everything is installed properly, just make sure when you install a Thermostat that the loose ball bearing thing is facing upwards and not upside down.
I just changed my thermostat recently and my car started to over heat. Search the web and found this video. I ordered the kit today. Will do my cylinder 4 mod and use this kit when it arrives. Looking forward to it
did it work?
I do a lot of Subaru’s one trick while the car is running squeeze the upper radiator hose then put the t handle plug in the coolant funnel and you can then let the hose go and remove the funnel with no mess then you can put the radiator cap on and your done
i read another comment on another video and it said if you raise the front of the car higher it will help to bleed the air out of the system that gets trapped under the dashboard
I just installed a thermostat in my '10 Forester. Ran it for well over and hour and still cant get thr air out. How long does it usually take?
Mine is blowing cold air with the heater on now and it also heated the coolant to 207 and then overfilled the funnel system
An easy way to do this is to also make your own burp point in the exit line of the heater core. You can get the T style conncetors that have a screwable cap on them for coolant systems. (Prestone flush and fill kit, like 4 bucks) Install one of those so when you fill the radiator put on that burp funnel and fill it up with the stopper in. Unscrew the cap on the t bracket and open the plug to let coolant come rushing in when coolant comes out of the bracket cap it off keep filling and start the car up as usual. Itll take way less time to get the air out.
My 08 Outback 2.5 doesn’t want to cooperate. I seem to have done everything and still hear gurgling behind dashboard. This is after timing belt/water pump replacement. Went from overheating to not getting hot enough. Got thermostat from NAPA, 170 degrees. I have a Subaru thermostat on the way.
I have no oil in coolant, no coolant in oil, not blowing anything out exhaust. Can it still be a HG without those symptoms?
Thanks for the video…
When you change a radiator on a Subaru ej251 motor with the thermostat on the bottom of the block, does the coolant even run out the block or does it stay inside the motor? Seems to me like it stays inside the motor I just changed the radiator and there wasn't much burping going on.
I went to other vids when you said,at 2.37 ' first thing we guna do is start up the car'!
to run the engine without any coolant will not be good for the coolant pump!
If you look at the beginning there's already coolant in there. The coolant he's adding is to fill in where the air bubbles are.
Terry Thai k so I watched al the vid, it seem he has air in the heater core, he needs to hav the heater on hot, on maximum heat, so the coolant can flow to the maximum , and carry to air bubbles out..
From what he said at the start, there was no coolant in the system..
Do you have a video of you flushing the coolant on this car? And if not please make one.
subarus recommendation is actually to not flush the coolant unless it's with a Wynn's PowerFlush III machine, which costs thousands of dollars
Awesome video brother.. I have a question.. I have the same no spill funnel. I did all the steps u did but after 32 min fans ever came on??.. I think all the air is out. ( had no heat then burping the system I got heat) I finally closed it up and drove it no issues. I got out and looked, the fans come on. Temp gauge right in middle… I’m at a lost.
Just for future reference you can jack the front of the vehicle up a little when your doing it, make sure the funnel is the highest point on the car. Will help force the air bubbles out better
Just finished second coolant change on 2008 Outback without fancy funnel and did fine. You do have to run engine for 5 min at 2-3k RPM, as mentioned, then top up coolant once engine cools down. Have found if I check it next day, may have to add second time, which is no big deal.
did coolant geyser when you rev to 2k-3k? or was the level stable? next day did u top up only reservoir plastic tank or main tank as well?
The difference between a front facing thermo & a downward facing thermo is if it has a turbo. Your front facing are for turbo applications while the downward facing are non-turbo.. There is also a difference in the thermo's themselves. From what I've seen, the thermo's W/O a gasket are for turbo while the ones with the rubber surround are non-turbo. Just a few nuggets I found.
reallyy, when i disassembled old waterpump i found rubber gaskets on thermostat. mine is forester EJ25 turbo engine
2007 forester 2.5 front facing thermostat , non turbo
Use blue coolant made for Subarus or universal Valvoline blue coolant, but I would recommend the Subaru coolant because they put a special seal conditioner in it for the head gasket.
that's only for phase two EJ25's, which had external coolant HG leaking issues. the phase one EJ25's had internal HG issues, which can not be solved by the Subaru coolant conditioner.
If you cut a water bottle cut the bottom off of it stick it in your radiator and use a spool of stretch wrap like Saran wrap but they come on spools for packages seal that bottle onto your radiator that way it won't leak and it'll work fine.
I have this same funnel and it was burping really really good until the thermostat opened the. The bubble got bigger and bigger. And splashed everywhere
Did the burping process successful? Today I tried but had the same issue, but I have a small funnel, not that big one..
should the overflow flow bottle reservoir be full before you start the whole process?
Drain the overflow prior to coolant flush, Remove the radiator cap, Go underneath vehicle, and remove the lower radiator hose allowing it to drain fully, If you also would like there is a 14mm Hex drain plug on one of the side of the block by the manifold that can also let out coolant from the block. When coolant is done flowing out reinstall the lower hose and drain plug if you took it out. Grab your funnel and go fill up your radiator with whatever coolant your using (50%antifreeze/50%water or prediluted) SIDE NOTE: I've found it helpful to pour real slow and more towards the outwards of the funnel to make sure the coolant was trickeling down through the neck with less air pockets popping back up at me. When the funnel starts over filling go start your vehicle Turn on the heat to MAX and vents to Face only and for the first 5 minutes let your vehicle idle as is. Keeping an eye on the funnel making sure you fluid never runs, After 5 minutes go back in the car and hold the accelerator down and hover over 2.5K Rpm for about 7 to 8 minutes this will help open up the thermostat (The fans will kick on hard) and allow for more air to burp out of the block. I do this at least 2 times till my coolant level has remained steady and I don't see excessive foaming and or bubbling. While at idle hover your hand over ur vents and if you can't keep your hand there due to heat you've done your job right. Cap your radiator , top off your reservoir and go test drive and see if your heat remains in vehicle after if not you either still have air in the system or you have worse things to look into
@@PRYRA when revving to 2.5Rpm, did coolant in funnel geysered/gurgled? should i keep repeating the process till coolant stays stable even i rev to 2.5rpm?
@@tumendalaimunkhdalai1233 I fill the funnel do the rev to 2.5k for 5 minutes then let idle for 5 minutes. repeat 3 to 5 times till u notice the level in the funnel has dropped anymore and that the heat is hot(hot enough to burn ur hand if hovered over for a brief moment)
@@tumendalaimunkhdalai1233 and yes itll bubble and burble thats why u make sure u fill it enough so that air bubbles travel up the funnel enough to escape the radiator fully
when u idle the last time for a bit watch the coolant in the funnel it will be hot and steaming but u shouldn't see a steady stream of bubbles coming out of the radiator neck
Do much smaller funnels work? In my area its hard find this big funnel.
The size doesn't matter as much as the utility of it being able to attached to the radiator to provide constant water pressure to help bleed it
Put heater on high
Have you ever used vacuum pump to pull antifreeze in?
Yes, but the gravity feed method is preferred because of the unique air pockets in the boxer cooling system.
@@BoxerTechGarage good to know. Enjoy your content. Thank You for for presenting it.
You can just hold revs on around 2,500 to 3000rpm for about 10 to 20 seconds.
Can u do this with full coolant in radiator than put the funnel add more in the funnel start the car and the heat high just wait until the normal temps on the motor all the bubbles are gone
Yes. This allows you to safely keep the system open so it doesn't bubble out and spray hot coolant onto running fans or pulleys.
Boxer Tech thanks did u have bad head gasket while u where doing this video
In this video, was the radiator completely empty at the start?
No, the radiator was "full" after just adding in coolant.
My 2008 outback is on crack. I did this and it filled the funnel with coolant
If you did this when the engine was cold. you might have a blown head gasket (cracked head, etc.) pressurizing your cooling system.
Nice! Ordered a funnel kit off amazon will be burping my 05 sti when it comes. My sti needs a tune but when I had the car idling I noticed the radiator was very hot already. (Had my longblock swapped) Im sure it has air in it.. it hasnt been burped. Hopefully it will give me better results, heating wise.
Do you guys think i should load the base map tune before burping?
How did it work
take a 2 liter pop bottle, cut bottom off , wrap duct tape around small end till it fits in radiator opening, done and free.
Good video! I was burping my coolant system as soon as today on my WRX 07 as it was starting to run hot...again. I have had issues with the upper coolant reservoir being empty, probably due to air being trapped in there as it is the highest point, I hate it more and more for every day that goes by just because it keeps happening again and again. Last winter it was running just fine, even though I had problems with it running hot as late as back in October. Now I have bought a spill free funnel just to bleed it througly but it feels like it will be the same thing all over again. Today I kept squeezing the upper radiator hose(never done before) as I was burping the coolant system and alot of air made its way out, so I hope it helps. Do you have any other tips to get rid of these air bubbles? I begin to lose all hope as I have had problems for over a year now. Maybe its the same problem as you had, having the head gasket blown and all that.
Symptoms point to a head gasket failure. I bled mine 4 times the first time before I realized I had an internal engine failure. I was able to determine it with a block test, but there are other ways. On the WRX with the upper coolant reservoir, pinch off the feed and return line from the upper reservoir to the radiator and open the cap at the radiator. Hook your spillproof funnel to the radiator and feed the funnel til it is about 1/4 full. Have someone crank over the car but stand back from the funnel. If you see it spurt up like a geyser, it's got an internal failure in the engine, most likely head gasket. If you look in my video carefully, you can see micro bubbles. This video was taken before I realized the head was leaking again. The microbubbles that appear are exhaust gasses leaking into my coolant. If you see those, it's a good indicator of head gasket failure. I believe on the 02-07 WRX the full capacity of coolant is 7.7 liters, or just over 2 gallons..
Boxer Tech Boxer Tech Thanks for reply! Yeah I already have one of those Block Testers that changes color but I haven’t had any luck with it yet. I tested it out a while ago when I had alot of bubbles in the overflow tank, but as I said it came back negative. Maybe I should try it out on the upper reservoir. If that doesn’t work I definitely will try out your tip, which wasn’t bad at all. Again, thanks for your reply - I will keep you posted on my progress.
Did that thermostat ever opened?
Yeah after I replaced the head gasket. In the video you see tiny bubbles coming up to the surface. Those bubbles were exhaust gasses escaping and causing coolant to leak
Boxer Tech during this video u had bad head gasket is that true
@@pedrothehunter warped block causing the exhaust gasses to escape through the coolant.
Boxer Tech ok where u losing antifreeze before this test or video thanks again because am losing a little bit but not overheated so if I do what u said on the video if have bad head gasket the coolant will started boiling bubble up a lot right or no thanks again for reply
Hello, I know this is an old video, but I have same issue, I did the block test and there is not head gasket leaks, my 09 forester start overheating when I put a thermostat on it, I tried to burp the cooling system but it starts to boiling coolant over the funnel (small funnel), only with no thermostat the car runs fine, I saw a little cooling leak on the top pipe that connects with the upper radiator hose, I don't know if that little leak it's sucking air through the cooling system, causing bubbles inside the cooling system.. there is no oil on the cooling system, and there is no antifreeze on the Oil, my Forester burns maybe less than 200ml oil after 6k oil change, it's not leaking oil, it's not oil on the spark plugs. Just that little antifreeze leak over the top cooling pipe. Any idea what can I do? Thank you
Watch my series on diagnosing the Foz with similar issues. That one happened to be the heater core clogged. Bypassed the heater core and no more overheating.
@@BoxerTechGarage I Will try that, by now I don't need heater (today was 109°F outside) but on winter I will needed for sure.. Thank you 👍
@@rapidfirest the heater core is essential to the proper flow of the cooling system. If there's a clog, it'll put air in the system and make it impossible to bleed. It also doesn't push any of the hotter water back into the engine and just builds in the upper block area
@@BoxerTechGarage Should I buy a funnel like yours to try the correct burping process?? with my little funnel, the bubbles started boiling over the funnel and the coolant level start rising splashing over the funnel.. Iam thinking about taking out the thermostat, until I get the right funnel
@@rapidfirest first check your heater core and make sure it's not plugged. Blow some air inside the inlet (passenger side) and see if it is clogged. If so, get a 1 foot piece of heater core hose and bridge the upper coolant crossover with the recirculation pipe on the engine side and bleed using the funnel. The funnel creates an airtight seal on the radiator cap and stops it from dangerously boiling over while running. Dont use a standard parts store funnel, get one that specifically attaches to the radiator. Removing the thermostat tells me there is an air pocket causing it to not build the proper pressure to circulate the hot coolant around to open the thermostat. This is caused by a blockage or massive air bubble. Get the spill proof funnel and bleed. If you've bled and still overheats, you have a blockage or defective thermostat. Also only use Subaru OE thermostats. I have a video showing you why on my channel.
Suggestiom on what type of coolant to use on a 01 2.5rs
I use any green coolant to fill it up and then add in Subaru Coolant Conditioner to it to help protect the internals of the engine.
Ok
And how do you tell if youve done 2 cycles?
@@Xshadowshadex a cycle is when the thermostat opens, fans kick on then off.
It was at this moment he realized 😵 headgasket! 😆
Oh it was so much worse. Those micro bubbles signaled that I had either cracked heads, warped heads, warped block, or combination of all three. Luckily it was just a warped block. After the block was decked, all was well.
@@BoxerTechGarage so microbubbles mean smth wrong with one of those 3?
Is it just me, or does that antifreeze look awfully thick, like it was 100% antifreeze, instead of 50/50 mix?
If I recall, it was straight coolant because there was a gallon of water added to the system beforehand. I've done full drain and refills so much that I know exactly how much is needed of each before I fill it. Rarely do I ever use my coolant tester anymore unless it's a vehicle with unknown history
@@BoxerTechGarage that makes sense.
Thanks, this worked perfectly
What was the outcome? Any more overheating /coolant gurgling after doing this? I have a similar issue in my ‘01 Forester and would like to try this before embarking into a HG change
I still had the same symptoms as before burping the system. In my case I had a warped block which had blown past the head gasket on the passenger side
Boxer Tech I have to fix a HG as well. Will get this kit anyway to bleed/burp the system afterwards
I watched a bunch of videos where they just leave the cap open and it worked for them, but on my forester the coolant started to splash all over when my thermostat opened like you said. Im going to purchase this and see if it does the trick i also did a complete flush.
did it work? I have exact same problem, help me please fellow subaru
@@tumendalaimunkhdalai1233 yes it does. It acts as an expansion tank.
@@QtheMisanthrope how long did it take? how many cycle of revving up did u do?
Great instruction! Gonna be trying this with my '13 H6 Outback.
Put the car on car raps, elevating the front of the car will help get all the air bubbles out.
any ideas on whats happening with my 98 subaru with the 2.2 l engine. everytime i bleed the system i run a few cycles, when there isnt much bubbling i put the rad cap on and let it cool and come back to top it of from the overflow tank. but i still have stiff hoses on my lower and upper rad hoses and my heater core hoses as well. my heater works and my temperature guage is at normal temp no over heating issues whatsoever. but when i bypass the heater core with a connector my hoses are not stiff just a lil. so i replace the heater core but still i have stiff hoses. no headgasket, thermostat no blockage. i dont know whats the problem.????
It sounds like you have a leak, either internal or external. My recommendation is to first do a coolant system pressure test. This will tell you if the system has a leak. If so, do a block test to determine if it's an internal leak. To determine if you have an external leak, get some UV coolant dye and check for external leaks with a black light
I did this for 2 hours and bubbles kept coming up. Any reasons?
What frequency were the bubbles rising? Was it like water boiling? At any rate, it should have not bubbled for that long. It takes at most 20-30 minutes to completely bleed the system, even without jacking up the front end. I suggest doing a cooling system pressure test.
Blown head gasket
Im having an issue bleeding my vehicle aswell
Your radiator is already full before doing this process right
Yes. If you're doing a fluid drain and refill, hook up the spillproof funnel to the radiator and fill until it stops about 1/4 way up the funnel. Start the car and as the coolant circulates in the engine, it will pull the coolant in. Allow the car to completely cool down before removing the funnel, as when it cools, it pulls even more fluid into the system.
Boxer Tech okay thank you! I have a wrx but I'm sure it's the same thing
Yeah same process except you hook the funnel up to the upper reservoir near the turbo instead of the radiator
Boxer Tech ahhh, I've seen people do both but I did see that you would have to go to the highest point so I'll just do that
Boxer Tech do you have to flush the old coolant out before adding the new ( clean ) coolant in?
I just put my vehicle on some ramps. Leave the radiator cap open. And take my time. I bought into a lot of gimmicky tools. This one seems cool. But I have enough shit to look for.smh
Wet the rubber before you put any down of it together
Just go to Mr. Subaru1387 on YT. Much better procedure and information. Also uses spill free funnel kit. Other commenters already suggested squeezing rad hoses carefully, use gloves and don’t let your fingers touch serpentine belt or accessories. Be very careful doing that.
the problem with cars is that the thermostat is in the bottom hose , because that traps air bubbles to easily in your cooling system. if you take out your thermostat in your bottom hose and put the thermostat in your top hose {at least 160 degree thermostat} then it will run a little bit cooler and have less problems with air bubbles in the cooling system.
That wouldn't work because it is an all aluminum engine and having the coolant flow in the opposite direction would cause hot spots on the cylinder heads and on the cylinder walls causing detonation. The Boxer pumps colder coolant into the top of the engine and pushes the hotter coolant into the radiator. When the thermostat detects the cooler coolant it shuts to prevent the hotter coolant from re-entering the engine
@@BoxerTechGarage wrong, the coolant does not go in the opposite direction , because heat goes up not down . does not matter what way the water pump turns. because the water pump only aids in circulation of the coolant.
. ..WHAT...
Man that was full of air.